Chapter 196: Voice of the Broken Throne

The World Tree screamed.

Nathan felt the sound through his bones—a deep, grinding groan that shook the floor and made the vines on the walls convulse. Sylvara stood at the center of the hall, her body wrapped in living vines, her eyes black as the void outside. The thing inside her smiled with her mouth, and it was wrong. Wrong in a way that made Nathan’s skin crawl.

"I am the voice of the broken throne," it said again, and its voice was many voices layered together. "I have waited centuries for a Climber who could hear me. And now you have come."

Nathan raised Moonlight. "Release her."

"Release?" The thing laughed, and the vines tightened around Sylvara’s limbs. "She is my vessel now. The Shepherd’s seed is deep in her blood. It has been for years. She simply did not know."

Elise stepped forward, Aurora’s Heart blazing. "We’ll cut it out of her."

"Will you?" The thing tilted Sylvara’s head. "You will have to catch me first."

The vines exploded outward.

---

The battle began.

Nathan activated [Hunter’s Insight] and the world sharpened. The vines were everywhere—bursting from the floor, the walls, the ceiling. They lashed out like whips, each one thick as a man’s arm and covered in thorns. The party scattered.

"Mirko! Front!" Nathan called. "Shiro, left! Garrett, hold the right! Dillon, stay mobile! Elise, freeze the vines! Kuro, find the source!"

Mirko shifted to humanoid form in a blaze of green light, Dragon’s Fang already swinging. She cut through the first wave of vines, her C-Rank strength turning each swing into a scythe of flame. "Hmph! Pathetic plants! I have faced far worse!"

Shiro activated [Dragon King’s Ascension] and became a golden blur. She moved between the vines, dodging their strikes with impossible speed. [Tyrant Dragon Fist] detonated against a cluster of thorned tendrils, and the explosion ripped them apart. "The Young Lord’s path must be cleared!"

Garrett and Red anchored the right flank. Volcan erupted, and the thermal pulse turned a mass of vines to ash. Red’s wool hardened, and the Mad-Sheep charged into the tangle, horns tearing through plant matter. "They just keep coming!" Garrett shouted. "There’s no end to them!"

Dillon and Cloudy took to the air. Cloudy’s static discharge arced across the vines, making them spasm and writhe. Dillon’s [Thunder Edge] carved through the ones that tried to reach him. "We need to find the core! These vines are all connected!"

Elise summoned the Frost Golem. The ten-foot crystalline construct rose from the floor, its body gleaming in the dim light. It raised its fists and brought them down on the floor. A wave of frost spread outward, freezing the nearest vines solid. "The Golem can slow them down, but it won’t last forever! We need to get to Sylvara!"

Kuro materialized beside Nathan. ’The source is beneath the floor. A massive root system, directly below the center of the hall. It’s feeding off the World Tree.’

"The seed," Nathan said. "It’s in the roots."

He activated [Multi-Shadow Clones]. Three identical Nathans appeared, and the vines hesitated, unsure which one to strike. Nathan used the moment to fire [Death’s Homing Compass] at a spot on the floor. The arrow curved and struck, and the impact revealed a glowing green mass beneath the wood.

"There!" Nathan shouted. "Everyone, focus fire on that spot!"

The party adjusted. Mirko’s Dragon’s Fang carved through the vines, her [Impenetrable Fortress] pushing them back. Shiro’s [Tyrant Dragon Fist] detonated against the floor, cracking the wood. Garrett’s Volcan erupted, and the thermal pulse burned through the layers. Dillon’s [Thunder Edge] sent lightning into the crack, and Cloudy’s static followed. Elise’s [Glacial Lance] punched into the exposed root system, freezing it solid. Smithy’s Void Eel phased through the floor, disrupting the root network from below.

The floor shattered. And beneath it, pulsing with green light, was the Shepherd’s seed.

It was huge—the size of a human heart, wrapped in black vines that burrowed into the World Tree. It beat with a rhythm that Nathan could feel in his chest. And it was feeding on Sylvara, on the elders, on the whole Vine Council.

The thing inside Sylvara screamed. "No! You cannot! The Shepherd will not allow it!"

Nathan nocked an arrow. He charged [Focus Shot]. Sixty seconds. The world narrowed. His party held the line, their combined power pressing the vines back.

The arrow blazed. Nathan released.

It struck the seed dead center. The green light flared, then cracked. The black vines convulsed. And the seed shattered, dissolving into motes of sick light that faded into nothing.

---

The hall fell silent.

The vines went limp. The World Tree stopped screaming. And Sylvara collapsed to the floor, gasping, her eyes slowly returning to their natural jade green.

Nathan knelt beside her. "Are you all right?"

She looked up at him, her face pale and streaked with sweat. "The Shepherd’s seed... it was inside me. Inside the Council. All this time."

"It’s gone now," Nathan said. "You’re free."

Sylvara closed her eyes, tears leaking down her cheeks. "Thank you. I... I didn’t know. The Council didn’t know. We thought the corruption was only in the outer regions. We didn’t realize..."

"It’s not your fault," Elise said softly. She knelt beside Sylvara. "The Shepherd works in shadows. He’s been doing it for centuries."

Nathan looked at his party. They were battered, exhausted, but alive. The Frost Golem had frozen the last of the vines. Mirko was leaning on Dragon’s Fang, her armor scorched. Shiro’s golden eyes were dim with fatigue. Kuro was a shadow in the corner, silent but present.

The Shattered Throne had thrown its first real challenge at them. And they had survived.

But Nathan couldn’t shake the feeling that this was only the beginning. The Shepherd’s seed had been hidden in the Vine Council’s heart. What else was hidden in this World? What other secrets waited in the other factions?

"We need to regroup," Nathan said. "We need to tell the Council what happened. And we need to warn the other factions—if the seed was here, it could be anywhere."

Sylvara pushed herself up, her face set with new determination. "The Council will want to hear everything. And... we will support your alliance, Climber. The Shepherd tried to destroy us from within. We will not let him succeed."

Nathan nodded. "Then let’s make sure he doesn’t."

---

Later, after the Council had been informed and the elders had begun their own investigations into the corruption, Nathan found a quiet corner of the World Tree and sat down heavily. The weight of the battle was catching up with him. His mana was low. His body ached.

Elise found him there. She sat beside him without a word, and for a long moment, they just existed together in the quiet.

"You saved her," Elise said finally. "You saved them all."

"We saved them," Nathan corrected. "It was all of us."

Elise was quiet for a moment. Then she leaned her head against his shoulder. "You always do that. Spread the credit around. But you’re the one who found the seed. You’re the one who made the shot. You’re the reason we’re still here."

Nathan felt a warmth spread through him. He didn’t know what to say. So he just sat there, feeling her against him, and let the moment be enough.

The Shattered Throne was still broken. The war was still raging. The other factions were still out there, each with their own secrets and their own dangers. But for now, in this quiet moment, Nathan allowed himself to rest.