CHAPTER 59: ASHES OF DEFIANCE

The tram hub in the Forgotten Atlanta Expanse was a slaughterhouse, ruins scorched by molten slag, frost-cracked stone, and spectral tendrils fraying under Mycoglyphs’ dying glow.

Clayton crouched atop a Verdant Bastion turret, 200 meters from the chaos, Regalia of the Verdant Warden a dead weight in his grip, Heartseed Core screaming at 99% Genesis Threshold.

He was weakened, his Aspect Strain catastrophic and in need of rest or replenishment to recover.

But right now, his chances of finding rest didn’t look high.

The Genesis Disruptors of the Ironblood’s Null Shrikes had nullified his Verdant Tyranny Aspect, severing Aphid Network, Spore Plague Lord, and Root Web, leaving him crippled, his 19 Initiate Ember minions and Luminous Seed Plague Lord frozen.

Panic clawed his chest, a raw wound; 330 years of trials, Echoterra’s Spore Choir, Scorchpath’s ash, and now this, weaker than ever.

Spite burned hotter, the Ironblood his new top enemy.

No one had the right to break him like this!

"Tech-junkie bastards," he hissed, blood crusting his lips. "You’ll pay!"

The Shrikes, led by Captain Vex, pursued the three Apostates; Echoes of Ruin, heat-kin (Ember Cascade), and cold-kin (Frostbite Veil). They were 150 meters out, their exosuits blurring to cut off escape.

Cornered, the Apostates fought with bloodlust, their Aspects weakened by Disruptors but fueled by hatred.

Clayton’s Rootsite, his Verdant Lord form’s anchor tethered him; he couldn’t flee like the Apostates.

And he knew that he could not abandon his Verdant Lord form. That was like abandoning a part of himself.

Heck, he wasn’t even sure if he would survive it if he lost his Rootsite and his Verdant Lord form.

He had to fight, protect his 100 square kilometer throne, or lose everything.

’Now I can’t even run’.

’What a mess’.

Clayton felt like he was losing his sanity, but he pressed on still, will as defiant as a problem child.

And then, a flicker stirred, his Aspect partially recovering, Disruptors’ pulse faltering at range.

’Yes!’ Clayton almost screamed.

Core Maw hummed, Spine Bloom twitching, but Aphid Network stayed dark, Plague Lord and minions locked.

His Genesis Threshold held at 99%, Aspect Strain catastrophic, yet spite roared louder than panic. More importantly, his brain churned.

The situation was chaotic, but Clayton was sure of something. If the Apostates died, he would follow next. There was no negotiating it.

That was all he needed to make his decision.

The Ironblood were the enemy of his enemy. And like they say, the enemy of your enemy is your friend.

"Time to crash the party," he growled, vaulting off the turret, Regalia shifting to bow form, venom-sap arrow nocked.

...

The hub was a maelstrom. Echoes of Ruin’s spectral tendrils wove a psychic shield, her Aspect still screaming. "Traitors die!" Knifing Vex’s mind, cracking her visor, blood trickling.

Against the Ironblood Remnants, she fought with desperation and unwavering zeal. She fought with bloodlust.

By now, Clayton already realized.

Just like Commander Drayce, Vex was Luminous Seed rank.

The only reason why the Apostates were still alive was because, well, they were Apostates.

The heat-kin’s Ember Cascade sculpted a molten serpent, jaws snapping, slag dripping, melting a Shrike’s arm, servos sparking.

The cold-kin’s Frostbite Veil launched crystalline shards, impaling a Shrike’s thigh, frost spreading like cancer.

The Shrikes countered, Null Blades severing tendrils, Embers bleeding starlight, Disruptors tightening, weakening Aspects. Vex’s blade slashed the heat-kin’s cloak, Embers spilling, while two Shrikes flanked them, blades carving cold-kin’s arm, frost dimming.

Clayton already entered the fray.

He loosed an arrow, Spine Bloom venom-sap grazing a Shrike’s shoulder, catching him off-guard as Bloodthorn Fang seared his exosuit joints.

He ducked behind rubble, Core Maw snapping at a stray tendril, absorbing Embers to ease his Aspect Strain.

His attack shifted nothing; Disruptors still choked his Aspect, Apostates’ bloodlust outshining his spite.

The hub quaked, Earthcore Nexus’s hunger a ravenous pulse, Mycoglyphs flaring like a funeral pyre, cosmic horrow alive in the clash’s desperation.

