The vines erupted from Kael's skin like serpents from a nest.
They were not the garden's roots—not anymore.
They were his.
Kane didn't scream.
He should have.
The vines pierced his throat first, sliding in clean as needles, and Kael felt it—the hot rush of Kane's life, his memories, his skills—flooding into him like wine into an empty cup.
[Skill Analyzation: Active]
Kael's lips curled.
Oh.
Oh.
Kane had been holding out on him.
Buried beneath the man's pain, his exhaustion, his crumbling flesh—there was something precious. A skill Kael had never tasted before.
Bloodscry.
The ability to see through spilled blood. To trace the threads of fate in crimson.
Kael drank it in, the root inside him singing with delight as the knowledge settled into his bones.
Kane's body convulsed. His lips moved, but no sound came out. Just blood. Always blood.
Kael leaned in close.
"Thank you," he murmured.
Then he pulled.
The vines retracted, slick and glistening. Kane slumped forward, his body collapsing into itself, hollowed out. A husk.
Kael exhaled.
The root inside him sighed in satisfaction.
For a moment, there was only the sound of the waves outside the cave, the distant cry of gulls.
Then—
Well done.
The voice was not his own.
It never was.
Mema, the Hollow King, stirred in the depths of Kael's mind, his presence a cold weight against Kael's thoughts.
You're learning, Mema purred. The garden's gifts are not to be wasted.
Kael flexed his fingers. The vines coiled back beneath his skin, obedient.
He had known this would happen.
Had planned for it.
Kane had been useful—loyal, strong, a blunt instrument when Kael needed one.
But blunt instruments broke.
And Kael had no use for broken things.
He stepped over Kane's body, leaving the cave behind. The night air was sharp with salt and the promise of rain.
Somewhere out there, the world was still turning.
Somewhere out there, the next piece of the game waited.
Kael smiled.
He had work to do.
[Root System Synchronization: Reinitializing]
[Current Synchronization: 17%]
The root pulsed in agreement.
It was growing.
And so was he.