As the last echoes of the Trial faded, the earth beneath the final platform trembled again.
A circle of ancient runes flared beneath Ethan's boots, reacting to both the Earth Flame's Blessing and the Dragon Slayer Sword at his back. The ground cracked open in a spiral, revealing a staircase etched with glowing green and gold symbols. Faint tendrils of spirit fog curled from below, pulsing with deep elemental force.
The Earth Flame wasn't the true prize,
Ethan murmured.
It was a key.
Elena, still crackling with frost-thunder aura, looked into the mist and said, Whatever lies below
it's calling to your bloodline.
Without hesitation, Ethan stepped into the unknown, the others trailing warily behind. As they descended, the air changed growing not colder or hotter, but deeper. Elemental energy thickened like fog, ancient and wild.
They emerged into a vast cavern—the Verdant Hollow, a hidden underground forest teeming with glowing trees, floating spirit-lilies, and luminous butterflies. In the center stood a colossal, rune-covered tree the Verdant Lifepulse Tree, an ancient guardian of nature's spiritual veins.
But its glow was dim, and the roots twisted unnaturally.
Suddenly, a monstrous roar shattered the peace. From the corrupted roots burst a nightmarish creature a Nature-Warped Abyssal Chimera, a fusion of twisted vines, bones, and molten rock. Its eyes were pitch-black voids, and it exuded both spiritual energy and abyssal rot.
By the heavens,
Kieran hissed, drawing his Void piercer Blade.
It's feeding on both the Verdant Tree and Earth Flame remnants!"
Miral Shan warned.
Ethan's eyes narrowed, We end it. Now.
The battle ignited.
The beast lunged, snapping its tail like a whip made of black thorns. Elena shot forward, lightning laced with frost, slamming into its flank. Sparks exploded, but the creature didn't flinch instead, it regenerated using corrupted nature qi.
Daro Flamehart erupted with molten fury, punching into the beast's ribbed chest. The blow cracked its armor but black vines surged to wrap his arms, trying to infect his core.
Tch it's absorbing qi!
he growled.
Ethan charged, Dragon Slayer Sword blazing. With a roar, he activated the Earth Flame Seal, coating the blade in green-gold fire and slicing through the vines to free Daro. But the beast struck back, tail slamming Ethan through a stone outcrop.
Elena flew to his side, eyes blazing with emotion.
You alright?
Ethan wiped blood from his mouth and stood. This thing's a fusion of fire, nature, and Abyss it needs to be unraveled, not just destroyed.
The beast roared again and its roar summoned reinforcements. From the cavern's walls burst three Abyssal Wraith-Beasts, clawed horrors woven from spirit fog and shadow.
Split up
Ethan Said,
Kieran intercepted a Wraith-Beast, clashing blade against blade. Miral formed a multi-layer jade dome to contain another, using her spirit stones as anchors. Elena and Lira battled the third, alternating frost and thunder pulses to sever its limbs.
Meanwhile, Ethan pushed toward the main chimera.
Planting the Dragon Slayer Sword in the ground, he drew from both his Nature's Pact and the Earth Flame Seal. Flames erupted in spiraling vines around him. He closed his eyes, focused, and unleashed a fusion domain.
Within it, time seemed to slow. Fire, life, and sword intent merged. The corrupted qi around the chimera unraveled, its regeneration halted.
Elena sensed the shift and struck with precision. Her lightning spiraled through Ethan's domain, carried like a wave. Daro landed another molten strike. Finally, Ethan burst through the haze, his sword glowing like a rising sun.
With a deafening cry, he slashed downward.
Dragon Flame Severance.
The blow split the chimera in half. Black ichor exploded into the air, sizzling before dissolving into mist. The corrupted energy dispersed. Silence fell.
Then the Verdant Lifepulse Tree pulsed once golden light flooding its bark. The vines straightened. The butterflies returned.
The tree shed a single glowing spirit fruit, which floated into Ethan's hand. As he touched it, his core blazed refining, tempering.
He had begun the awakening of a third resonance.