The soft rustle of leaves echoed through Eldenroot as Sid and Mira stepped out of the Oddball Trainer's home. The peculiar test had finally ended, and Sid could still feel the tingling echo of magic under his skin. His heart was pounding, not from fear, but from the unmistakable feeling of connection—like something vast had shifted inside him.
Mira glanced sideways. "You alright? You were glowing back there. Literally."
Sid flexed his fingers, watching faint trails of green energy dissipate. "I think... yeah. I'm starting to feel like I belong here."
"Good," she said with a soft nod. "Because this next part might be tougher."
They continued walking through the pulsating village. As the wind passed, the trees whispered softly, as if aware of Sid's transformation. Eldenroot itself had grown warmer to him, no longer observing him with ancient suspicion but with curious amusement. The once unsettling architecture of living houses, humming shrubs, and bioluminescent pathways now felt like the heartbeat of something familiar.
Mira led him down a narrow vine-covered alley that twisted behind the central glade, deeper into the forested edge of the village. They walked in silence, save for the crunch of moss beneath their boots and the occasional chitter of glowing squirrels.
Finally, she stopped in front of what looked like a hollowed-out stump, wide enough for three men to stand shoulder-to-shoulder inside. She placed a hand on the stump's surface. It shimmered, revealing a swirling green spiral, much like a portal.
"This is where you'll connect with the Verdant Thief," Mira explained. "You passed the test of synergy, now you need to face its origin."
Sid raised a brow. "Origin? You mean..."
"Every misfit has a root," she said. "Bob warped the world around him, but the Thief is different. He's tied to the hidden cycles of nature, the forgotten trails, the old shadows between trees. To understand him, you must go where he was born."
Sid swallowed hard. "So, what's inside?"
"An echo. A memory loop. The Thief's first theft, the first thread of the chaos he brings. You'll be pulled into that echo. See it. Live it. Learn from it. And maybe, you'll start to see why you summoned him."
He reached out slowly, hand trembling just a little. The moment his fingertips touched the portal, it pulsed, then swallowed him whole.
---
The world reformed in a heartbeat.
Sid stumbled as he landed in a forest unlike anything he'd seen before. The trees were taller than castles, their trunks braided like rope, and the canopy glowed with translucent colors. The air shimmered with green light, and creatures of every shape and absurdity drifted silently around him.
He heard the rustle.
He turned.
There, slipping through the trees, was a younger version of the Verdant Thief. No scars. No trophies. Just a wiry, wild-eyed spirit gliding on weightless paws, chasing after something invisible.
Sid followed.
He moved silently, ducking under flowering branches, through ferns that hummed music when brushed. The forest bent and opened, welcoming him but never revealing too much.
Eventually, the Thief stopped. A clearing opened before them.
In its center was a radiant shrine. Vines curled protectively around it, and atop a glowing stone pedestal lay a single object: a pendant, forged from a deep emerald, pulsing with a slow rhythm. Something about it felt ancient. Important.
And forbidden.
The Thief's ears perked. He hesitated.
Then, he leapt.
With a flick of his tail and a whisper of wind, he snatched the pendant.
The world screamed.
The forest howled in pain. Trees bent backward. The air cracked. The pendant exploded in green fire, and the Thief was hurled back. The sky dimmed. And from the shadows, something awoke.
Sid felt it before he saw it. A presence. Cold and furious.
A towering wraith-like beast of bark and shadow rose from the roots, its face a cracked mask of leaves. It bellowed a name not in words but in memory. A curse.
And the Thief—now burnt, scared, and limping—ran.
So did Sid.
He wasn't in control here. He could only watch, experience the terror his summon once felt.
They ran.
Through caves of crystal, through rivers that flowed backward. The Thief stumbled, dragged one leg, but never let go of the pendant. It glowed against his chest. Brighter. Brighter. Brighter.
Sid began to understand.
The pendant wasn't a prize. It was a promise. A seed. The Thief hadn't stolen it for power.
