CHAPTER 62: RESURRECTION OF THORNS

The Forgotten Atlanta Expanse burned, the Verdant Warden Behemorph’s fungal colossus rampaging through the tram hub, its 50-meter mass of writhing tendrils and corrosive spores obliterating ruins.

Mycoglyphs dimmed, Earthcore Nexus’s hunger a panicked pulse, cosmic horror reigning as stone melted into fungal sludge, non-Behemorph life dissolving.

Clayton’s humanoid body lay crushed, blood and 104 Genesis Embers consumed by spores, his Heartseed Core pierced by Vex’s Null Blade.

Yet, a few kilometers away, his Rootsite pulsed, the Verdant Lord form still active; a green heart of sentient roots and thorned biomass stirring in its chamber, sustained by Phytoleech Bloom.

His Architect rank Aspect, divine-like, refused oblivion.

And yet, he was dying.

DING!

~----~

[System Alert: Host Status – Verdant Lord Form Active]

[Genesis Embers Available: 104]

[Aspect Status: Architect Rank – Partial Functionality]

[System Note: Humanoid form terminated. Verdant Lord form unstable. Core stabilization required.]

~----~

The Rootsite’s Territorial Sentience flared, mapping the Verdant Warden’s rampage and the destruction left in its wake; tendrils shattering spires, spores warping flora into grotesque blooms.

It felt like the Apocalypse all over again, but this time its destruction centered only on the Forgotten Atlanta Expanse.

The Behemorph’s Verdant Warden rank power, ecosystem-shaping and reality-warping, threatened the Expanse, its wrath targeting all non-Behemorphs.

Clayton’s Verdant Lord form, a network of roots threading 100 square kilometers, quaked, its Heartseed Core flickering.

Without its humanoid counterpart, it was dying, biomass decaying, Aspect Strain catastrophic.

"Come on," Clayton’s consciousness growled, humor dark even in death. "You don’t get to bench a god".

The moment his humanoid body died, and he realized that a part of his consciousness lived on through his Verdant Lord form, he felt ecstatic.

But his ecstasy didn’t last long as the knowledge that he was dying followed.

And now, he had to fight for his life all over again.

When had it ever been different?

His reaction?

’Come on Hunt!’

’Heh, death is too weak to kill you, c’mon!’

One aspect of Clayton’s life since being sucked into the Genesis Protocols was that, back in Echoterra, his evolutions as a monster plant always happened when he was desperate and barely clinging to life, hoping, looking, groping for anyway and any opportunity to grow stronger, and survive.

When he died, that was exactly the situation that he found himself in.

His final form, the Verdant Lord was groping for survival, and it was the catalyst that triggered a change.

’C’mon you bastard!’ He cursed himself, spite becoming a weapon.

And then... his Architect Aspect suddenly surged, divine potential unlocking under duress.

A new facet of his Aspect emerged; Veil of Verdant Shroud, a stealth ability cloaking the Rootsite in spectral roots, bending light and Earthcore Nexus vibrations to hide from the Behemorph’s senses.

In a way, it was like evolution, just in a different way and more focused on his Aspect this time.

Thorned turrets faded, venom-sap pits vanished, Mycoglyphs dimmed to whispers.

The Rootsite became a ghost, its 100 square kilometer expanse invisible to the Verdant Warden’s spore storms.

And then...

DING!

~----~

[Ability Unlocked: Veil of Verdant Shroud]

[Effect: Cloaks Rootsite and Verdant Lord form from detection.]

[Automatically using Ability...]

[Duration: 24 hours.]

[Cooldown: 48 hours.]

[Genesis Threshold: 100%]

[Aspect Strain: CATASTROPHIC]

~----~

His Aspect Strain was catastrophic, but under that duress with death a real possibility was when he exceeded his limits, unlocking a new facet of his Aspect.

The Verdant Lord’s roots tightened, but decay spread; vines browning, Phytoleech Bloom faltering.

Clayton’s consciousness flickered; memories of Echoterra’s Verdant Cradle, Scorchpath’s ash, and his sister’s fading voice lingering in his mind.

His Evolution was not over. It was a process.

The theory of Natural Selection... it states that organisms with traits better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on those advantageous traits.

It was survival of the fittest, a fight against death itself.

And yet, Clayton would not succumb.

He won’t give up. Not when his spite was still burning so hot.

And so, once again, his Architect Aspect pulsed, divine and unyielding, unlocking another facet... REVIVAL.

So long as one form lived, the other could be resurrected.

At Initiate Ember rank, resurrection required 100 Genesis Embers. And coincidentally or perhaps fated, Clayton had 104.

DING!

~----~

[Ability Unlocked: Revival]

[Effect: Resurrects humanoid form or Verdant Lord form. You can resurrect humanoid form using 100 Genesis Embers. Requires active Verdant Lord form.]

[Cooldown: 7 days.]

[Automatically using Revival Ability, please wait...]

[Genesis Embers Expended: 100]

[Genesis Embers Remaining: 4/6000]

[System Note: Resurrection in progress. ETA: 1 hour.]

~----~

Roots coiled, Core Maw devouring biomass, Spine Bloom weaving a humanoid shell.

Clayton’s body reformed, slowly; scarred, lean, Flame-Resistant skin, Regalia of the Verdant Warden materializing, spear form humming.

His Heartseed Core reignited, Genesis Threshold resetting, Aspect Strain easing. He gasped, eyes snapping open, humor dark as blood.

"Back in the game, junkies," he muttered, sprawled in the Rootsite’s chamber. "Gods don’t stay dead".

The Veil of Verdant Shroud held, cloaking the Rootsite as the Verdant Warden’s rampage echoed, tendrils shattering distant ruins.

Clayton’s Territorial Sentience pinged; a faint trace of his Spore Plague Lord and 19 minions; 8 Thorn Hounds, 6 Howl Shriekers, 4 Ash Sprites, 1 Spore Drifter, fleeing into the Expanse’s wastes, their Aphid Network severed but alive.

He’d reclaim them.

But first, he’d hide, his Architect rank Aspect a divine shield against the ancient Behemorph’s wrath.

...

Ironhold-4 Evacuation Route, 30 Kilometers South.

Captain Vex stumbled through ash-choked ruins with her three Null Shrikes. Their exosuits were battered, Disruptors dead, trailing, blood staining their Null Blades.

Bastion-7’s evacuation was chaos, drones lost, Null Lances abandoned, Ironblood zeal broken.

Vex’s vox crackled, leg dragging, arm sparking, Commander Vrenna’s orders a desperate plea.

The Verdant Warden Behemorph’s spore storms loomed, warping reality, ruins slowly dissolving under its influence. The system didn’t’ indicate it, but Clayton could tell from where he hid that it was a Spore Crown Behemorph.

As for the Ironblood Remnants? The Expanse was no longer theirs.

"Keep moving," Vex growled, visor fogged, blood dripping. "Or we’re spore food".

The Shrikes pressed on, unaware of Clayton’s resurrection, the Earthcore Nexus’s pulse a dirge for their retreat.