The heat-kin, cloak scorched, eyes blazing, roared in defiance.

"I’ll burn your Ironhold damned f*ckers!"

His Ember Cascade surged, serpent coiling, flames sculpting wings, diving at Vex. Slag exploded, stone vaporizing, her exosuit melting, arm charred.

A Shrike lunged, Null Blade piercing his chest, and then... Embers bursting!

25 Genesis Embers, radiant, erupting in a supernova of corrupted Genesis.

BZZZ!

He staggered, flames dimming as his life flashed before his eyes: Echoterra’s Verdant Cradle, his trial-mates’ laughter, betrayal’s sting.

He opened his mouth. "Not... yet...," he gasped, serpent lashing, searing Vex’s leg before collapsing, molten claws fading, his final struggle a blaze of unyielding rage.

~----~

[Apostate Slain: Ember Cascade Kin]

[Genesis Embers Acquired: 25]

~----~

And just like that, another Apostate died.

This time, it was not supposed to be Clayton with the system notification. After all, he didn’t deal the final blow, but he still got the system notification and the influx of Genesis Embers.

He understood why.

He didn’t kill the heat Apostate, but he fought against him. And since Ironblood Remnants don’t grow through absorbing Genesis Embers, the system directed them towards him instead who participated in the hunt.

The cold-kin watched her comrade die, and she lost it. She could not take it. She screamed, Frostbite Veil crystallizing a glacial spear, her arm bleeding, frost cracking under Disruptors.

"You’ll freeze in our graves!" She spat, spear impaling a Shrike’s chest, blood freezing, his Disruptor clattering.

Vex’s Null Blade slashed, severing her hand, Embers spilling, frost dimming.

The Apostate fell, shards dissolving, eyes locked on the sky as memories flashed through her head: Echoterra’s stars, her sister’s face, lost in the Collapse.

"I’m... sorry...," she whispered, breath icing, her final defiance a fragile, shattering cry.

~----~

[Apostate Slain: Frostbite Veil Kin]

[Genesis Embers Acquired: 25]

~----~

"...!"

For what felt like a fraction of a second, there was a pause as if to acknowledge the death of the 2 Apostates, and then... VIOLENCE.

Echoes of Ruin fought on, face twisted in hatred and rage, tendrils lashing, psychic screams tearing at her enemies. "I’ll end you all!" Her psychic attacks cracked a Shrike’s visor, blood spraying.

Her Aspect flickered, Disruptors tightening, but her malice burned eternal.

Vex’s Null Blade grazed her, Embers bleeding, and yet at the last moment, when it seemed like she was ready to jump into the eternal embrace of death like her comrades, she wore a spectral cloak, turning, suddenly vanishing into the ruins, her retreat a promise of vengeance.

Only she and Clayton remained, the hub a graveyard of slag, frost, and blood.

And now, she fled.

Clayton fired another arrow, venom-sap missing, and uncertainty tearing him apart even as Core Maw absorbed more stray Embers.

’F*ck! F*ck! F*ck!’ He cursed.

His Aspect flickered, Spine Bloom weak, Aphid Network still locked.

He was desperate.

The Shrikes; four left, Vex wounded, turned, Disruptors pulsing, eyes locking on him. His panic surged, but spite held.

’Bring it on bastards!’

Clayton wanted to turn and run, run for his life, but... Rootsite, Plague Lord, his crown demanded he stand.

A system chime rang, a new Codex entry unfurling amidst the carnage.

~----~

[Codex Entry Unlocked: Genesis Corruption]

The Genesis Collapse birthed Aspects, but corruption twists them beyond mortal limits. Apostates, like Echoes of Ruin, wield corrupted Heartseeds, their Embers- 25 per kill, radiating unnatural potency, fueling feats defying Initiate Ember ranks. Corruption draws Earthcore Nexus’s hunger, waking predators beyond Luminous Seed.

Ironblood’s Null Scions hunt such taint, their Disruptors nullifying Aspects, but corruption’s malice endures, a cycle of ruin unbroken.

~----~

Clayton’s eyes narrowed, blood dripping, humor gone. "Corrupted or not, I’m still standing".

The Shrikes advanced, Null Blades glowing, Disruptors humming, the Expanse’s hunger a dirge.

And then...

DING!

A new Codex entry.