Location: Elderglen's Hollow Root Basin – Forbidden Depths
The deeper Null descended into the Root Basin, the more reality warped.
Moss dripped upward. Roots slithered sideways, twitching as if they recognized something ancient and terrifying within him. Even the air—a thick, syrupy fog—hummed with whispers not meant for mortal comprehension.
SYSTEM ALERT: You have entered the Deadlight Zone. Time perception altered. Physical laws partially voided.
Null exhaled slowly, black steam curling from his nostrils. His eyes glowed with that voidened, runic gold as the Root Basin responded to his presence—not with hostility, but submission.
The living ecosystem, once a graveyard of divine fauna, bowed to him. The trees groaned, shedding bark like dead skin. Flowers blossomed and instantly rotted. Insects, ancient and ethereal, gathered around his form but dared not touch.
He wasn't an invader anymore.
He was a Sovereign returning home.
Beneath his bare steps, the flesh of the earth pulsed—faint heartbeats echoing from far below.
SYSTEM NOTICE: Devourer Trait [Predation Resonance] has reached Critical Threshold.
New Passive Unlocked: [Rotten Crown – Hollow God Aspect (Dormant)]
Description: The world recognizes your ascension. Decay itself serves your will. All plant-based and fungal life may now act as conduits of surveillance, support, or aggression within a 300-meter radius.Note: Activates fully once your [Core of Emptiness] awakens.
Null's gaze fell on the central node of the basin—a pulsating knot of intertwined roots the size of a castle, glowing with crimson sap. It reeked of godblood, corrupted essence, and something older… a scream buried in wood.
He stepped closer.
A voice—raw and thunderous—cracked through the hollows.
"Devourer… or Deliverance?"
The voice echoed from the mouth of a withered, humanoid creature embedded in the root core. Its bark-flesh had peeled back to reveal an ancient druid, eyes gouged out, but glowing with dying nature mana.
"You're not meant to be here," the creature gasped. "You're not… natural."
Null tilted his head, eyes narrowing.
"No," he said. "I'm inevitable."
With one motion, he raised a hand.
The ground beneath the druid boiled with rot. Fungal blooms erupted, releasing clouds of violet deathspores. The druid screamed—not in pain—but reverence.
"You… truly are the Hollow Sovereign…"
SYSTEM EVENT: Core Guardian of Root Basin has been consumed.
Unique Skill Acquired: [Verdant Sacrilege] (Tier Unknown)
You may reverse the nature of life-based spells within a radius. Growth becomes withering. Healing becomes decay. Nature will cannibalize itself in your presence.
The vines around Null slithered up his arms like worshippers. They didn't strangle—they offered themselves, pulsing, alive. The world bowed.
He inhaled deeply as if tasting the magic in the air.
But the moment shattered.
A tremor.
A real one.
Then a chorus of distant, metallic screeches—not born of nature, but from the High Order's constructs. Clockwork exorcists. Platinum-armored purifiers. Templars of the Spirelight Vault.
They were descending.
The system flickered again.
WARNING: Tier-6 Sanctified Assault Squad en route. Estimated arrival: 7 minutes.
Null smiled.
"Let them come."
He turned and stepped deeper into the basin's core.
The Root Chamber Reckoning was just beginning.