Taboo Online

The seed entered her heart, and pain spread through her chest and down both arms. Green light burned through every mana channel while the roots held her still.

Her heartbeat stumbled.

For one awful second, the next beat did not come.

Then her heart struck again with enough force to send warmth through her entire body.

The rhythm settled.

Lauren began to feel every living root around her as clearly as if it were touching her skin. Her ears burned next, and the sensation moved into their tips, subtly changing the cartilage beneath her hair.

Her hearing sharpened until she could distinguish individual streams of water moving through the distant soil. Even inside the sealed trunk, the forest smelled different. She could separate clean sap from infected bark, wet soil from flowers, and ordinary growth from mana carried through living plants.

The pain gradually faded.

[Verdant Elven Bloodline acquired.]

[Bloodline purity: 5%.]

[Minor natural mana affinity acquired.]

[Mana recovery near living plants slightly increased.]

[Minor Black Rain resistance acquired.]

[Ancient root recognition acquired.]

[Elven artifact compatibility acquired.]

[Bloodline evolution is possible.]

Lauren considered the final message.

"Well, I was zero percent elf this morning."

The Heartroot loosened around her.

Before releasing her, the spirit sent one final vision through the living path.

Lethariel returned, and only minutes seemed to have passed.

The Queen had reached the central tree. Blood ran from the brand burned around her wrist, and part of her crown had broken away. Fewer than two dozen defenders remained inside her final circle, while others fought through the surrounding village and continued evacuating civilians.

The broad man touched statues and sections of the central bridge, placing delayed force throughout the final defensive line. The masked woman had replaced her broken ring with threads tied directly around her fingers, while black-orange fire consumed the homes behind them.

Near an exposed root, the thin woman pushed a fresh corruption anchor into the bark.

She suddenly lifted her head.

"Something touched the roots."

The leader in the dark coat turned toward her.

"What?"

"Another Oracle." Her fingers tightened around the anchor. "The signal came from outside the village."

The leader approached the Queen.

"You made this much more annoying than it needed to be."

The Queen raised her living blade.

He looked past her toward the silver tree.

"Your Oracle delayed us."

Confusion crossed the Queen’s face.

She did not know Lauren.

The leader smiled.

"That means someone else found your roots. We’ll deal with them after we take you home."

One of the villains laughed.

"Can I have the crown?"

"You can have whatever she’s still wearing after we cross."

The others answered with low laughter.

The Queen’s exhaustion disappeared beneath fresh anger. Roots burst around her, forcing the leader to mark the first one. Three more struck from different directions before he could weaken them.

He retreated while the royal defenders attacked in silence, remembering the warning Lauren had sent.

The Heartroot pulled Lauren away before she could see more.

A system message appeared.

[Emergency Quest discovered.]

[The Last Village of the Elves]

[The awakened villain gang has breached Lethariel.]

[Reach the final elven settlement.]

[Protect the Elven Queen.]

[Preserve Lethariel’s central Heartroot.]

[Defeat or repel the awakened villains.]

[Failure will result in the destruction of the final elven settlement.]

[Time remaining: 02:47:19]

Lauren’s heartbeat quickened.

Less than three hours remained.

A path formed inside her mind, traveling beneath the Forest of Black Rain through surviving roots, narrow caverns, and buried ruins.

The route did not lead directly to Lethariel. Several sections had been destroyed or corrupted, which meant they would eventually have to cross the surface.

Even so, the Heartroot had given them a direction.

[Time remaining: 02:47:18]

[Time remaining: 02:47:17]

The living trunk opened, and cool air touched Lauren’s face.

As the roots released her arms, waist, and legs, blood rushed back into her limbs with painful tingling. Her boots found the ground, but her knees nearly gave out when the support disappeared.

One final root steadied her.

"Thank you."

Warmth moved across her palm.

The spirit had no name Lauren could understand. It carried memories from thousands of trees and every elf who had ever trusted the network, but the feeling it sent her now was simple.

Hurry.

"I know."

The chamber began to dissolve into light.

Roots wound around Lauren’s body again and carried her upward instead of restraining her.

The Heartroot disappeared beneath her.

Dark soil surrounded her for several seconds before living wood formed around her body. The roots lifted her toward the shelter inside a narrow protective shell.

Through the Heartroot, she sensed Luke’s mana above her. It had fallen dangerously low.

The ground shook as something enormous collapsed nearby, followed by corrupted water sinking harmlessly into the soil.

A surge of system energy moved through the roots. Lauren could not read Luke’s messages, but the sudden change in his mana told her the battle had ended.

He had won.

She smiled inside the tree.

The shell reached the surface and stopped.

Luke’s exhausted voice reached her through the wood.

"I protected it. Nothing got through."

Relief tightened Lauren’s chest. He sounded so proud that she wanted to answer immediately, but the roots had not yet released her mouth.

Luke placed his hand against the trunk.

"Come back, Lauren."

The shell opened.

Cold air entered first, carrying the smells of rain, mud, and damaged roots.

Lauren fell forward, but Luke caught her before her knees reached the ground. His arms closed around her with enough force to push the air from her lungs, then loosened immediately without letting go.

"Lauren."

"I’m here."

One of his hands moved to the back of her head while the other remained tight around her waist. His entire body shook against her.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Lauren rested her cheek against his shoulder and listened to his uneven breathing. Mud covered his clothes, blood had dried along one arm, and bruises showed beneath several tears in his outfit. His spear remained intact, though the wooden shaft carried dark marks from repeated impacts.

"You’re hurt."

"I’m fine."

"Mhm."

"I am."

Lauren raised one hand and touched his ribs.

Luke flinched.

"That did not look fine."

"The second wave hit me a few times."

"The second wave?"

"There were three."

Lauren slowly pulled back.

"Three waves?"