The earth was bleeding.
Not in a way that could be seen by ordinary eyes. But Seina felt it—under her skin, in her teeth, behind her eyes.
Something ancient had cracked open.
And it was calling her.
They were miles from the last battlefield, resting in a forgotten temple hidden within the cliffs of Rael. Seina had chosen the place because it was quiet. Because it was far. Because she thought maybe they could breathe here.
But dreams had followed her into the silence.
And last night, they bled.
She woke gasping, clawing at the air like it had teeth. Her fingers were stained with dirt she hadn’t touched. Her nails packed with moss and black roots. And beneath her ribs, something pulsed like it didn’t belong to her anymore.
Kaydence stirred beside her. “Another one?”
She nodded, breath ragged.
His hands found hers in the dark. “You’re not alone.”
“No,” she whispered, “but something down there is.”
They climbed at first light.
The temple had once been a sanctuary for the first Veritas. Now it was just dust and broken pillars. But deep beneath it—buried in the cliffs—was the real secret. The Hollow Stone.
A myth. A prophecy.
A prison.
According to the Oracle’s words, it held the thing that created the Bone Crown. Not a person. Not a god.
A memory.
Not remembered. Remembering.
They found the entrance behind the altar, sealed in chains made from old blood and rusted metal. The runes had long faded, but Seina didn’t need their light. Her blood hummed in response to the magic.
She placed her palm against the stone.
It melted open like it had been waiting for her.
 
Beneath the Roots
The descent was steep.
The stairs were carved into the very marrow of the cliff. Roots twisted through the walls, pulsing with an eerie green glow. Seina walked ahead, hand never leaving the rock. Kaydence followed, blades drawn.
“It’s too quiet,” he muttered.
“No,” Seina said. “It’s listening.”
When they reached the bottom, they entered a cavern so large it felt like its own world. A tree grew in the center, black and silver, its bark etched with faces—screaming, sleeping, singing.
Seina approached the tree.
Her bones vibrated the closer she got.
And then she saw it.
At the base of the tree was a heart.
Not symbolic.
A literal, still-beating, heart made of stone and fire, suspended in roots that bled shadow. It pulsed once, and the entire cavern whispered.
“You returned.”
Kaydence stepped in front of her instinctively.
Seina pushed him aside.
“I know you,” she said aloud. “You made the Bone Crown.”
The voice answered in her skull. “I made the need for it.”
She clenched her fists. “Why now? Why me?”
“Because you are what comes next.”
From the shadows, figures stepped forward.
Not alive.
Not dead.
Just trapped.
These were the Rootborn—guardians bound to the heart. Each one bore a crown made of bone and bark. Each one had failed the test of self.
“You must face them,” the voice said. “One for every part of you that still doubts.”
Seina nodded once.
“I’m ready.”
Kaydence reached for her, but she shook her head. “If I don’t come back, burn this place to ash.”
Then she stepped into the ring.
The first Rootborn lunged—her childhood rage given form, a version of her that had killed instead of forgiven. They fought with blades and memory. Seina won.
The second was her grief—bloated, weeping, echoing her mother’s last scream. It tried to drown her in illusions. She broke free.
The third was silence—her fear of losing herself in the void after the Bone Crown was gone. It said nothing.
But it hurt the most.
She didn’t fight that one.
She embraced it.
And it faded.
At last, the heart pulsed again.
“You are no longer fractured.”
Seina fell to her knees, shaking.
The roots retracted.
And the stone heart cracked.
From the heart spilled light.
And from the light, a figure stepped.
It wore no face.
But it carried her soul.
It was her.
Or it had been.
The creator.
The curse.
The first wielder of the Bone Crown.
“I passed it on,” the echo said. “Because I was afraid. Because I wasn’t strong enough to end what I started.”
Seina looked into the not-eyes of the memory. “You were me once.”
“I was worse,” the echo admitted.
Seina reached forward.
Touched its hand.
And for a moment, the entire world went still.
The memory became dust.
The heart dimmed.
The tree sighed.
And the magic that bound the Hollow Stone… ended.
When Seina emerged, hours—or maybe days—later, Kaydence was still there.
Waiting.
He looked up with wide, stunned eyes. “You’re glowing.”
She smiled faintly, exhausted. “I think I’m done bleeding.”
He pulled her close.
Held her like she might disappear again.
“What now?” he asked.
She looked up at the morning sun just rising over the sea.
“Now?” she said.
“We finish what we started.”