Chapter 41: Rootbound - Part II

"Look, the spell that prevents me and my sisters from entering the Citadel is located underground," said Mrs. White, her faceless visage angled toward Noah. "There's a rune cave buried beneath the roots. Protected. Guarded."

"By who?" asked Noah.

"The Kin that once were battle witches," she answered. "They've lost their magic, but their skill in wielding rune weapons remains. Some still remember how to handle them."

Noah clenched his jaw. "And I'm supposed to fight them?"

"You won't be alone."

A shadow shimmered beside the White Witch as Pink—the Dodo in her humanoid, beast-like form—stepped out of folded space. Her fur shimmered in dull light, pink and ghostly, her arms folded.

"You'll go with her," said Mrs. White. "You've touched a shard. That makes you a candidate to wield rune-bound weapons."

"What exactly are runes?" asked Noah, baffled. "And what do you mean wielding one won't kill me?"

Pink snorted. "You lot came exploring a world like this and didn't even know the basics? If you hadn't met her first," she gestured to the White Witch, "you'd already be compost."

Noah frowned but said nothing.

With a wave, Mrs. White summoned a rune weapon—a heavy warhammer, ancient and covered in pulsing dark green inscriptions. It hovered in the air between them.

"The Rainbow Hammer," she declared.

Noah raised an eyebrow. "That… doesn't look like a rainbow."

"It once did," said Mrs. White. "But the corruption runes dull its brilliance. That hammer is more than a weapon—it's a key. One of the few that can tamper with shard energy."

"Shard energy…?" Noah murmured, thinking back. "So… the shards are gateways to magical worlds… and the closer you are to them, the stronger the influence?"

"Exactly," said Pink. "And the bigger the shard, the more mana it can leak. Which means more instability."

"The shard boundary… that's why things feel weird near Willow Forest."

Mrs. White nodded, gazing into the distance. "We need to move. The transition is beginning. Pink, guide the boy to the seal room. Protect him. Kill anything that interferes."

"Gladly," Pink growled.

A rift opened in the air like a black wound. Pink grabbed Noah and leapt through.

---

The Citadel of Roots — The Plaza

The air was sharp, thick with rot and dread.

The Root Queen leaned forward on her throne of writhing bark, staring down at the White Witch. "You're bold to come here… knowing you can't use your magic within this sanctuary."

Mrs. White didn't flinch. "I came here today to end this tiring game, you see, have other things to do."

"i will kill you," hissed Allithra. "After that, your soul will be repurposed. A new kin for the next cycle."

The plaza erupted in laughter.

"I will burn this place before I let your filth touch another soul," said Mrs. White coldly. She bled blue from countless cuts, her white dress shredded and marked by thorns, but her posture was composed.

"Allithra, your soul is rotting," she said.

"I have no soul," the Queen hissed, her arms spreading. "These are my children!"

Around her, the Kin cheered. Even Mongragore howled with joy.

Ezra, watching from her wooden cage, clenched her teeth. "They're going to do it… take bodies… leave the forest…" she whispered.

And then the Queen announced it:

"Begin the ritual. These vessels will carry us out. This world—its technology, its structure—it's usable. Even if it lacks mana, we can shape runes artificially. Sacrifices will be made, but progress will bloom."

The White Witch's shoulders tensed. Ezra's heartbeat thundered in her chest.

"They mustn't leave the forest," both thought at once.

---

The Rune Chambers — Beneath the Citadel

BOOM!

A pink blur tore through the underground caverns, clawing through tunnels wide enough to house entire buildings. Pink moved like lightning, crashing through Kin who guarded the passages.

Noah, cloaked in the Neverwhere Scaff, ran behind her, the enchanted cloak allowing him to blend into shadow. It tightened around him like a second skin. His senses sharpened. The darkness became clarity. He could see through it.

"Are we still on Earth?" he asked, stunned by the scale of the underground halls.

"If you knew how many Earths there were," Pink muttered.

"You said something?" he asked, but she didn't answer.

A roar echoed down the corridor. "They're coming!" Pink shouted.

Noah braced himself, reaching for the hammer embedded deep in the rune circle at the chamber's core. Glowing lines of green runes surrounded it like a trap.

The hammer was enormous—its head inscribed with symbols, its weight humming with dangerous energy.

"Here goes nothing…" Noah muttered, reaching out.

Just before his hand touched the handle—

WHAM!

He was thrown backward, crashing into a stone wall. He gasped, pain flaring across his ribs.

Standing in front of the hammer was a humanoid tree, at least seven feet tall, wearing scraps of a withered cloak. Runes pulsed along its bark-skin like veins of light.

It flexed its wooden fingers.

"A human survived my strike?" the tree warrior growled. "Interesting."

Noah pushed himself up, coughing. "Yeah, well… I don't plan on dying down here."

The tree warrior smirked. "Then you'll make this fun."

It drew a rune blade, glowing with violet symbols. The chamber pulsed as more Kin emerged, battle-worn and silent, weapons forming from their bodies.

Noah glanced down at his cloak, then at the hammer still sealed in the circle.

He clenched his jaw.

"Pink—hold them off. I'll get the seal broken."

From the corridor, Pink roared, leaping into the fray.

The underground war had begun.