Chapter 92 – Where the Root Does Not Sleep

I. Valtoria breathes dark sap

From the top of the obsidian towers, Valtoria seemed untouched: open markets, traffic of goods, red lights illuminating the slums. But below, something was stirring.

The corrupt roots that belonged to the Gure Clan began to spread beyond their domains, taking shape beneath the foundations of the city.

At first glance, they were just cracks. But the most sensitive—the elderly, the children, the scarred— heard whispers beneath the earth . Words without language, a damp echo trailing from the rotten sap.

"Abandon memory…

Abandon judgment… The root will give you another form…"

And some began to obey.

II. The first outbreak of madness

Kaisur neighborhood , a woman named Lessa woke her son in the middle of the night. The boy was trembling. Small roots sprouted from his nails and neck.

—Mom... the earth speaks to me...

Shortly after, the boy murdered his younger brother with a blade made of bone and hardened root.

The incident was hushed up. But it wasn't the only one.

In less than three days, seventeen similar cases arose in poor areas, involving children and beggars. They all spoke in the same way:

"The root is hungry."

"The sap will judge us." "The Tree no longer decides."

III. Mizuki takes the next step

In a secret meeting with her loyalists, Mizuki Inari received the reports. She didn't seem surprised.

—The root spreads as I predicted. Soon, swords and clans will no longer be necessary. The city will be my weapon.

One of his confidants, a young man named Kuroji , raised his voice:

—And if it gets out of control... what will you do?

Mizuki looked at him. She smiled gently.

"You can't control a fire. But you can decide who survives when it's out."

He then introduced a new ally:

Naraka , exile of the Kogane Clan, bearer of the power of the living wound , capable of infecting pure roots and making them be born corrupt from the beginning.

With it, Mizuki planned to infect the most symbolic cities , and then force the Twelve Families to accept his leadership.

IV. Akihiko feels the pulse of the earth

Far from Valtoria, in a valley where the roots were still pure, Akihiko felt a pounding in his chest. The mark was beating out of control.

Sora woke up, alarmed.

- What's happening?

—The roots are awakening… but not by the will of the Tree.

—Then by whom?

Akihiko fell silent.

"Because of someone who wants to use them. Pervert them."

Sora placed his hands on the ground, sang a note of the Tree Language...

...and cried.

—There are children trapped in the roots.

They are being... reformed .

V. Ikari makes a discovery

Investigating one of the intermediate zones, Ikari came across a semi-abandoned village. There, he discovered an ancient temple with symbols carved in stone that were not from the Tree... but from enemy roots .

In one mural, a female figure was depicted sitting on an inky root, with pupil-less eyes and a face reminiscent of Mizuki.

"The root that does not sleep is also hungry."

"And its hunger is the silence of memory."

Ikari wrote everything down. He didn't fully understand the meaning, but he knew this was older than the clans .

VI. The Birth of the "Children of the Void"

In the lower tunnels of Valtoria, corrupted roots began to sprout a new form of life. They were not human. Nor beasts.

They were what remained of those who merged with the diseased sap.

Some retained fragments of memory.

Others, only a torn name.

But they all shared something:

Total obedience to the whisper.

And a silent hatred toward the original Tree.

One of them, a girl with a scarred face, walked through the darkness. Her power was simple: false memory . She could implant nonexistent memories and derail the root.

They called them:

The Children of the Void.

And soon, Mizuki would let them go.

VII. Renjirō understands it

At Kurobane Fortress, Renjirō received a sample of rotten root. As soon as he touched the sap with his staff, the wood cracked.

—She no longer plays with clans.

She wants to rewrite the history of the Tree from the very roots.

Naomi came closer.

" What do we do?"

Renjirō looked at the map.

—If we don't destroy the source... everything will fall.

And that means finding the original infected person.

Patient Zero.

VIII. Sora's Message

Sora, guided by the Tree's song, used Language to send a message through the still-pure roots. It was a desperate call.

"To all who still feel the clean sap…

Corruption has taken shape. Don't wait for war. It's already begun beneath your feet."

The Tree, for the first time in centuries, responded .

A word emerged, written in living roots:

"Eradication."

IX. Closing – In the Throat of the World

At the deepest point of the continent, where the oldest roots sleep, something is stirring.

It's not human.

It's not a tree.

It's a fusion of both .

And he's begun to dream of returning.

END OF CHAPTER 92