He saved it.
And now, the forest—once protector of balance—wanted it back, corrupted by something darker, something deeper. The Thief had fled to keep it safe.
And perhaps... fate had chosen Sid to finish what began here.
---
Suddenly, the echo shifted.
The chase ended.
Sid stood alone in a vast grove. Moonlight pierced the canopy in slivers. The Thief, older now, stood ahead, his body bearing scars and patches. The pendant still hung from his neck.
He turned slowly and faced Sid.
No words. Just eyes.
A test of understanding.
Sid stepped forward. The world blurred and reformed again. Now, they stood within a realm not bound by time or place. A symbolic arena. A test of connection.
Sid raised his hand. The Thief mimicked. Energy pulsed between them.
Sid remembered what the Oddball Trainer had said:
> Don't try to control the weird. Befriend it. Harness it.
So he did. He didn't command. He opened himself. Let his memories flow. His fears. His doubts. His small victories. His loneliness.
The Thief stepped closer.
Sid felt the bond tightening. The mischief. The cunning. The playful chaos. It wasn't about theft. It was about taking what was forgotten. Restoring lost things. Reminding the world of the unseen.
The pendant glowed once more.
> [Bond Upgrade: Verdant Thief - Evolution Unlocked] [New Ability: Echo Step - Steal a memory from the environment and turn it into a physical object.]
Sid's eyes widened.
The pendant floated toward him. He accepted it, feeling its pulse match his own.
---
He woke up gasping, flat on his back inside the old tree stump.
Mira was crouched beside him, concern in her eyes. "You're back."
Sid sat up, panting. He clutched the real pendant now, glowing softly in his hand.
"I saw it all," he whispered. "Why he took it. Why he ran. What he protected."
Mira's eyes widened as she recognized the artifact. "The Seed Pendant. The forest lost that centuries ago. Everyone thought it was destroyed."
Sid looked ahead. The trees bent toward him slightly.
"It survived. Because of him. Because he believed something still needed to grow."
Verdant Thief emerged from the shadows, calmer, older somehow. He looked at Sid, and for the first time, bowed slightly.
Their bond had changed.
Sid stood slowly, Mira at his side.
And deep within Eldenroot, the forest itself sighed.
A new kind of weirdness had taken root.
The green pulse beneath Sid's feet shifted tone.
It deepened.
Vibrated.
And then broke open.
He and Mira dropped through the forest floor as if it had become water, the light blinding. But it wasn't falling—not truly. It was descent into sensation, into something deeper than space.
When they finally landed, it wasn't with a thud. It was like arriving inside a thought.
---
The world around them shimmered with an emerald glow. They stood inside a translucent bubble nestled within roots so ancient they pulsed like veins. The environment was fluid yet solid, like memory rendered in form.
Sid looked around. "This is… inside Verdant Thief's memory?"
Mira stepped forward cautiously, eyeing the tree branches that moved like arms, reaching in slow circles. "Not just memory," she said. "This is a spirit echo. The Verdant Thief isn't just showing us what happened—we're experiencing the emotional truth of its past."
They both turned as a scene began forming before them. Like mist curling into shape, figures emerged from the ether. Sid saw what looked like a young elf child standing near a glowing sapling, its leaves like shards of light. The child was laughing, tossing something small to a raccoon—a baby version of the Verdant Thief.
Sid stepped forward. "So it was once a normal raccoon?"
Mira nodded. "Looks like it. Or maybe not so normal. Look at the glow in its eyes."
They watched as the child trained the creature, feeding it nuts, encouraging it to leap from tree to tree. The bond between them was visible, a pulsing tether of green energy that shimmered like a thread of light.
Then the sky shifted.
Darkness bled into the memory like ink dropped into water.
A fire. Screams. Shadows descending.
Bandits? Soldiers?
No, worse.
Men and women in ceremonial robes with corrupted staves. A cult.
