The valley road narrowed between two ridges, and pale grass gave way to black soil threaded with thin copper roots.
Loccy stopped at the first root and said, "Something beneath this ground pulls toward the road, though the pull has no living rhythm."
Ferra crouched beside the soil and replied, "The roots carry a body, and that body remains connected to the station we left behind."
She placed a probe against the copper and added, "The connection reaches far enough to drag a dead guardian back if the ground organs complete their cycle."
Ash held his Ringlet close and thought, 'The dead can still be used when the living refuse to ask what their duty meant.'
Aria displayed a warning above Hajin's wrist after the probe returned:
[Buried route organs detected, corpse anchor active, extraction cycle beginning]
The road split open, and a pale body rose from the copper roots with its arms folded across a cracked breastplate.
