chapter 6 The girl in the roots

Go, it said. Save him. Because if the Order finds him first, they will finish what they started five years ago.

Tari didn't hesitate. She plunged into the darkness.

The tunnel of thorns swallowed Tari whole. The air grew thick with the scent of damp soil and something else ,something alive, something breathing.The deeper she went, the more the roots pulsed beneath her fingers, like veins carrying blood through the earth.

Then, a sound.

A voice.

Not the forest's whispers. Not Kael's shouts.

A girl's voice.

Kael…?

Tari froze. The voice was weak, trembling, but achingly human. She rounded a bend in the tunnel and there, in the heart of a tangled nest of roots, was Liora.

Or what was left of her.

The girl was half-buried in the wood, her body fused with the tree behind her. Vines coiled around her arms like shackles, her skin threaded with glowing green veins. Her eyes one human, one Hollow-black snapped to Tari.

You're not him, Liora whispered.

Tari's breath caught. This wasn't just a Hollow. This was someone fighting the corruption from within.

Before she could speak, a crash echoed behind her. Kael burst into the chamber, bloodied and panting, his dagger clutched in one hand. His eyes locked onto Liora and his face shattered.

No...

Liora flinched, her Hollow eye flickering with recognition. You… came back.

Kael staggered forward, his blade slipping from his fingers. I told you I would.

Tari watched as he reached out then hesitated, his hand hovering just shy of Liora's face. The roots around her twitched, tightening protectively.

You shouldn't be here,Liora breathed. The forest is angry. It remembers what the Order did...

A roar cut her off. The ground trembled as something massive tore through the tunnels behind them.

The Order had found them.

Elder Varyn's voice boomed through the chamber. Step away from the abomination, Kael.

Kael whirled, his body shielding Liora. She's not a Hollow! She's fighting it just like the others could have, if you hadn't slaughtered them all!

Varyn's face twisted. The corruption consumes. There is no salvation. Only fire. He raised a hand and the Order's warriors ignited their blades in eerie, silver flame.

Liora let out a choked gasp. Kael… run.

But Kael didn't move.

Tari stepped forward, her fists clenched. You're wrong, she said, her voice shaking. The forest chose me to see this. To stop you.

Varyn's eyes narrowed. Then you will burn with them.

The roots around Liora exploded to life, lashing out like whips. The chamber erupted into chaos roots against fire, betrayal against hope.

And in the center of it all, Liora screamed not in pain, but in defiance.

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To Be Continued.