Chapter 34: The First Steps into the Unknown
The day after the Binding Ritual, the world felt different.
Colors seemed sharper.
Sounds crisper.
Even the very air vibrated against Riku's skin like a song only he could hear.
He wasn't the only one.
Airi looked lighter somehow, like a burden had been lifted.
Kaoru, normally so rigid and guarded, wore a faint, almost boyish grin.
Something inside all of them had changed —
not just strength, but purpose.
And it was time to move forward.
---
They stood at the edge of the field, where the scarlet blooms gave way to darker, twisted trees.
Toma, still weak but awake, leaned on a staff Kaoru had fashioned for him.
"You don't have to come," Riku said gently.
But Toma shook his head.
"I have nowhere else to go," he said, voice rough.
"I owe you my life. If you'll have me... I want to fight with you."
Airi gave a soft laugh, tossing her hair back.
"Well, you're already better company than Kaoru."
Kaoru scowled, but didn't argue.
Riku smiled.
"Then let's go."
---
The path ahead was treacherous.
The trees were massive and ancient, their bark blackened and twisted.
Strange vines coiled along the ground, some twitching at their passing.
The sky above was a constant swirling gray, and the air smelled faintly metallic — like blood.
It wasn't long before they realized the forest was alive.
---
The first attack came without warning.
A branch whipped toward Airi like a striking snake —
she barely ducked, the wood slicing a few strands of hair.
Kaoru responded instantly, swinging his makeshift spear and severing the branch.
The tree let out a low, grinding growl — and suddenly dozens of vines lashed out.
Riku moved on instinct.
He focused on the warmth inside his chest — the seed of the Bloom —
and let it flow outward.
Scarlet light flared from his hands, forming a shimmering shield.
The vines bounced harmlessly off it.
Airi grinned.
"Show-off," she muttered, charging forward.
---
The battle was chaotic.
Toma fought clumsily, his injuries slowing him down, but his spirit was unbreakable.
Kaoru defended him, standing like a wall between the vines and the wounded boy.
Meanwhile, Airi unleashed something new.
With a sharp motion, she summoned petals — razor-thin, swirling in a deadly cyclone around her.
Where they touched, the vines withered and died.
Riku focused on protecting them all, his shield expanding and pulsing with the rhythm of the Bloom.
Finally, with a last, screeching groan, the trees shuddered —
and fell silent.
The forest grew still once more.
---
Panting, bloodied, but victorious, they regrouped.
Sera appeared from the shadows, as calm as ever.
"Good," she said simply.
"You are beginning to understand."
"But be warned," she added, kneeling by a dead vine.
"This is nothing compared to the dangers ahead."
She held up a withered piece of the vine — and Riku saw that its core was rotted, black and pulsing faintly.
"The corruption is spreading," Sera said grimly.
"Deeper into the world — and deeper into yourselves, if you let it."
"The Hollowed aren't born from weakness," she said, eyes flashing.
"They're born from fear."
"And fear," she added, looking each of them in the eye,
"is the deadliest enemy of all."
---
They pressed on.
As they moved deeper into the forest, the trees grew stranger.
Some bore flowers — not the scarlet of the Bloom, but sickly pale yellows and greens.
Their scent was sweet at first... then cloying.
Rotten.
Toma stumbled once, retching.
Sera ordered them to cover their mouths with cloth.
"Poison spores," she explained.
"Designed to confuse. To turn you against each other."
They tied scraps of fabric around their faces and hurried on, careful not to breathe too deeply.
---
By nightfall, they found a clearing.
An ancient stone structure stood at its center — crumbling and moss-covered.
Sera gestured for them to rest.
"This was once a Seeker shrine," she said.
"A place of healing."
"But now..." she trailed off, gazing at the shattered statues.
Riku wandered closer, touching one of the broken stones.
It depicted a figure holding a staff, flowers blooming from its base.
Below the figure were ancient words, worn but still legible:
> "Only those who guard the Bloom may wield its strength."
He shivered.
The weight of history — of duty — pressed down on him.
---
That night, as they sat around a small fire, Kaoru spoke for the first time in hours.
"Why us?" he asked suddenly, voice low.
"Why were we chosen?"
Sera stirred the fire with a stick, her face thoughtful.
"You weren't chosen," she said.
"You chose."
"When you touched the Bloom, you opened yourselves to it."
"And it answered."
She looked at Riku in particular.
"Some are drawn by fate. Others by desperation.
But all Seekers make the same vow — to protect, even when it hurts."
Riku thought of his brother.
Of the Hollowed boy they fought.
He clenched his fists.
"I'll protect them," he whispered.
"No matter what it costs."
---
Far from the clearing, hidden deep within the woods, another group watched.
Figures cloaked in shadow, faces hidden by masks shaped like wilted flowers.
At their center stood a tall man, his mask carved into a grotesque smile.
"The Bloom King rises," he said, voice like silk over steel.
"But he will fall."
He raised a hand — and vines black as ink slithered forth, twisting into monstrous shapes.
"Prepare the trial."
"And bring me the boy."
---
Back at the shrine, Riku tossed in his sleep.
In his dreams, he saw a twisted version of the Bloom —
blackened and snarling, devouring everything in its path.
He heard a voice — distant and broken.
"Riku... help me..."
He jolted awake, gasping.
The fire had burned low.
Airi stirred beside him, mumbling in her sleep.
Kaoru stood watch, spear in hand, eyes sharp.
The forest beyond the shrine was utterly silent.
Too silent.
Riku's heart pounded.
Something was coming.
Something terrible.
And this time, it wouldn't just be vines and poison.
It would be the first true test of everything they had learned —
and of the strength they still didn't know they had.
---