Thread-Bridge, Unknown Depth
The spectral path underfoot quivered like moonlit silk. Each step Aiden took felt as though he might plunge through into the void—yet the faint teal runes ahead glimmered, guiding them south toward the unseen Wellspring Node.
Aiden supported Lin Xi, whose breaths were shallow but steady.
Maya walked point, goggles locking onto the breadcrumbs the Loom Spirit left.
Nephis half-carried Cassie, her lantern core a dull ember against cracked armor.
Only dim pulses from the Sanctuary and Temple Prisms lit their way; the Heart Core was gone—stitched into the Prime Weaver's cloak behind them.
Every few strides, the bridge flickered; chunks vanished, re-knitted by the Spirit an instant later. It was as if the Loom itself hesitated: save them—or surrender them?
Echo Banshees
Halfway across, lavender wisps condensed into Echo Banshees—wailing silhouettes woven from regret. They swooped, claws peeling at sanity.
Nephis flared his torn cloak, shadow coalescing into a temporary wall. "Keep moving!"
Aiden, bereft of the Heart Core, felt the banshees' chill cut deeper than any spear. Maya yanked a cracked Mirror-Shard fragment from her belt, reflecting a banshee's screech back upon itself; the spirit unraveled, scattering like dandelion seed.
Green glyphs bloomed beneath their feet—the Loom Spirit lending one more assist—but it cost thread tension. Behind them, explosions rippled across the node Cassie had fought to defend. Time bled fast now.
The Wellspring Revealed
At last the bridge widened into a circular dais of trembling light. Suspended above: a white-hot spindle of raw thread-energy—thicker than any they'd seen, humming in a primordial major chord.
Maya (awe): "That's the Wellspring."
Lin Xi (hoarse): "Creation-thread… untouched by corruption."
In the spindle's corona floated a single artefact frame—shaped like the Heart Core's cradle, but empty. An inscription glowed: Seed Light; Loom Heals.
Cassie's fading lantern blinked. "It wants… a new core."
Forging without a Heart
"But we don't have one," Aiden whispered.
Maya's eyes widened. "We do—partially." She produced the Temple Prism (aurora algorithm) and the Volcano shards Aiden had pocketed after the Prism's sacrifice. "If we fuse living dawnlight with tempered fire, maybe the Wellspring can grow it into a 'Dawn-Heart' surrogate."
Lin Xi swayed. "Qi-forge cycle… I can guide… once." He collapsed to his knees, pressing Spiral Stone to the dais. Threads coiled around the fragments, awaiting consent.
Nephis set Cassie gently down. She weakly extended her lantern core. "Add… hope."
Aiden looked back toward the north: the Weaver's cloak now blotting constellations, advancing. He swallowed fear, slotted Temple Prism, Volcano shards, and lantern core into the empty frame.
"Do it, Lin."
The Dawnbloom Pulse
Lin Xi's mantra rose—two breaths, then a shout. Qi spiraled; Wellspring thread poured through the frame. Molten ember met aurora sheen, met fragile lantern light—combusting into a blinding gold-coral bloom. The dais rocked; Echo Banshees howled and fled.
When the glare faded, a new crystal hovered where emptiness had been: faceted dawn-white at its heart, rimmed with living coral veins and ember motes.
Dawnheart Filament—the Wellspring's newborn core.
Lin Xi slumped unconscious, but alive. Cassie's burns ceased spreading; lantern core re-kindled.
Maya staggered, tears in her eyes. "It … worked."
Loom Spirit's Message
Teal runes cascaded around them, forming legible script:
"Seed accepted. Loom can heal if set within Central Weave. Beware—the Prime Weaver senses our act."
A roar echoed across the broken sky. The north horizon blazed with constellation fire—the Weaver closing in faster than thread could mend.
Aiden cradled the Dawnheart Filament against his chest. A warmth—different from the Heart Core, but fiercely alive—spread through him.
He exhaled. "Round two."
Nephis drew up his cloak anew; Maya secured Lin Xi across her shoulders; Cassie rose, leaning on Spiral Stone as a cane.
Behind them the Wellspring dais dissolved, funnelling its surplus energy into remote strands—the Loom beginning very slowly to re-knit. Ahead, a half-collapsed service bridge beckoned toward the Loom's heart—where the Weaver waited.
Aiden led the charge, new core blazing, as the Guardians moved to reclaim the tapestry of every dreamer's fate.