2025-09-10 20:55:36
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Chapter 91. The Shadow Crown
Kai sank to his knees, his arms wrapped around Amara’s limp body. Her head rested against his chest, her dark hair damp with black sap.“Amara…” His voice broke, shaking. His tears fell onto her pale face. “No. Please. Don’t leave me.”Her body was cold, her glow gone. The cocoon was shattered around them, its roots shriveled into ash.The Gardener’s laughter echoed through the cavern, low and rumbling like thunder. “So ends love. So begins soil. This is the crown you inherit, heir. All loss… all mine.”Kai clutched her tighter, his chest burning. “You did this. Not her. You.”The shadow behind him grew taller, darker, stretching across the cavern walls. “No, heir. You did this. With your own hand. With your own blade.”Kai shook violently, his teeth clenched. His heart screamed to deny it, but his mind replayed the moment, the sword piercing, the cocoon cracking, her cry. His hands trembled around her body. His scream tore through the hollow.Far above, Kevin floated in mid-air, his
Chapter 90. The Choice of Fire
Kai’s arms shook as he raised the sword above Amara’s cocoon. His breath came heavy, ragged. The air around him pulsed with the Gardener’s whispers. “Strike, heir. Set her free. Lose yourself.”The cocoon writhed as if alive. Black sap dripped down its roots, hissing when it touched the ground. The air stank of rot and fire.Inside, Amara’s pale face was pressed against the translucent walls. Her hair floated as if she were underwater. Her eyes flickered faintly, half open, glowing dim with life. “Kai…” her weak voice trembled. “If you love me… don’t set me free.”The words stabbed his chest like knives. His hands shook harder. “What do you mean?” His voice cracked. “I came for you. I can’t leave you here.”Her lips moved slowly, painfully. “I… am part of him now. If you cut me free… he will come with me.”Kai froze, the weight of her words sinking in. “No…” He shook his head fiercely. “That’s a lie. That’s just him twisting you.”But her faint smile was pained, sad. “I can feel him
Chapter 89. Edge of the Blade
Kai’s scream echoed through the abyss. His sword trembled above the phantom’s chest. Amara’s face looked up at him, eyes black, smile faint, voice soft. “Kai… don’t leave me.”His arms shook violently. Sweat and tears ran down his face. His heart thundered in his chest. “Are you… her?” His voice broke. “Or are you just him wearing her skin?”The phantom tilted her head. “Does it matter? If you strike, you lose her forever. If you hesitate, you lose yourself.”The Gardener’s laughter rumbled through the walls. “Yes! Feel the weight of it. This is the crown’s gift. No victory without loss. No heir without sacrifice.”Kai clenched his teeth, his sword wavering. His mind screamed at him to strike. His heart screamed at him to stop. He whispered, broken. “Amara… please… give me a sign.”The phantom reached up, brushing her fingers against his cheek. Her touch was warm, too real.Her black eyes flickered. For one heartbeat, he saw brown. Her real eyes. “Kai,” she whispered, her voice trembl
Chapter 88. The Vanishing Light
The silence after the clash was heavy. The abyss no longer roared. The storm of roots had vanished. The red cracks in the walls had dimmed, leaving only faint flickers of glow, and Kai stood alone.His chest rose and fell in ragged breaths. His sword hung limply in his hand, cracked, almost useless. His body shook from exhaustion, every muscle screaming, but none of that mattered, because Amara was gone. He spun, his eyes wild, searching the endless cavern. “Amara!”His voice echoed, bouncing back against the walls. No answer.He staggered forward, stumbling over broken roots and cracked stone. His hands scraped the floor as he fell to his knees. “No. No, no, no.”His voice broke. “You can’t leave me. Not now. Not after, ” His throat closed. He squeezed his eyes shut, tears forcing their way out. He pressed his fist to the ground, trembling. “Amara.”A faint chuckle rippled through the abyss. Kai froze. His head snapped up, eyes blazing.The Gardener’s voice seeped from the walls, l
Chapter 87. The Heir’s Choice
The abyss shuddered. Red cracks of light split across the dark stone walls, spreading like veins of fire. The air turned heavy, thick, almost choking, and at the center of it all floated Kai. His body was cracked with lines of white and black, light bleeding out like shattered glass. His face was torn between himself and the Gardener, one eye brown and desperate, the other endless and black.He reached out, his voice broken, trembling, torn in two. “Amara… help me… or kill me.”The words struck her like blades. Amara’s breath caught. Her hands trembled as her glow flickered around her. Every part of her wanted to run forward, to hold him, to tell him it would be okay, but she knew it wasn’t that simple.If she pulled him back, she risked losing herself. If she killed him, she risked losing everything.Her chest ached with the weight of the choice. “No…” she whispered. “Don’t make me choose this.”Kai’s body convulsed, his scream echoing. Roots erupted from his side, twisting, lashi
Chapter 86. Into the Abyss
Amara woke with her chest burning, her body lying on rough stone. Her glow had dimmed, flickering faint like a dying ember. She coughed hard, spitting dust from her lungs, and forced herself to sit up. The world around her was not the cavern anymore.She was in a vast hollow chamber, lit only by faint cracks of red light leaking through the stone walls. The air smelled of ash and rot, and the ground trembled as if something deep below still breathed.Her heart raced. “Kai?” she whispered. Her voice echoed. No answer.Her eyes darted around. No Lira. No Darius. No Kevin. She was alone. A cold fear settled in her stomach.Amara pressed her hand against her chest, trying to steady her breathing. She forced herself to stand, her legs shaking. The chamber stretched endlessly, with roots crawling along the walls like veins. Some twitched as if alive, others dripped with black sap that hissed when it touched the floor.She swallowed hard. Her first thought was Kai. His face. His scream. T
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