2025-08-31 19:13:12
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 84. The Hollow Crown
Darkness swallowed everything. Kai’s scream echoed through the cavern until it became a ragged breath. His knees hit the stone floor, his sword fell from his grip, and his hands clawed at his chest as if he could tear the roots out himself, but they were inside him now.They writhed through his veins, burning, twisting, digging deeper. His vision flickered between black fire and blinding light.He felt himself splitting. Half of him fought to stay. Half of him wanted to let go.“Kai!” Amara’s voice was sharp, broken. She knelt beside him, pressing glowing hands against his chest, trying to burn the roots away with her light.But the roots hissed and curled tighter, drinking her glow instead of fleeing. Her face twisted in horror. “No… no, no, no. Stay with me, Kai. Don’t let him in.”Kai tried to answer, but his mouth filled with blood. His eyes rolled back, and for a moment, Amara saw not Kai’s eyes, but the Gardener’s, cold, endless, ancient.She pulled him into her arms, holding h
Chapter 83. The Root of Truth
The dust had cleared, but the silence felt heavy, almost painful. Kai stood with his sword hanging by his side, chest heaving, body trembling from the fight with the beast. Amara leaned against him, her glow so faint now it seemed like it might vanish with the next breath, but the battle was not over.From the broken throne, the dust of the beast gathered into a single figure. It shaped itself into a tall man, pale and calm, with dark eyes that looked endless. A thin crown of faint light rested on his head. His movements were smooth, deliberate, as if he had all the time in the world.It was the Gardener. Not a monster made of roots. Not a beast of faces. Just a man, but somehow, that made him even more terrifying.Kai felt his throat tighten. He had wanted this moment, to face the true enemy, the root of everything. But standing there now, the weight of it pressed down on him harder than the beast ever had.The Gardener smiled faintly. His voice was soft, but it filled the whole p
Chapter 82. The Beast of Roots
The throne split apart with a deafening crack. Roots twisted and snapped as something enormous pulled itself free.The Gardener’s beast was not one form. There were many. Arms of stone. Wings of bone. Faces screaming across its chest. A tail made of roots and fire that whipped across the sky.The beast rose higher and higher until its head scraped the dome of green light above them. Its eyes burned like black suns, and every breath it exhaled sent waves of death across the ground.Kai and Amara stood small beneath it. Their light was bright, but it looked fragile compared to the endless size of the monster.The Gardener’s voice echoed from inside the beast, deep and broken. “This is eternity. This is what you cannot kill. This is every life, every soul, every failure. You will drown in it.”The beast roared, shaking the whole world. Kai’s chest felt like it would burst. The sheer weight of the beast’s presence pressed on him like a mountain. His sword trembled in his hand.Amara’s glo
Chapter 81. The Throne of Roots
The world shook as the Gardener rose from his throne of roots. He was tall. Taller than any man. His body looked like it was woven from branches and vines, his skin a shifting mass of bark and stone. His crown of green fire burned high, and his eyes were endless holes, black as death.The ground trembled under every step he took. Faces twisted in agony across his chest, thousands of souls trapped in his body, their screams leaking into the air like wind.Kai and Amara stood side by side, gripping each other’s hands, their light shining faint but steady. Kai whispered, “So this is him.”Amara’s voice shook. “The one behind everything.”The Gardener’s voice thundered like storm clouds: “You dare to reach me. You dare to burn through my prison. Foolish heirs. Do you not see? You are mine already. You were mine from the moment you were born.”Kai felt the words crawl into his chest, heavy and suffocating. His father’s voice echoed inside him: “You’ll never be enough.”The faces in the G
Chapter 80. The Prison of Memory
Kai and Amara fell through blackness. The air screamed past them, cold and endless, as if the abyss had no bottom. Their hands clung to each other, the only anchor in the void. Amara’s voice shook. “Kai, where are we going?”He tightened his grip. “Wherever he wants us. But we don’t let go.”Her light flickered weakly around them, small against the endless dark. Kai could feel her trembling, not from the wind but from fear.He pulled her closer. “We’re still together. That means he hasn’t won yet.” Finally, the fall ended.They hit the ground hard, landing on black stone. The impact echoed like thunder.Kai groaned, forcing himself up. His sword lay beside him. Amara sat up slowly, her glow faint but alive. They looked around. The place was not empty.It was a hall. Long, endless, with walls made of shifting mirrors, but these mirrors didn’t show their reflections.They showed their memories. Kai froze when he saw the first one. His father stood inside the glass, glaring at him, voice
Chapter 79. The Enemy Within
The creature stepped closer. It wore half of Kai’s face, stern and cold, the other half Amara’s, soft and glowing. Its body was tall, twisted with roots and fire, its hands clutching a sword of living wood wrapped in green flame.Its eyes glowed with both their colors, gold and green, yet burned with hunger. It grinned. The half of its mouth that was Amara’s whispered: “Love is weakness.”The half that was Kai’s thundered: “Trust is death.”Amara gasped, clutching Kai’s arm. “It… it’s us.”Kai tightened his grip on his sword. His jaw locked. “No. It’s not us. It’s him. Just another trick.”But deep in his chest, he felt the truth. This thing was made from pieces of them, their fears, their doubts, their sins, and it was alive.The hybrid rushed forward with inhuman speed. Its blade struck Kai’s, golden sparks flying. The ground cracked beneath them.Kai grunted, shoving back. But the hybrid’s strength was monstrous, far beyond his own.Amara raised her hands, summoning light, sending
You may also like
THE GREAT GENERAL
Ardy-sensei128.8K viewsThe Rise of a Master: It Starts With Rejection
Dreamy Fire234.0K viewsThe Consortium's Heir
Benjamin_Jnr1.6M viewsRevenge Of The Rejected Heir
Beautypete95.0K viewsRise Of The Secret Trillionaire Heir
Rare gem writes63.1K viewsVengeful Heir: The Rise of Ethan Bennett
Perpetual954 viewsTHE RETURN OF LIAM REYES
Ozieve129 viewsMaking a Comeback
Plainly Handsome22.0K views