Taboo Online

He lowered his eyes to the pale roots beneath their feet. For a few seconds after the ground swallowed her, he had believed he could dig fast enough. He had struck the soil with his spear, clawed at it with one hand, and shouted her name until the Root Gate forced him to turn toward the approaching creatures.

He could still remember how the earth looked after it closed. The ground had become smooth and untouched, with no sign that Lauren had ever been there.

"For those first few seconds, I thought it had killed you," he said quietly.

Lauren stepped closer and touched his cheek. "I know."

"Then the system said you were facing a trial, but I still couldn’t reach you."

"I heard you trying to reach me before the memory opened," she said. "The roots carried every strike while you tried to dig me out."

Luke looked at her. "You knew it was me?"

"I recognized your refusal to stop hitting things."

"That could have been anyone."

"No. It was very specifically you."

Luke gave a weak laugh, but the memory still tightened his chest.

"I couldn’t follow you," he said. "The quest told me to protect the gate, and I didn’t even know where you were."

"You made the correct choice."

"It didn’t feel correct."

"No." Her thumb moved beneath his eye. "Those choices rarely do."

Luke placed his hand over hers before she could lower it, but Lauren drew him forward again rather than allowing them to stop completely.

"What did you think was happening to me?" he asked.

"I thought you were alone, injured, and attempting something reckless."

"That was accurate."

"I know."

"You weren’t afraid I’d fail?"

Lauren was silent for a moment.

"I was terrified," she said. "Then I remembered that even when you complained or misunderstood half my directions, you kept listening. I had to trust that you would find a way without me."

Luke stared at her. Lauren rarely admitted fear so plainly.

"You did find a way," she continued. "You protected the gate, defeated three waves, and created a new skill while I was gone."

"I almost died a few times."

"That part was expected."

Luke frowned. "You could sound more impressed."

"I am extremely impressed. I am also trying not to encourage your worst habits."

"That sounds more familiar."

Lauren lowered her hand from his face and laced her fingers through his.

"I would rather let you test that skill properly before you use it again," she said. "Lethariel does not have that kind of time."

Luke remembered the dead villages she had witnessed and did not argue.

The green veins in the walls gradually dimmed. He first noticed the change beneath his boots because the roots no longer shifted smoothly under his weight. Several had hardened into dry ridges, and thin cracks spread through the tunnel walls.

Lauren pressed her palm against the nearest root. The green light around her fingers weakened.

"What is it?" Luke asked.

"The living network ends ahead."

"But the path continues."

"Yes."

"What does that mean?"

"The Heartroot showed me several damaged sections. This must be the first."

She pulled her hand away and immediately started toward the bend, but Luke caught her wrist.

Lauren turned toward him.

"I know we’re in a hurry," he said, "but charging into the dead part before we know what’s there won’t help anyone."

For a moment, he expected her to argue. Instead, she drew a breath and nodded.

"You are right."

Luke blinked. "That was easier than expected."

"Do not become accustomed to it."

He lowered his spear from his shoulder and moved ahead of her, though she stayed close instead of waiting at a safe distance.

The protected passage ended at the bend. Beyond it, the old root network continued into darkness, with no green veins lighting the way. The air smelled of stagnant water and rotting wood.

Lauren took one careful step forward. Several thin roots rose beneath her boot and stopped her.

Luke moved beside her. "What are they doing?"

"Warning me."

"About the tunnel?"

"About me."

Her expression tightened.

"The corruption is reacting to my connection with the Heartroot."

A faint sound came from beyond the bend as something wet dragged across wood.

Luke stepped in front of her. "Stay close."

Lauren raised an eyebrow.

"I was going to say stay behind me," he admitted, "but you’d ignore that."

"Good. You are learning."

They rounded the bend together.

The old passage ended at a wall of tangled roots. Most were gray and brittle, but thick veins of black corruption twisted between them. Dark knots pulsed throughout the barrier. Some were no larger than Luke’s fist, while others hid beneath several layers of dead wood.

Black droplets slid along the roots, and every one of them moved toward Lauren.

Luke raised his spear. The droplets stopped, climbed upward against gravity, and gathered into narrow strands.

"Those weren’t doing that before," he said.

"No."

"So it really does want you."

"It appears my connection to the Heartroot has made me popular."

The strands snapped toward her.

Luke struck the first with his spear. The shaft flexed under the impact, and dark liquid burst across the wall before crawling back toward the corruption.

Two more strands followed. He stepped between them and Lauren, deflecting one while the other wrapped around the spearhead and pulled hard enough to drag him half a step forward.

Luke twisted the weapon and forced Arcane energy through the tip. The strand burst apart, but the attack took another noticeable portion of his recovering mana.

Loose corruption crawled back toward the wall.

"That’s annoying," he muttered.

Lauren activated Unveiled Weakness. Purple light spread from beneath her blindfold and washed over the barrier, tightening her expression almost immediately. Once the knots appeared, she opened Oracle’s Glimpse and followed the corruption moving between them. Pressure tightened behind her blindfold as possible outcomes spread across the wall.

"What do you see?" Luke asked.

"Too much."

Her attention shifted rapidly between several points beneath the dead bark.

"How many knots?"

"Eleven that I can identify."

"That’s manageable."

"Seven are attached to the tunnel itself."

Luke looked up. The dead roots were the only thing holding back several tons of earth.

"If I break those, the tunnel comes down."

"Yes."

"And the other four?"

"Three carry the corruption. One is hiding behind them."

"That sounds like four carrying the corruption."

"The last one feeds on the others, but it is wrapped around the largest support root. We cannot strike it until the outer knots are gone."