Chapter 168: The last gate
Haa... haa...
Clayton breathe heavily as he struggled to regulate his breathing.
Once again, this Trial tested him in ways that he was not used to. This time, to survive the second phase, all he actually had to do to stabilize his team was to become a therapist.
’What the f*ck!’
This was how Clayton felt but to survive, he had to do it. To make sure his companions survive, and to make sure the thousands of souls in his Rootsite survived, he had to do it and so he did it.
The fissure flared bright, then folded shut again as roots and alloy began weaving together in a single seal.
The battlefield froze.
Then the two armies halted mid-strike, fading into streams of light.
The Preserver Lord and Ascendant Lord looked at Clayton, their eyes hollow, before dissolving into motes that sank into the wound.
Silence reigned, then the system notification followed.
~----~
[Phase II Complete.]
[Unity sustained. Fracture stabilized.]
~----~
They took a few moments to catch their breath and regulate their breathing.
And as they did, they watched the sealed fissure glow once before going dim.
Silence stretched across the battlefield, a silence so deep it pressed on their lungs. The Preservers and Ascendants were gone, erased like dust on the wind. Even the sky had cleared, green and crimson bleeding into a pale, endless gray.
Clayton wiped sap from his cheek with the back of his hand. His chest heaved, his roots ached, but he could still stand. So could the others, barely.
They had endured.
They had united.
But the trial wasn’t done.
The ground split again, this time clean and deliberate as a ring of light etched itself into the soil beneath them, wide enough to swallow cities.
Glyphs spun around the ring in wild patterns that were different from the others. Not fractured, not chaotic, but purposeful.
Then, the system’s voice struck like a hammer.
DING!
~----~
[Phase II: Complete.]
[Fracture stabilized.]
...
[Phase III Initiated.]
[The Last Gate Opens.]
~----~
’The last gate?’
Clayton thought as the battlefield crumbled away. All the roots, spires, and fissures were gone in a blink almost like they were never there.
Now, they stood in a vast chamber unlike anything they had seen before. It wasn’t natural, nor was it wholly mechanical. The walls pulsed with both sap and molten alloy, weaving together into a harmony that should have been impossible.
At the center stood a single gate.
Towering and circular, its surface was a mirror of shifting light, reflecting not their bodies but their Aspects.
When he looked though, Clayton didn’t see his own face in it.
What he saw were roots, endless roots, green and alive, surging outward like veins across a world.
As for Torren, when he looked he saw fire, wild and consuming. Veyra saw arrows, their infinite flight trajectories converging into one. As for Kaelin, he saw shadows twisting, formless yet sharp.
Soren saw a blade burning white while Harrick saw a spear that pierced sky and ground with imperious might. Mirra saw hands of light knitting wounds together, mending not just flesh but the world itself.
Each reflection pulsed once, then bled into the gate.
Then, the system spoke again.
DING!
~----~
[Phase III: Final Directive.]
[To pass, you must embody unity beyond fracture.]
[Face the Guardian and survive the Last Gate.]
~----~
The gate shuddered as soon as the system message was read as light flared. And from its mirrored surface, something stepped forward.
It was not root, neither was it steel.
It was both root and steel, but not dominantly either.
It was a colossal figure larger than Korrath’s biomechanical form, and it took shape as it stepped out.
Its body was wrapped in vines that glowed with molten veins of alloy, its eyes burning like twin furnaces. Where its heart should have been pulsed a sphere of pure Genesis energy, shifting colors with every beat.
["The Guardian"]
The name rang in their heads like a commandment.
They had not met it before, but they instinctively understood what it was. It was the embodiment of the wound that was healed, but it came demanding proof that the healing could endure.
Clayton’s breath hitched. ’The heck?!’
His instincts screamed. This wasn’t just another Behemorph or enemy Verdant Lord, this was Echoterra’s will itself, forged into trial.
He met similar existences during Trial I, so he was not surprised.
The Guardian’s voice was neither voice nor echo. It was the rumble of earth, the grind of gears, and the whisper of leaves.
"Unity... is fragile," it said, its voice rumbling like thunder. "Show me it holds when pressured".
Then it moved.
KABOOM!
Its first strike nearly flattened them as the Guardian’s hand, a fusion of claw and gauntlet, slammed into the ground with devastating power.
The shockwave hurled Clayton back, thorns shredding from his bark-armor as he crashed against the wall.
"Spread out!" Torren roared immediately, his fire already blazing as he swung his Pyreaxe at the Guardian’s leg.
