The Blackroot Forest lived up to its name. Gnarled trees clawed at the sky, their branches dripping with sap that smelled of decay. Li Wei and Xiao Mei navigated the twisted paths, the Obsidian Citadel's threat hanging over them like a blade. Xiao Mei's hands glowed faintly blue, her rune visions flickering uncontrollably.
"Left," she muttered, pressing a hand to her temple. "There's a… rift ahead. It's unstable, but it'll shave days off our journey."
Li Wei eyed the swirling vortex of shadows she pointed to. "And if it collapses?"
Xiao Mei smirked weakly. "Then we die faster. Win-win."
The rift spat them into a valley choked with Soulbane Vines—sentient plants that fed on Qi. The vines lashed out, but Li Wei moved with practiced precision, severing their roots using the phoenix sword's dull edge. "Aim for the nodes! They're weaker there!"
Xiao Mei, her runes flaring, carved symbols into the air. The vines recoiled as if burned. "How did you know about the nodes?"
"Zhao Tian's journals mentioned them," Li Wei lied smoothly. "He fought here during the Heavenly Wars."
The truth was simpler: Zhao Tian had planted these vines centuries ago to guard a hidden armory. Their weakness was his design.
By nightfall, they reached the Fallen Leaf Clan's territory—or what remained of it. The once-vibrant village was now a smoldering ruin, its people herded into cages guarded by Obsidian soldiers. At the center stood Lan Yi, bound to a post, her silver hair matted with ash.
A Obsidian captain sneered at the prisoners. "Your 'hero' abandoned you! Pray to his ghost for mercy!"
Lan Yi lifted her chin, defiance burning through her fear. "Li Wei's no hero. But he's clever enough to outwit filth like you."
Li Wei observed from the shadows, mapping the camp. "Twenty soldiers. Two captains at Foundation Establishment. The rest are Qi Gathering."
Xiao Mei's runes flickered erratically. "I'll create a diversion. You free the prisoners."
"No," Li Wei said. "You're losing control. Stay here."
"And let you hog the glory?" Xiao Mei's eyes glowed brighter. "Not a chance."
She slammed her palm into the ground, runes spreading like wildfire. The earth trembled, and a Stone Sentinel—a golem forged from rubble—rose, charging the camp.
As chaos erupted, Li Wei slipped into the camp.
Step 1: Poison the guards' stewpots with Dreamroot, a herb causing hallucinations.
Step 2: Sabotage the Obsidian's Qi-storage crystals, overloading them with reversed polarity.
Step 3: Free Lan Yi.
When Li Wei reached her, Lan Yi stared in disbelief. "You? The elders said you were dead!"
Li Wei cut her bonds. "Tell them to start believing in ghosts."
As the crystals detonated, Li Wei led the prisoners into the forest. Behind them, Obsidian soldiers turned on each other, their minds lost to Dreamroot's haze.
The Stone Sentinel collapsed, and Xiao Mei fell to her knees, blood trickling from her nose. The runes on her skin darkened, etching themselves permanently into her flesh.
"What's happening to you?" Lan Yi demanded.
"Nothing," Xiao Mei snapped, though her voice trembled. "Just… tired."
Li Wei caught her arm. "Your memories. Are they fading?"
She yanked free. "I don't need your pity."
The Obsidian captain, Shira, emerged from the smoke, her whip crackling with hellfire. "Lord Kael sends his regards." She tossed a charmed talisman that exploded into a fiery message:
"You saved the leaves, but the roots are mine. Come to the citadel, or watch your world burn."
The image shifted to show the Fallen Leaf Clan's ancestral tree—Greatroot—encased in obsidian, its life force draining into Kael's crucible.
The Fallen Leaf Clan was free, but their heart was poisoned. As Li Wei prepared to confront Kael, Xiao Mei's runes pulsed ominously. She whispered, "I saw the citadel… and you standing over a mountain of ashes."
Li Wei tightened his grip on the phoenix core. "Then let's make it a mountain worth climbing."