Chapter 20: The Grove's Price
The lidless golden eye pulsed on the map, a cold, unblinking stare that seemed to bore directly into Kai's soul. The Choir knew. They'd traced the resonance of his Violet Qi and Silas's spatial energy back to the Verdant Maw. The hunt was no longer a matter of if, but when.
<< Heavenly Choir Scrying Confirmed. Trace Analysis: Residual Qi Signature (Violet/Spatial Hybrid). Tracking Vector: Active. Estimated Time to Host Location: 6-8 hours. >> << Recommendation: Immediate Relocation. Or stand still and make it easier for them. >>
"Relocation," Kai muttered, shoving the last of their supplies into his spatial pouch. The grotto, their brief sanctuary, was now a trap. Silas whined softly, nudging Kai's hand with his nose before darting to the spatial spring for one last drink. The Silverthread Blossoms seemed to dim, as if sensing the impending violation of their peace.
Kai activated the Anchor Stone map one last time. His eyes scanned past the flashing golden hammer of the outpost and the malignant golden eye over the Maw. He needed somewhere new. Somewhere potent enough to mask his signature and hopefully aid his recovery. His gaze landed on a cluster of three inert symbols about eight miles due east, deep in a region the map marked with faint, swirling patterns indicating heightened spatial volatility.
One symbol was a gushing fountain, another a cracked monolith, and the third, nestled between them, a grove of silver trees.
<< Location: The Singing Fens (High Spatial Volatility Zone). Points of Interest: Spirit Spring (Volatile), Ruined Observatory, Silverthread Grove (Mature). >> << Threat Assessment: High (Environmental Hazards, Spatial Tears, Unstable Fauna). Resource Potential: Very High. >>
A grove of Silverthreads. Mature. Not just blossoms, but full trees. The potential for stabilization, for power, was immense. But the risks… Spatial volatility could shred his already fragile meridians. And the Choir would expect him to seek powerful resources.
"It's a gamble, Silas," Kai said, pointing to the silver tree symbol. "But that… that could fix me. Properly." The shadowfox chirped, pressing his paw against the silver tree symbol on the map, then pointed east. His agreement was clear. High risk, high reward.
They slipped through the Voidbriar curtain for the last time, abandoning the grotto to the encroaching chill of the Choir's gaze. Kai moved with renewed purpose, the fully restored System a comforting hum in his mind, its analysis sharp and immediate. Silas scouted ahead, his spatial senses effortlessly navigating the increasingly twisted terrain as they moved east. The forest grew stranger. Trees bent at impossible angles. Patches of air shimmered like heat haze, distorting sound and sight. Once, Silas froze, forcing Kai to duck behind a rock as a silent Spatial Shear – a ribbon of distorted reality – sliced through the air where Kai's head had been, severing branches with clean, molecular precision.
<< Environmental Hazard: Transient Spatial Anomaly. Unpredictable. Lethal. >>
After hours of tense travel, the air changed. It grew thick, humid, and carried a low, pervasive hum—the sound of a billion tiny vibrations. The map's swirling patterns made sense. They stood at the edge of the Singing Fens. The ground turned soft and spongy, covered in thick, glowing moss. Strange, pitcher plants gurgled with iridescent fluid. In the distance, a geyser of shimmering, multi-hued water – the Spirit Spring – erupted silently, its spray hanging in the air like frozen glitter before vanishing into a shimmering tear in reality.
And there, on a stable island of rock amidst the volatile fen, stood the Silverthread Grove. A dozen trees, each twice Kai's height, their bark deep indigo and smooth as glass, their leaves a cascade of shimmering silver threads that tinkled softly in the distorted breeze. The air around them thrummed with profound, stable spatial energy. An oasis of calm in the chaos.
<< Target Acquired: Mature Silverthread Grove. Ambient Qi: Extreme (Spatial Stabilization). >> << Warning: Grove is self-contained ecosystem. Harvest may trigger defensive response. >>
The "defensive response" became immediately apparent. Patrolling the base of the island were three Jadeback Mantises. Each was the size of a large dog, their carapaces the color of mossy jade, their forelimbs razor-sharp scythes that gleamed with spatial sharpness. They moved with unnerving silence, their movements a blur of lethal precision.
<< Spirit Beasts: Jadeback Mantis (Tier-2). Attributes: Spatial Cloaking, Enhanced Speed, Monomolecular Scythes. Weakness: Vulnerable during prey strike (0.5-second cooldown). Pack Tactics. >>
Tier-2. Three of them. And Kai's stability was still a precarious 62%. A direct fight was suicide.
"Distraction and harvest," Kai whispered to Silas, eyeing the nearest tree, a magnificent specimen whose silver threads shimmered with palpable power. "You draw them off. I'll get a sample. We just need enough to make a potent salve."
Silas chirped, a sound of understanding. He focused, his form blurring, then split into three identical, shimmering afterimages – a basic Spatial Mirage technique. The three illusions darted in different directions along the edge of the fen, rustling the glowing moss. The Jadeback Mantises froze, then shot after the decoys with terrifying speed, their scythes slicing the air.
Now! Kai activated Heavenly Step, crossing the soft ground to the rocky island in a heartbeat. He reached for the nearest Silverthread tree, his hands glowing with Violet Qi to resonate with it, to politely ask for a branch. But as his fingers neared the bark, the tree's silver threads shivered. A wave of dissonant energy slammed into him, not attacking, but rejecting. It was like trying to push two identical magnets together.
<< Alert: Qi Signature Rejection! Grove recognizes Host's Qi as foreign/unstable. Harvest by force required. >>
Damn it. He didn't have time for finesse. He drew his Boar Tusk Dagger, channeling Violet Qi into its edge. He slammed it into the trunk, aiming to carve off a small branch. The blade bit deep, but the tree reacted violently. The silver threads lashed out like whips, slicing through his robes and drawing thin lines of blood on his arms. The cut branch didn't fall; it dissolved into shimmering dust.