They stormed the sacred grove, cutting down saplings, capturing beasts. The child screamed, clutching the raccoon, trying to run.
Sid felt the surge of panic. He could almost hear Verdant Thief whimpering in his own mind.
The raccoon lunged at one of the attackers. The cultist batted it aside, but not before the creature stole something—a small talisman, glowing dark red.
Then the world turned white.
---
Sid gasped, staggering back.
The bubble shifted again. Another scene took form.
This time the raccoon was older, wilder. It had grown into something in between nature and trickster spirit. It had developed its powers—stealing not only physical objects but energy, memories, even shadows. Sid watched as it danced between trees, lifting stolen goods from around the world—not to hoard them, but to hide them.
It was guarding something.
"It kept the talisman," Mira murmured. "It knew that cult wanted it. So it became a thief, hiding it again and again, shifting places so no one could trace it."
Another ripple.
Now the Verdant Thief was being hunted.
Mages. Rangers. Beasts corrupted by darkness.
Each time, the Thief evaded them, leaving behind harmless chaos. Missing trinkets. Swapped items. But never anything truly harmful.
Sid felt a swell of admiration. "It wasn't stealing for mischief. It was protecting something."
Mira's eyes narrowed. "Or protecting someone. That child?"
The scene faded again, now showing a long passage of solitude. The Thief curled in forgotten tree hollows. Buried in leaves. Stealing warmth from torches. Eyes always alert.
Until one day—
A boy stumbled through a portal. Clueless. Weird. With the scent of new world magic on him.
Sid.
And the Thief had watched. Had chosen.
"It saw me," Sid whispered. "And it decided to join me."
Mira nodded slowly. "It recognized something. Not power. Not blood. But intent."
---
The scene shifted again—more violently this time.
They stood before a decaying grove. The roots here were blackened, twitching unnaturally. In the center was the talisman—corrupted now. Thrumming with red light.
The Thief stood before it, growling. Trembling. As if afraid to touch it.
A voice echoed through the memory.
Not words.
But hunger. Twisted longing. A psychic pressure.
Sid flinched. Mira clutched her head.
The talisman pulsed again.
The Thief turned—and looked directly at Sid.
And spoke.
Not with a mouth. But directly, soul to soul.
"It still hunts me. It knows I am bound to you now. It wants out. It wants through you."
Sid staggered back. "What is that thing?"
Mira swallowed. "A piece of a higher curse. A seal from something ancient. Probably locked away in fragments across dimensions. Your summon is carrying one of them."
The Thief continued:
"If it uses you, it will open. The seal will weaken. But if we stay together... I can help you contain it. Perhaps even destroy it one day."
Sid stared. The truth was heavy. Terrifying.
He nodded slowly. "Then we stay together."
The memory around them shattered.
---
Back in the real world, Sid awoke with a start.
The forest above Eldenroot shimmered.
Verdant Thief sat on a branch, silent, unmoving. For once, it wasn't stealing. Wasn't fidgeting.
It simply looked down at him.
Sid raised a hand.
It jumped into his arms.
---
> [Bond Enhanced: Verdant Thief has reached Sync Level 2.] [New Ability Gained: Veilshift] [New Passive: Talisman Lock - A dormant curse is held within your summon. Prevents enemy entities from tracking you via magical means.]
---
Later that night, Sid and Mira sat beneath one of Eldenroot's watching trees. The fire between them crackled softly, casting long shadows.
Mira stirred the flames. "You handled that better than most would."
Sid stared into the fire. "It hurts knowing my summon has been running all its life. And now it's risking itself for me."
"You're its summoner now," Mira said. "And it chose you. Not out of desperation. Out of hope."
Sid looked up at the sky.
Somewhere out there, whatever was sealed in that talisman still existed.
And now, it had noticed him.
He exhaled slowly.
"Good," he muttered. "Let it come. I've got the weirdest team this world has ever seen."
Verdant Thief sneezed.
Somewhere, a falling star changed direction.