"When the first crown was shattered, the world wept. When the second was buried, the world screamed. But when the third is chosen, the world will bleed." — From the Forbidden Verses of the UndercourtAfter the Root
Leo climbed from the underworld slowly, the shattered remains of the Root Below All Things left smoldering behind him.
In his hand was the seed.
Smooth. Cold. Pulsing faintly with violet light.
It wasn't victory.
It was a warning.
Vel'Kaarn no longer felt like ruins—it was something... new.
Not reborn. Not rebuilt.
Woken.
And waiting.
The sun cut through a blood-red sky.
Scorch limped beside him. Fang was silent. Coal's eyes never stopped scanning the horizon.
Leo felt it too.
A silence too sharp.
Like the world was holding its breath.
A Visitor in the Wind
The wind changed.
It spoke.
Not with words, but dread.
And from that wind came a figure—cloaked in a tapestry of smoke, crowned with antlers made of charred bone.
Its face was hidden beneath a mask shaped like a crying child.
It did not walk.
It glided.
Fang bristled instantly.
Scorch flared. Coal snarled.
The figure paused ten paces from Leo.
"You are not the first to break the root," it said. "But you are the first to survive it."
Leo didn't speak.
The figure extended a hand.
From its sleeve spilled ashes.
They shaped into nine symbols, rotating slowly.
"The Nine have seen you. The Black Heralds stir."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?"
It didn't answer.
Only this:
"The chain you snapped was only one link. The prison was never the root. It was the sky above."
And then it vanished.
The ashes fell to the ground and melted into the stone.
Across the World
Something changed in the bones of the earth.
And they responded.
1. In the Howling Marshes:
A girl with antlers of gold woke up screaming, her eyes weeping blood. She clawed a sigil into the mud and whispered, "He has the seed."
2. Beneath the Drowned Keep:
A coffin cracked open. The figure inside had no heart—only a hole where one used to be. It smiled and said, "The Wild King returns."
3. In the floating monastery of Yuun:
The monks tore out their tongues, one by one, screaming without sound. Their leader looked into the stars and murmured, "The Tamer has broken the pact."
4. At the Iron Church:
The twin popes split apart—literally—into twin armies of blind faithful. "War is born again," they sang in perfect harmony.
The Return to the Surface
Back on the surface, Leo and his companions crossed the lands once again.
But now… people saw them differently.
No longer a vagabond with strange pets.
Now whispers followed:
"The Thorned One."
"The Monster-King."
"The Chain-Breaker."
Villages that once feared monsters now offered Leo tribute.
Children touched his cloak and whispered thanks.
Others—priests, knights, nobles—watched from afar, lips curled in fear.
Leo didn't like it.
But he kept walking.
Because now he had a seed, a purpose, and something approaching a destiny.
The Seed and the Dream
At night, the seed pulsed harder.
And in his dreams, Leo saw them:
Nine thrones.
Nine figures.
Black Heralds, cloaked in ruin and memory.
One dripped ink that wrote history backward.
One wore chains made of dead stars.
One had no face—only a mouth that swallowed light.
One held a puppet shaped like Leo.
They sat in silence.
Then the one made of glass and screams spoke.
"Bring him to the Fold. Before the White Queen wakes."
And the dream shattered like glass underfoot.
The First Herald Appears
They reached a forest—once green, now gray.
The trees had no leaves, only hanging masks of people who had vanished.
At its center stood the First Herald.
Tall.
Armored in silence.
A blade floated beside it, never sheathed, never held.
Its face was covered in mirrors that reflected Leo's worst memories.
It spoke in a voice that was everyone Leo had ever failed.
"You broke the pact. You call beasts like brothers. You deny the chains. You are unworthy."
Leo stepped forward.
"I never wanted chains."
Scorch ignited. Fang crouched low. Coal prepared a spell.
But Leo raised a hand.
"I'll face him. Alone."
The Duel of Mirrors
The First Herald did not fight like any enemy before.
It didn't swing.
It reflected.
Every move Leo made, it mimicked.
But stronger. Faster. Cleaner.
Leo fought.
He slashed.
He dodged.
He bled.
But nothing worked.
Until he remembered the Root.
And dropped his weapon.
"Fight me as I am," he whispered. "Not as a shadow."
He opened his arms.
The Herald faltered.
Its mirrors cracked.
Because Leo had no mask to hide behind.
And the Herald shattered.
A New Thorn, A New Path
In its place, Leo found a mirror shard.
It glowed softly.
One of nine keys, he understood.
Each Herald had one.
And each key led to something far worse.
He looked toward the horizon.
Smoke curled in the shape of a crown.
A storm was gathering.