Clayton knelt in the sunken plaza, the Expanse's bioluminescent moss casting ghostly light across his scarred face.
The shattered fountain loomed above, its base choked with roots that pulsed in sync with his Heartseed Core.
The Earthcore Signal thrummed beneath, a primal call guiding him to a sunken chamber below; a Rootsite, his chance to reforge the Verdant Lord's dominion he bled for in Echottera.
His chance to regain his territory.
His Genesis Embers, bolstered by the Sonic Stalkers' deaths fueled his Sovereign Bloom, knitting plasma burns and easing the ache in his core.
But the Expanse wasn't safe. Something watched, its soul pressure verdant yet twisted, like a mirror cracked.
"Back to being a damn seed," he muttered, his dark humor sharp. "Three hundred years, and I'm still planting myself in trouble".
His Regalia of the Verdant Warden pulsed, spear form ready, Mycoglyph gauntlet synching with the chamber's Mycoglyphs, etched runes glowing with Genesis secrets.
