When the Roots Touch the Sky

The sky cracked.

Not with lightning. Not with thunder. But with something ancient—something slow, deep, and utterly alive.

From the heart of Verdantia, black roots burst forth, tearing through temple stone and noble towers, climbing with a hunger that had been asleep for millennia. They didn't grow like ordinary trees. No… these roots reached. They coiled through the clouds, pierced the heavens, and wrapped around the very stars themselves.

And the world below?

It watched.

In awe.In horror.In obedience.

From the ashes of the Divine Cathedral to the fallen statues of forgotten gods, the people of Verdantia stood beneath the roots like ants under the legs of a god. Some wept. Some prayed. But most…

Most simply knelt.

High above it all, at the top of the tallest obsidian bloom—now a spiraling tower of living vines and corrupted petals—sat Priyanshu Yadav.

He looked nothing like the man he once was.

He was more.

No longer cloaked merely in shadows, his body radiated a soft violet glow. The wind bowed around him. The air bent to his breath. And the roots?

The roots listened to his every thought.

Beneath his feet, the Garden of Verdantia had bloomed into something divine.

The System pulsed in his vision.

[Verdantia: 93% Corrupted][World Tier Barrier Breached][New Domain Unlocked: Rooted Sky][Special Effect: All lower divine realms now observable and partially influenceable][Warning: Multiple deities have taken notice]

Priyanshu didn't blink.

So they noticed?

Let them.

He lifted his hand slowly, and the air around him began to shimmer. Thousands of silver butterflies formed from corrupted mana took flight, carrying the whispers of his will across the continent.

They whispered his name in a thousand languages.

Not as a villain.Not even as a king.

As a god.

Far in the east, atop the sacred mountains of the Cloud Monks, a bell rang that had not sounded in three thousand years.

"Impossible," the eldest monk whispered, clutching his weathered prayer beads. "That sound… it only rings when the sky begins to turn."

And the sky was turning.

Turning violet. Turning wild.

Turning toward Priyanshu.

Back in the Garden of Obedience, High Priestess Lyria stood with arms outstretched, her body bathed in moonlight and black petals. Her voice rose in hymn—not to the gods she once served, but to the one she had given her heart to.

"He who blooms in silence…He who walks with shadowed grace…He who touches the sky…"

The corrupted followers around her echoed the chant.

"All roots lead to Him."

Vines danced around their bodies, not to bind… but to worship. Petals rained like snow. The Garden breathed like a living being, and its breath was filled with faith.

Within the Royal Palace—now abandoned by its puppet royalty—one soul remained defiant.

Crown Prince Laeron stood in his war chamber, sword drawn, golden armor glowing. "I will not kneel," he snarled. "I am of divine blood."

A soldier rushed in, panting, eyes wide. "Your Highness… the capital has turned. Even the nobles… they pray in the dark now."

"They're weak," Laeron spat. "I will face him myself. One blade. One judgment. I will carve his heart from his chest."

He stepped outside.

And the sky greeted him.

A sky wrapped in roots.

Each one glowing with soft, violet runes that pulsed like a heartbeat.

The prince faltered.

Not from fear.

From realization.

No sword could reach what had already touched the stars.

In the Hidden Temple of the Skywatchers, the seers screamed.

Blood poured from their eyes as visions collided. They saw continents bending. Laws unraveling. And at the center of it all—a single figure, smiling gently, touching the sky with fingers of root and soul.

A goddess among them, blindfolded and ancient, whispered, "He has become the Root Above All…"

And then… silence.

On the floating petals of his throne, Priyanshu opened his eyes once more.

He was not alone.

Before him, wrapped in gold mist, floated a being of light—tall, radiant, genderless. A Divine Sentinel.

"You have overstepped," the being said, voice echoing across dimensions.

Priyanshu tilted his head. "I was never meant to stay beneath."

"You defy creation's order."

"I simply rewrote the garden."

"You have corrupted Verdantia."

"I awakened it."

A pause.

The Divine Sentinel raised its staff. "You must be pruned."

But before the blow could fall—The roots surged upward.

Not in defense.

In hunger.

They wrapped around the Sentinel's limbs, not to destroy… but to convert. The holy aura flickered. The staff dimmed. And the light?

It turned… violet.

The System laughed.

[Divine Sentinel: Converted – Status: Bound Servant][Unique Trait Gained: Sky Authority Fragment][Verdantia Control: 97%][Deity Interference Shield: Active]

Priyanshu stood slowly, stepping into the air itself. The sky parted for him. The stars bowed. His voice was soft—but all of Verdantia heard it.

"You called me villain. But villains don't touch the sky."

He lifted a hand.

The clouds twisted.

He lowered it.

The earth sang.

"From now on… I am not hidden."

That night, the capital did not sleep.

Every man, woman, and child dreamed the same dream.

A dream of roots.

A dream of sky.

A dream of him.