Chapter 11: Feralroot Rising

Feralroot was not a place—it was a wound.

A realm of endless jungle, where roots rose like serpents and the very air pulsed with rage. Vines whispered curses in forgotten tongues, and the ground was littered with bones fossilized mid-scream.

As Kaito and the Ember Host crossed the threshold, the first wave came—beasts, half-man, half-tree, with claws like thorns and eyes that burned with feral intelligence.

Kaelyra's scimitars sang.

Isha vanished into shadows, striking unseen.

Kaito unleashed the Blade Echo, a ripple of pure force that split the jungle for miles.

But Feralroot grew back.

"They're regenerating," Kaelyra yelled. "This realm feeds on conflict!"

"Then we starve it," Kaito growled. "We end this fast."

---

Deep in the jungle heart, they found it—the Wild Altar, grown into the ribs of a long-dead colossus. Upon it stood the second Void Sovereign, a creature made of bark, bone, and rage.

His name was Thornwrath.

"I remember you," the creature snarled. "The Emperor who ran."

"And now I've returned," Kaito said, stepping forward. "To uproot you."

Thornwrath laughed, shaking the trees for miles. "Then bleed, Blade Emperor!"

Roots erupted from the ground, wrapping around soldiers, piercing armor.

Kaito's sword clashed with the Sovereign's living axe. Sparks flew. Earth cracked.

But Thornwrath's power came from the realm itself.

"I am the forest!" he bellowed.

"And I," Kaito roared back, "am the blade that clears the path!"

---

They battled for hours.

Until Kaito drove Nightcleaver through Thornwrath's core—splitting bark, bone, and fury in half.

The jungle screamed.

Then, it wept.

The trees calmed.

The air cleared.

Kaelyra dropped to a knee. "Feralroot… is free."

Kaito, drenched in sweat and sap, looked to the third and final mark on the map.

"Next," he said, "Netherglow.": The Gates of Netherglow

Netherglow was death wearing the skin of beauty.

Its sky shimmered with soft auroras. Floating lilies lit the air with silver light. But beneath the glow… silence. No birds. No wind. Only the cold hum of forgotten souls.

Kaito stood at the threshold, Isha beside him, Kaelyra behind. The Ember Host waited in formation, silent and tense.

"This place was once a sanctuary," Kaelyra whispered. "Until the Sovereigns twisted it."

"Now it's a trap," Isha muttered.

Kaito stepped forward.

"Let's spring it."

---

The land responded.

Ghosts rose—not monsters, but memories. Former warriors, kings, lovers. All flickering like candlelight. They didn't attack. They wept.

Then the Sovereign appeared.

A woman made of stars and shadows. Her name was Vel'Seir, the Eclipsed Queen.

"You should not be here," she said, her voice like a melody in reverse. "This realm remembers your sins, Kaito."

"I've paid for them," Kaito said. "Now I reclaim what was stolen."

She raised her arms.

And the dead obeyed.

---

Ghost armies clashed with the Ember Host.

Kaelyra fought specters of her fallen siblings.

Isha danced through shadows of assassins long dead.

Kaito faced Vel'Seir herself.

She fought with elegance—each movement a blend of swordplay and sorcery. Her blade hummed with grief.

"You failed us," she whispered with every strike.

Kaito's blade answered. "Then let me make it right."

Their duel shook the realm's heart.

---

At the peak of Netherglow's temple, with both of them wounded and breathless, Vel'Seir paused.

"Will you restore balance… or remake tyranny?"

Kaito dropped his blade.

And knelt.

"I will protect, not rule."

Silence.

Then Vel'Seir lowered her weapon—and dissolved into light.

Netherglow breathed again.

---

Three Sovereigns fallen.

Three realms reclaimed.

And still… the sky cracked open.

Kaelyra looked up. "What now?"

Kaito tightened his grip on Nightcleaver.

"We go where it all began."

"The Voidspire."