The clearing was dead.
Not lifeless — dead.
Threadroots had been cut by the Null Echo. No birds. No beasts. Even the wind seemed afraid to pass through.
But rot?
Rot waited.
Elian knelt in the middle of the zone's scarred core and pressed one hand against the ash-laced ground. His fingers curled slightly, like gripping a throat just before the squeeze.
Rotlight bled from his palm.
Not fast. Not violent.
Intentional.
It seeped into the fractures beneath the stone, touching old thread channels buried beneath centuries of silence. The system had forgotten them.
He hadn't.
And now?
He made them remember.
[Devil's Core Activation: Construct Protocol Engaged]
[Node Type: Rotwrought Beacon – First Anchor]
[Effect: Emits corrupted signal across regional threadlines. Draws system anomalies, monster classes, and unstable Seedborne.]
[Optional Function Unlocked: Broadcast Trait "Crownless" to local entities.]
The earth responded slowly — bone rising from root, fused with shards of broken iron, claws, and the occasional skull still humming with half-remembered code. The rot didn't create the beacon.
It called it from the world.
Stone spiraled upward like a reverse scream. Black veins pulsed in time with Elian's heartbeat. Echo fragments stitched themselves into the foundation — remnants of kills, regrets, and corrupted zones.
A monument of broken things.
An altar.
The girl watched, her arms crossed tightly, brow furrowed. "What is this?"
Elian rose to his feet.
"It's not a trap."
"It's a question."
She frowned. "For who?"
"Everything that still thinks I'm a mistake."
Within seconds of completion, the beacon began to hum — low, rhythmic, like a predator clicking its tongue. Rotlight shimmered through the soil in pulsing rings. Infected threads curled upward like smoke.
And then came the change.
The zone shifted.
The threads bent.
Something heard him.
[Beacon Status: Activated – Infection Radius 8.3% and expanding]
[System Signal: Corrupted Output Detected]
[Response: Regional Beast Classes – Mobilizing]
[Warning: Unstable Echo Signatures Approaching]
A snarl echoed from beyond the trees.
Then a second. Deeper. Heavier.
A screech rang from above — not avian. Not human.
And somewhere in the distance, something howled in a tone that wasn't natural.
The girl stepped back. Her rot-shifted Echo flickered nervously.
"They're coming."
Elian didn't flinch.
He watched the beacon spiral with gentle malice, its peak dripping rotlight like a crown of fire.
"That's what it's for."
"Let them come."
She stared at him. "You want a fight?"
He looked at her.
"I want an answer."
The crawlers began to grow restless — pacing, claws raking against stone. One lowered itself to the earth, tail twitching.
Not in fear.
In anticipation.
Elian stepped forward, planting himself in the beacon's heart.
The rot wrapped around his boots like vines eager to claim a king.
And in that moment, his presence changed.
Not louder.
Not brighter.
But heavier.
As if the world had begun to orbit him.
[Lucid Trait Sync: 49% → 50%]
[Devil's Core Progression: 15.2% → 16.6%]
[New Passive Unlocked: Rot Domain I – Within Beacon Radius, infected gain enhanced cohesion and resistance to system cleansing.]
[Status: Infection Signal Growing – Regional Distortion at 14.9%]
The first shadow appeared across the ridge — a beast stitched together from molten bark and ash, half-rotted jaw dragging in the dirt, eyes like inverted fire.
It didn't charge.
It paused.
Sniffed the air.
And took a knee.
A moment later, a second shape joined it. Smaller. Multi-limbed. Crawling low like a priest to an altar.
Then a third.
A fourth.
They weren't coming to fight.
They were coming to listen.
The girl whispered, "They're not monsters anymore."
Elian didn't respond.
Not with words.
He raised his hand.
The rotlight surged upward — not in violence, but in invitation.
A declaration etched in infected light.
I'm not your king.
I'm not your god.
I'm your evolution.
Let the world see it.
Let the system react.
Let the watchers scream.
Because this wasn't rebellion anymore.
It was worship