Regret doesn't just haunt.In the Deepwood, it grows — twisting roots through the soul, feeding on the memories you'd rather forget.And now, Kael must face not only a comrade consumed by the realm……but the part of himself that let her fall.
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The air hung heavy, humid with sorrow.Kael's breath caught as his emberblade met Serin's twin thorns — her every strike came faster, heavier, angrier.This wasn't a duel.This was grief weaponized.
The grove they fought in pulsed with sickly green light, trees creaking like they were holding their breath. Shadows of memories flickered between branches — not just Serin's, but Kael's too.
"You don't get to talk like you care!" Serin shouted, fury in her veins and her voice.
"I do care!" Kael growled back, parrying her next strike — only barely.
But she was relentless.
"You abandoned us!" she hissed, twisting and slamming a vine-laced heel into his chest. Kael staggered back, coughing. "You were supposed to be our shield, Kael. Our fire! And all we got was ash!"
The trees above groaned louder, feeding on her pain — roots unraveling from the ground like serpents, writhing toward Kael.
Lysara, still bound and pinned to a tree, struggled as thorned cords held her tight. "Kael! This isn't just her! The Deepwood… it's amplifying her memory!"
Kael blocked another slash, his strength waning.
And then —It hit.
A flood of memories crashed into him —>>The Fall of Durnhollow.>>The fire.>>The screams.>>His unit being overwhelmed, Serin dragged beneath burning rubble.>>Kael being pulled away by command, even as he fought tooth and flame to reach her.>>The way he was punished for disobeying.
He gasped, eyes wide, stepping back.
"Serin…" he whispered. "I tried. They didn't let me go back."
But she didn't hear him — or maybe the realm wouldn't let her. Not yet.
She lunged again.
And Kael — didn't raise his blade.
He let her strike his shoulder. A thin line of blood dripped down, sizzling against the emberplate.
"Do it," he said, voice firm but quiet. "If that's the only justice you believe in — take it."
His emberblade clattered to the forest floor.
Everything went still.
Memory Sync Triggered— Deepwood Mechanic Engaged
The world twisted, the grove dissolving into mist.
They stood now in the center of a memory.Durnhollow. Flames eating the sky. Screams everywhere.
Serin watched her younger self screaming for Kael — and Kael turning away.
Her expression hardened… then cracked.
"That's not…"She blinked. The memory shifted.
Now she saw it from his side — Kael, screaming against his orders. Chained by command.Rage in his eyes, tears on his face.
"…That's not what happened," Serin whispered.
Her illusion fractured — a burst of white light breaking through vines of false memory.
"I blamed you," she said, trembling. "But I was made to… the realm — it fed off it. Twisted it."
Kael stepped toward her, limping. His wound still burned, but he ignored it.
"I never forgot you," he said softly. "Not once. I still remember every name from that mission. Every face we lost."
Serin dropped to her knees.
For the first time, the roots binding Lysara unraveled, retreating into the dirt like snakes from fire. Lysara staggered forward, breathing hard, eyes flicking from Kael to Serin.
"Then we both move forward," Serin whispered.
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System Update: Ally Acquired
New Companion Unlocked: Serin Vale
Title: Thornbound Remnant
Status: Redeemed
Abilities:
Memory Echo: Project fragments of past trauma into enemies to disrupt attacks.
Blade of the Living Grove: Adaptive weapons formed from Deepwood flora, tied to emotional resonance.
Remnant Loyalty: Immune to Deepwood illusions while Kael is in the party.
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As they reached the far end of the glade, the forest opened slightly.
There — towering in ancient silence — stood a massive, gnarled tree.
Its bark bore a familiar emblem… a sigil of flame, but twisted, bent like it had been shattered and forced back together.
"The Ember Sigil," Kael murmured. "But… it's wrong."
Serin's gaze grew distant. "There's another realm. Below this one. Beneath all others."
Lysara blinked. "You mean like a sub-realm?"
"No," Serin said grimly. "I mean the first realm. The one they tried to erase. The one where the fragments were shattered."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Then that's where we go next."
They turned to leave — but behind them, the bark of the ancient tree silently peeled open…
From within the hollow, a pair of golden eyes blinked.
Watching.Waiting.
[End Of Chapter 35]
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And deep below the Deepwood… something ancient stirred.Not memory.Not rage.Something else.Something forgotten — but never gone.
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Chapter 36: Whispers Beneath Bark — The Realm That Shouldn't Exist
Beneath the roots lies a secret realm — hidden even from the Smoke Council.Here, Kael will find echoes of the first flame, the origin of the fragments… and something else.Something that should not exist.And it remembers him.