The Corrupted Garden of Whispers

The moonlight in Verdantia was not silver anymore.

It was green.

Sickly, seductive, and wrong.

Priyanshu stood at the edge of the royal garden — once the symbol of purity, now a silent battlefield of corruption. The once vibrant flowers now whispered secrets. The vines curled like serpents. Even the air felt too thick… as if it was listening.

"This garden used to sing," muttered an old gardener, his eyes vacant. "Now it only listens."

Priyanshu ignored him. His hidden villain system pulsed quietly, screens flickering as if decoding something far older than the empire itself.

[Corruption Source: Detected]Location: Heart of the Verdant BloomRisk: UnknownEffect: Mental Manipulation, Memory Leakage, Emotion Contamination]

He tightened his robe. His mind was sharp. But even he wasn't immune to the garden's breath. Every step he took, the plants spoke.

"Do you remember the screams?""Your brothers... they always feared you.""Even your mother knew what you'd become."

His eyes turned cold. "Nice try."

Yet as he moved deeper, he wasn't alone.

Behind the hedges, a cloaked figure watched.Beside the statue of the Lion-Saint, a young maid stood still — unmoving for hours.From the pool's surface, a reflection of him stared back… smiling. But it wasn't his own.

"I've walked in darker places," Priyanshu said calmly, stepping past illusions. "You're just weeds."

But as he neared the center — the source of the rot — he found something unexpected.

Not a monster.Not a cursed artifact.Not a fallen god.

But a child.

A small girl with green eyes, barefoot and glowing faintly.She sat atop the roots of an ancient tree, gently humming a melody that made time bend.

"Hello," she said sweetly. "Are you the one they call the Forgotten God… or the Hidden Villain?"

Priyanshu didn't answer.

Because in her voice, he heard Verdantia itself speaking.

And worse—

She remembered him.