On collision, sparks flew even as the roots became scorched, but the giant barely staggered.
Veyra fired three arrows in rapid succession.
Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...
They struck true, exploding in bursts of emerald fire but the Guardian simply turned its head, unimpressed. One massive hand swept sideways, the gale of the motion throwing Veyra off her feet.
Kaelin darted in from behind, his shadow blades slicing at its ankles.
For a heartbeat, he thought he saw tendons snap. Then the Guardian’s roots re-knitted instantly, closing the wound.
"...!" Kaelin retreated in shock.
Soren roared, his Emberblade blazing white as he leapt and drove the weapon down on the Guardian’s shoulder. The impact split armor, molten sap spraying, only for the giant to seize him midair and hurl him like a ragdoll.
Mira’s scream cut through the chaos as she raced to catch him, her Aspect already weaving light into his broken ribs.
Clayton staggered upright, blood in his mouth.
His mind raced.
This wasn’t just a fight of strength. The Guardian wasn’t here to be killed, it was here to test their unity. If they fought separately, they’d all die.
He shouted over the chaos. "Listen to me!"
"Alone we can’t scratch it. Together, we cut it down!"
His eyes locked on Torren. "You set the rhythm."
Then he looked at Veyra. "You open the wounds."
Then at Kaelin. "You keep it blind."
Then at Soren. "You finish the strikes."
To Harrick, he said. "You anchor us."
And then at Mirra. "You keep us alive."
"And me?" Torren barked.
Clayton raised Regalia, its spear-tip blazing green with his Aspect as his voice became iron. "I hold the line!"
They moved as one.
WHOOSH!
Torren charged first, Pyreaxe igniting into a blazing arc. His strike smashed into the Guardian’s leg, forcing it to shift. Veyra’s arrows followed instantly, piercing the exposed joints, her explosions cracking armor.
Kaelin blurred into shadow, leaping onto its back as he slashed at its eyes. The Guardian roared, blinded for a heartbeat.
That heartbeat was all Soren needed. His Emberblade cleaved downward, biting deep into the chest just beside the glowing core.
"Now, Harrick!" Clayton shouted.
The spear fighter slammed his weapon into the Guardian’s knee, pinning it down. The giant staggered, forced lower, its movements slowed.
And then Clayton’s roots surged as Regalia drove into the cracked chest, thorns exploding outward to bind the wound open.
"Mirra!" Clayton gasped.
Her hands burned with light, not healing this time but amplifying.
She poured her Aspect into Clayton’s roots, feeding them with radiant energy until they glowed white-hot.
The Guardian bellowed, its chest splitting wider under the combined force.
For the first time, it faltered.
But it wasn’t done.
The Guardian’s core pulsed violently, and vines of molten alloy erupted outward. One lashed Veyra across the side, sending her sprawling with blood at her lips. Another slammed into Harrick, breaking his spear and his arm in one blow.
"Stay up!" Clayton shouted, panic tearing through his voice.
Torren intercepted the next strike, flames surging higher than ever. "We’re not breaking now!"
Kaelin dragged Veyra clear. Soren, ribs still raw, pushed himself to his feet, while Mirra split her attention, healing with one hand, shielding with the other.
They were battered, bleeding, but still standing.
The Guardian’s voice rumbled again. "Unity... or ash?"
Clayton’s eyes burned.
He felt his Heartseed Core flare, brighter than ever before. He pressed roots deeper into the Guardian’s chest wound, every fiber of his being screaming.
"Then we’ll show you unity!" he roared.
"Torren, burn it! Veyra, strike true! Soren, cut deep! Kaelin, blind it! Harrick, hold it still! Mirra, tie us together!"
He called to all of them, and they answered.
Flame, arrow, blade, shadow, spear, and light all surged at once as their Aspects braided into one single strike, one heartbeat.
KABOOM!
The Guardian howled as the combined force ripped through its core.
The sphere of Genesis energy cracked, split, and finally shattered in an explosion of blinding light.
When the glare faded, the Guardian was gone. The gate stood open.
The system’s voice fell like a verdict.
DING!
~----~
[Phase III Complete.]
[Trial III Cleared.]
[Verdant Warden Ascension Unlocked.]
~----~
Clayton dropped to his knees, gasping, but he couldn’t stop smiling through the blood on his lips. Around him, his companions stood battered, burned, and bleeding, but they were all alive.
They had done it, together.
The gate pulsed, beckoning them forward. The path home was stronger than ever. But before that, the system pulsed again.
DING!