Chapter 91: Mission Upgrade
The heavy door clicked shut, and the sounds from the village vanished. It was just the two of them now, with the quiet crackle of the fire pit between them. Fena walked over to one of the simple wooden chairs and sat down, her earlier anger replaced by a deep, weary concern.
She gestured to the chair opposite her.
"Sit," she said. Her voice was still commanding, but the edge was gone.
He sat, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, his eyes fixed on her. "So," he started, "you were saying something about a dying tree."
She let out a long breath, her gaze lost in the flames for a moment. "It is not just the tree," she began, her voice low. "The Great Root is the heart of this forest. Its sickness is a symptom of a larger problem. A rot that has been spreading for a long time."
"How long is a long time?"
"For over a hundred of your years," she said. "It started subtly. A patch of trees that would wither for no reason. A stream that would run sluggish and dark. Our chanters could feel it, a coldness in the lifeblood of the woods. A slow, creeping decay."
She looked up from the fire, her dark eyes meeting his. "We fought it. We held it back. For generations, it was a stalemate. The Rot would advance, and we would push it back. It was a constant struggle, but one we could manage."
He just listened, his expression unreadable.
"Then," she said, her voice dropping even lower, "about a week ago, everything changed."
Nox’s focus sharpened. ’A week ago?’ he thought. ’That was the day the world went crazy. The day the System started.’