The entrance to Abyss Hollow yawned before them like a wound in the world.
Elira tightened the straps on her cloak, pulling the Verdant Fang sword free from its sheath. Beside her, Caelum flexed his claws, his muscles coiled with tension. Even the forest behind them seemed reluctant to approach this cursed place.
The Hollow's gentle mist turned to a heavy, choking fog here. Each breath was laced with the scent of iron and rot.
"Stay close," Elira whispered.
"I don't plan on leaving your side," Caelum answered, his voice low, feral.
They stepped forward.
Immediately, the ground changed—blackened roots twisted into grotesque shapes under their boots. Whispering winds curled around them, voices murmuring secrets too old to understand.
Above them, the trees were dead.
No leaves.
No birds.
Just skeletal arms reaching skyward in silent agony.
Elira tightened her grip on her sword. Every instinct screamed for her to run. But she pressed on, guided by the glowing map etched into her memory.
At the Hollow's heart, they found it.
The second sigil.
It was different from the first—larger, deeper, carved into the very bones of the earth. Blood seeped from the cracks in the stones, pooling in unnatural patterns.
And there, standing over it, was the creature.
It was monstrous—easily twice Caelum's height, its body an amalgamation of beast and shadow. Muscles rippled beneath cracked, bark-like skin. Eyes—too many to count—opened along its sides, each burning with a cruel light.
It opened a mouth lined with jagged teeth and let out a sound that wasn't a roar.
It was a laugh.
"Welcome, Seedbreakers," it said, its voice a thousand whispers layered into one. "Welcome to your undoing."
Elira raised her sword. "We're not afraid of you."
Caelum growled, half-shifting into his beast form. His hands became claws, his eyes golden slits.
The Rootborn beast smiled wider.
"Good," it whispered. "Fear spoils the flesh. And you, little ones, smell so... ripe."
It charged.
The battle exploded.
The beast moved faster than its size suggested—leaping toward Caelum with terrifying speed. Caelum met it head-on, their clash shaking the earth. Claws raked against hardened skin. Teeth snapped inches from throats.
Elira darted around the creature, striking at its legs, its flanks, anywhere she could find an opening.
Each blow she landed caused the beast to howl—but not in pain.
In joy.
"You cannot kill what is already born of death!" it roared.
The creature slammed a massive fist into the ground, sending out a shockwave. Elira was thrown back, slamming into a twisted tree trunk. Pain flared through her ribs, but she forced herself up.
Caelum snarled, lunging again, slashing at the beast's neck. His claws drew dark, viscous blood—but the creature only laughed harder.
"You are strong," it hissed. "But you are few. And I... I am legion!"
From the sigil, shadows rose—twisted mockeries of wolves, bears, and humans, all fused with black root and thorn. They charged.
Elira and Caelum stood back to back.
"No running?" Caelum asked, panting.
"Not a chance," Elira said grimly.
Together, they fought.
Sword and claw.
Light and fury.
Every slash, every strike, pushed them closer to the sigil's heart.
But the beasts kept coming.
For every shadow they struck down, two more rose.
"We can't win like this!" Caelum shouted over the din.
Elira narrowed her eyes at the massive Rootborn, still watching, still laughing.
"We don't have to kill it," she said. "We just have to seal it."
"But how?"
Elira's mind raced back to the Warden's Edge… to the Seers' words.
"The sigil is the key. As long as it breathes, so does the beast."
The sigil.
They had to destroy the sigil!
"Elira!" Caelum barked, catching her as a shadow beast nearly took her from behind.
"We have to reach the sigil!" she shouted.
Understanding flashed in his eyes.
Without hesitation, Caelum threw her into the air—straight toward the heart of the corrupted seal.
Elira spun midair, the Verdant Fang gleaming green as living fire.
She slammed the blade down.
The sigil shrieked—a sound that tore through flesh, stone, and sky.
The ground cracked.
The Rootborn beast howled, its body dissolving into mist and clawed memories.
The shadow creatures turned to ash, blown away on a non-existent wind.
Elira landed hard, rolling to her feet.
When the dust cleared, the sigil was shattered.
The Hollow grew still once more.
They stood there, breathing heavily, bloodied but victorious.
Elira wiped her blade clean.
Caelum limped toward her, grinning despite the bruises and gashes on his arms.
"You're insane," he said.
"And you love it," she replied, smirking weakly.
He chuckled, then pulled her into a tight embrace.
For a moment, they simply held each other.
Alive.
Together.
But in the distance, a new sound rumbled—a low, deep boom that shook the trees.
A third sigil.
The final Rootborn.
Awakening.
Elira pulled back from Caelum, eyes burning with determination.
"This isn't over," she said.
"No," Caelum agreed, his voice low. "It's just beginning."