CHAPTER 57: CROWN OF BLOOD

The Rootsite plaza in the Forgotten Atlanta Expanse was a crucible of chaos, Verdant Bastion’s thorned turrets and venom-sap pits pulsing under Mycoglyphs’ sickly glow.

Clayton stood bloodied but unbowed, Regalia of the Verdant Warden in spear form, Heartseed Core at 99% Genesis Threshold, Aspect Strain catastrophic yet fueled by spite.

Sheer willpower kept him going.

His 22 Initiate Ember Behemorph minions; 9 Thorn hounds, 7 Howl Shriekers, 5 Ash Sprites, 1 Spore Drifter flanked him via Aphid Network.

At his side loomed the Spore Plague Lord, a Luminous Seed Spore Crown Behemorph, its fungal mass radiating Toxic Spore Shroud, Mycotic Tendrils quivering like ghostly apparitions.

The Verdant Apostates; four corrupted trial survivors filled with a fiery desire to see him dead attacked, expecting a weakened Clayton, unaware his outlier gamble had turned their ambush into a trap.

As soon as they came, Clayton reacted.

"Wrong move, freaks," he growled, blood staining his smirk, dark humor a blade. "Meet my new pet".

The Apostates struck, Aspects igniting.

There was no hesitation in their movements.

The Echoes of Ruin Apostate led, spectral tendrils lashing, psychic whispers surging forward and tearing at Clayton’s mind, forcefully reminding him of his worst memories: Scorchpath’s ash, Echoterra’s dead, his sister’s fading face.

This time, Clayton was used to it. But being used to it and blocking it completely was an impossible task.

This Apostate’s Aspect was a truly dangerous and insidious one.

It hit where it hurt the most.

And this time, she was not alone. The heat-kin’s Ember Cascade roared, flames sculpting molten claws.

The cold-kin’s Frostbite Veil snapped, air crystallizing into shards.

The decay-kin’s Witherbloom pulsed, roots rotting, Verdant Bastion’s vines crumbling as they all made use of their Aspects. This Aspect in particular was especially deadly against an opponent like Clayton.

It could make his roots rot.

As soon as the Apostates moved, all hell broke loose.

BOOM!

They left a sonic boom in their wake as they accelerated towards the Verdant Lord, their target.

The Expanse quaked, Earthcore Nexus’s hunger a ravenous thrum, cosmic horror alive in their Genesis-corrupted souls.

Clayton roared, eyes dilated in defiance and spite, Symbiotic Command unleashing his army.

In response to his commands, the Plague Lord surged, Toxic Spore Shroud flooding the plaza, countering Witherbloom’s rot, spores neutralizing decay with fungal dominance.

In just that first clash, one thing became clear. The other Apostates were Initiate Ember just like the Echoes of Ruin Apostate.

And against the Plague Lord’s crown powers, their Aspects were weakened.

Mycotic Tendrils lashed, snaring the decay-kin, his cloak shredding as rot met rot. Clayton’s Core Maw snapped, absorbing Echoes’ tendrils, Spine Bloom firing venom-sap thorns at the heat-kin, Bloodthorn Fang searing their flames.

His minions swarmed; desperate and rabid, Thorn Hounds goring the cold kin, Howl Shriekers blasting debilitating sonic pulses, Ash Sprites igniting Ember Cascade’s edges, Spore Drifters cloaking allies.

It was just a few days since Clayton gained control over his army, but he already knew how to best utilize them to maximum effect in battle.

And yet...

DING!

~----~

[Minions Lost: 1 Thorn Hound, 1 Ash Sprite]

[Genesis Threshold: 99%]

[Aspect Strain: Catastrophic]

~----~

Once again, the problem of his Aspect Strain was rearing its head, but Clayton didn’t pay particular attention to it this time.

After all, if he could not kill these guys, he would die.

To survive and worry about the Aspect Strain, first, he needed to fight for his life and survive.

’Fighting for survival,’ he thought, the irony particularly striking this time. ’Feels so nostalgic man’.

The Plague Lord dominated, its Luminous Seed power shifting the clash.

Clayton’s street smarts guided it, Territorial Sentience mapping Apostate movements, Hive-Sight flashing angles.

Even as he directed, he also moved.

He vaulted a turret, Rootlash Dominion weaving vines to block Frostbite Veil’s shards, Phytoleech Bloom draining plaza biomass to fuel his Verdant Lord form in the root cluster.

The decay-kin screamed, Witherbloom faltering, his body withering under Plague Lord’s spores.

Clayton saw his shot.

"Lights out," he snarled, Regalia shifting to bow, loosing a Spine Bloom arrow laced with Predatory Bloom venom.

It pierced the decay-kin’s chest, Core Maw erupting to devour their corrupted Heartseed.

He collapsed, rot fading, Genesis Embers flooding Clayton’s core; brighter, heavier, a torrent unlike any Initiate Ember kill.

DING!

~----~

[Apostate Slain: Witherbloom Kin]

[Genesis Embers Acquired: 25]

[Minions Lost: 1 Howl Shrieker]

~----~

Clayton killed an Apostate!

The Embers burned, their Genesis-corrupted potency stabilizing his Core, Aspect Strain easing slightly.

The Apostates froze, shocked.

Clayton? The Plague Lord’s Mycotic Tendrils and Clayton’s 19 minions; 8 Thorn Hounds, 6 Howl Shriekers, 4 Ash Sprites, 1 Spore Drifter pressed, Toxic Spore Shroud choking their retreat.

The Echoes Apostate’s tendrils lashed, psychic screams fracturing Clayton’s mind, voices screaming in his head.

’You killed him!’

She was angry.

Despite it all, despite the numbing, splitting headache that came with her Aspect, Clayton persevered, reveling in the dark glee of murdering one of them as Core Maw absorbed them, Verdant Bastion’s venom-sap pits trapping the heat-kin’s flames.

The cold-kin’s Frostbite Veil shattered under Howl Shriekers’ pulses, frost melting in the Plague Lord’s spores.

"Run or die!" Clayton roared, Plague Lord’s tendrils slamming the heat-kin, Spine Bloom thorns grazing the Echoes Apostate.

And just like that, their ambush crumbled, the Luminous Seed minion a nightmare they hadn’t foreseen in their planning.

The three survivors fled, Echoes cloaking their retreat, heat and cold fading into the ruins, malice undimmed but broken.

Clayton staggered, blood dripping, Plague Lord looming, its fungal core pulsing loyalty.

His army’s lethality; dozens of Initiate Embers led by a Luminous Seed had turned the tide, his outlier status a blade.

The Expanse’s roots stirred, Mycoglyphs flaring, Earthcore Nexus’s hunger ravenous, as if tasting the Apostate’s Embers.

...

Edge of Rootsite Territory.

The Null Shrikes emerged from the ruins, 500 meters out, their sleek exosuits glinting, Genesis Disruptors humming to nullify Aspects within 50 meters, Null Blades glowing to sever Genesis flesh.

Captain Vex halted, vox crackling, spotting the Apostates’ retreat; spectral tendrils fading, heat and cold trailing.

Spotting them while they retreated, it was all a coincidence.

The Captain stared.

The Rootsite plaza glowed, Plague Lord’s spore cloud visible, Clayton’s silhouette atop a turret, bloodied but standing.

"Hostiles detected," Vex said, voice cold. "Apostates fleeing. Verdant Lord active. Disruptors online".

The Shrikes advanced, oblivious to the battle’s end, their tech a death sentence poised to strike...