<< Harvest Failed. Grove Defense: Active. >>
Across the fen, one of the Mantises dispelled Silas's mirage with a contemptuous flick of its scythe. It turned its triangular head, its compound eyes locking onto Kai. It let out a high-frequency chitter, recalling its companions. The distraction had failed. All three Mantises abandoned the decoys and shot back towards the island, moving like jade-green lightning.
<< CRITICAL THREAT: JADEBACK MANTIS SWARM (ENRAGED). HOST IS PRIMARY TARGET. >>
Kai backed away from the tree, dagger held high. He was cornered on the island. Silas barked a warning from the fen's edge, but couldn't cross without getting bogged down in the soft, dangerous ground.
The lead Mantis reached the island. It didn't charge. It vanished, reappearing instantly behind Kai, scythes already sweeping towards his neck. Spatial Hop.
Void Shimmer! Kai barely dodged, the scythes slicing through the air where he'd been. The spatial displacement tore at his meridians. Stability: 60%. The second Mantis appeared to his left, the third to his right. They coordinated perfectly, herding him, striking in blinding flashes of movement he could only evade with desperate, costly Shimmers. Stability: 58%. He was being bled dry.
He couldn't beat them. Not like this. He needed the Grove's power. It had to be a trade.
"Silas! The Spring! Cause a disruption!" he yelled, dodging another scythe that sheared off a chunk of his hair.
Silas understood instantly. He bounded towards the violently erupting Spirit Spring. As another geyser of multi-hued water shot into the air, Silas slammed his paws together, unleashing a concentrated pulse of spatial energy. Not at the water, but at the spatial tear the geyser was pouring into.
FWUMP!
The tear destabilized. Instead of swallowing the water, it expelled it. A torrent of chaotic, Qi-saturated liquid and raw spatial energy flooded the fen, crashing into the Mantises. It didn't hurt them, but the sudden, overwhelming surge of unstable energy disoriented their precise spatial senses. They staggered, chittering in confusion.
It was the opening Kai needed. He didn't attack them. He turned and ran toward the largest Silverthread tree. He didn't try to cut it. Instead, he slammed his palm against the trunk, and with every ounce of his will, he did something he'd never tried before.
He poured his unstable, fractured, Violet Qi directly into the tree. Not to steal. To share. To show it his pain, his instability, his need. It was a desperate, insane gamble.
The tree recoiled violently. The silver threads thrashed, slicing deeper into his arm. But then… something shifted. The tree's energy, so alien and rejecting, brushed against the unique signature of his Celestial Meridians—the same signature that had activated the ancient ruins. The thrashing slowed. The tree seemed to… consider.
One of the Mantis shook off its disorientation and lunged. Its scythe aimed for Kai's exposed back.
A silver thread, thicker than the others, shot out from the tree. Not to strike Kai, but to intercept the Mantis's scythe. There was a sound like a ringing crystal. The monomolecular scythe shattered against the thread. The Mantis was thrown back, stunned.
The Grove had chosen. It recognized something in Kai's broken power worth protecting.
A single, perfect branch, laden with shimmering silver leaves, lowered itself from the canopy and gently broke off, falling into Kai's waiting, bloodied hand. It pulsed with warm, incredibly dense spatial energy.
<< Harvest Successful: Mature Silverthread Branch. SP Value: N/A (Priceless Alchemical Component). >>
The three Mantises, sensing the shift, backed away, chittering respectfully. They weren't hostile anymore; they were guardians acknowledging a transaction had been made.
Kai didn't wait. He shoved the branch into his pouch. "Silas! Let's go!"
They fled the Singing Fens as the Spirit Spring's geyser subsided. Behind them, the Silverthread Grove returned to its peaceful hum, the Mantises resuming their silent patrol.
They found a new hiding place—a shallow cave behind a waterfall whose crashing water helped mask their Qi signatures. Kai immediately set to work, grinding the Silverthread leaves and bark with water from his waterskin, creating a paste far more potent than before. He applied it thickly over his wounds and meridian pathways.
The effect was transformative. It was like dipping his shattered soul into a pool of liquid order. The pain vanished. The violet cracks didn't just fade; they healed, the skin knitting together, leaving only faint silver scars. The energy poured into his dantian, solidifying his foundation.
<< Celestial Meridian Stability: 75%... 80%... 85%! >> << Passive Regeneration Increased: 0.5% per hour. >> << Warning: Significant Qi Increase Detected. Approaching Foundation Establishment (Mid Stage) Threshold. >>
He was whole. Stronger than ever. He flexed his hand, Violet Qi swirling around it, stable, potent, and utterly controlled.
<< Incoming Transmission: Heavenly Lock Channel. >>
A cold, emotionless voice echoed directly in his mind, the same voice from the golden eye. "Anomaly. You have acquired stabilized spatial resonance. You are adapting. This is… unforeseen." There was a pause, then a hint of something new in the tone—not anger, but cold, clinical interest. "The parameters of your unmaking require recalibration. Expect escalation."
The transmission cut off. The Heavenly Lock's weight remained, but the message was clear. They weren't just trying to kill him anymore. They were starting to see him as a subject of study. A specimen.
Kai looked at Silas, then at his own hands, now steady and strong. He had survived the Choir's gaze, passed the Grove's trial, and healed his core.
"Let them recalibrate," Kai said, his voice low and steady. Violet Qi crackled around his fists, not with instability, but with focused power. "They have no idea what this 'anomaly' is going to do next."
The game had changed again. He was no longer just surviving. He was evolving. And the Choir had just taken notice.