Taboo Online

The dark third anchor flickered at Iris’s side. She reached toward it, but the light disappeared again before her fingers touched it.

Luke barely noticed.

The Heartroot no longer felt entirely solid beneath his palm. Its surface had grown warm and strangely soft, closer to dense mana than ordinary bark, while everything Aelira had placed inside it moved beneath his hand.

Luke could no longer recognize individual memories. He only felt their enormous weight gathering toward the bridge.

The destination pulled harder.

Buried beneath the Heartroot’s presence, Luke found something familiar.

Lauren.

There were no words in what she sent him. He felt home instead.

The connection carried small things that belonged to both of them rather than the ancient tree. The café before customers arrived, her hand around his, the warmth of waking beside her, and the certainty that she was waiting on the other side even when he could barely feel anything else.

The fog in Luke’s head cleared enough for him to respond.

He pressed back through the bond, and the Heartroot answered with a deep pulse.

[Source compression: 82%.]

[Destination root network ready.]

[Partner resonance route stable.]

[Source bridge anchor condition: Critical.]

Luke tried to focus on the final warning, but the letters blurred.

Iris tightened the lifeline around his chest.

"Luke."

He blinked until her face came back into focus. "Still here."

"Good. Keep looking at me."

The terrace shrank another foot.

Above the core, branches merged into one another until the enormous Heartroot became a dense column of silver wood and green light. It was still far larger than anything that should have fit through the passage, but it continued drawing itself inward.

Dorian watched the transformation from beside Kellan.

"Can you tell how close it is?"

Luke concentrated on what moved beneath his palm. "No. I can feel it following the destination roots, but that’s about it."

Dorian nodded and left him alone.

Another message appeared.

[Source compression: 94%.]

[Prepare for core transfer.]

The passage changed.

Until now, the opening had been large enough for several elves to walk through together. Its edges began stretching across the sanctuary wall, widening upward and outward as the light inside shifted from green to silver-white.

Pressure slammed through Luke’s arm, and his head dropped.

The golden lifeline around his chest flashed as Iris fought to keep it stable.

"Luke."

He heard her, but several seconds passed before he managed an answer.

"My hand’s still on it."

"I don’t care about your hand right now."

Iris moved closer and pressed one hand against his back without touching the roots around his shoulder.

"Breathe."

Luke tried, but his chest barely moved.

Iris tightened the lifeline. "Again. Don’t force it. Just breathe."

The next attempt filled more of his lungs.

"That’s it. Keep that rhythm."

Luke stopped trying to answer her as the passage widened again.

A crack tore across North Basin.

It raced from the destination tree toward the lake before curving around the relocated shelters instead of cutting beneath them. Silver light filled the opening as roots thicker than a person’s body pushed through the soil.

The elves nearest the previous safety line backed away.

Aelira placed one hand against the root beside her, and her command reached Lauren through the living network.

Stay off the roots. Follow the human crews moving you outward. Rootkeepers, keep families together.

Lauren carried the instruction into words for the nearby Bureau teams while continuing to pass its meaning to the elves through the Heartroot.

Red Hound pointed toward the far side of the basin.

"Keep them moving. Another hundred yards. Nobody stops unless they physically can’t go farther."

No one reached for a weapon.

The heroes nearest the shelters picked up equipment and stretchers instead, while Rootkeepers guided elderly elves and children across the shifting field. Humans and elves still watched one another carefully, but no one had time to argue over whose orders mattered.

Lauren remained at the center.

The branch beneath her hands had grown thicker than her wrist. What had begun as two small leaves had become a crown of young silver-green growth, and every new root entering the soil pulled against her numb fingers.

Rhea crouched behind her.

"You’re slipping forward."

"The source keeps getting heavier."

Rhea looked at the roots gathered around Lauren’s knees. "Try to shift back. Slowly."

Lauren moved her weight.

The destination tree responded before she could finish. A curved root rose behind her and formed a living support along her back, mirroring the one holding Luke in Lethariel.

Rhea tested it with her palm, then guided Lauren carefully against it.

"Use the support. Don’t waste strength fighting it."

Lauren let the root take more of her weight.

Beyond the moving ground, Aelira watched closely. She took one step toward Lauren, but another thick root broke through the soil between them, and the Rootkeeper supporting her caught her arm before she lost her footing.

Aelira stopped trying to approach and placed one hand against the nearest living root.

Lauren felt the message immediately.

When the core enters the bridge, you will feel it pulling toward you.

Lauren answered through the destination mark.

What do I do when I can’t hold it?

Aelira’s response returned through the Heartroot.

You do not hold the Heartroot. Hold the destination.

Lauren became still.

Keep this place exactly where it is. The tree knows the path now.

Luke did not need her to drag him toward Earth. He needed the other end of the bridge to remain where he expected to find it.

Lauren tightened her palms around the branch.

Through partner resonance, she felt Luke answer from Lethariel. The response was faint, but unmistakably his.

A final system message appeared before both bridge anchors.

[Source compression complete.]

[Central Heartroot transplantation initiated.]

[Warning: Core transfer exceeds stable passenger capacity.]

[Both bridge anchors must maintain contact.]

Silver light filled the passage.

In Lethariel, the compressed Heartroot core began moving forward. At North Basin, every destination root tightened at once, and Lauren felt the ancient tree settle its full weight onto the bridge between her and Luke.