"The roots are opening."
The words lingered in the room long after the messenger finished speaking.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Kael felt a chill crawl down his spine.
The phrase sounded wrong.
Not because it was frightening.
Because it felt familiar.
As though part of him already knew what it meant.
Master Arlen recovered first.
"Where is he?"
"The infirmary."
The messenger swallowed.
"He hasn't stopped repeating it."
Arlen nodded immediately.
"Take me to him."
The young instructor hurried from the room.
The old man turned toward Kael.
For a moment, it seemed like he was considering something.
Weighing a decision.
Then—
"Come with me."
Kael blinked.
"What?"
"If these events are connected to what you've experienced..."
Arlen's expression hardened.
"They concern you."
That wasn't reassuring.
At all.
The academy infirmary occupied the western wing.
Usually it treated training injuries.
Broken bones.
Sprains.
The occasional foolish student who thought jumping off a roof was a good idea.
Today the atmosphere felt different.
Tense.
Uneasy.
Several guards stood outside.
One had his hand resting on his sword.
Another looked as though he hadn't slept.
Inside...
A man sat upright in bed.
His eyes were wide.
Bloodshot.
Terrified.
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A veteran scout.
Judging by the scars.
Judging by the weathered armor resting nearby.
A man who had likely survived countless expeditions.
Yet now he trembled like a frightened child.
"The roots are opening."
His voice cracked.
"The roots are opening."
One of the healers attempted to calm him.
The man barely noticed.
"The roots are opening."
Arlen stepped closer.
"Scout."
The man's gaze snapped toward him.
For a heartbeat...
Recognition appeared.
Then fear returned.
Far worse than before.
"They're waking."
The room fell silent.
"Who is waking?"
Arlen asked.
The scout's breathing quickened.
"The city."
Kael frowned.
"What city?"
The scout froze.
His eyes locked onto Kael.
And suddenly—
The terror disappeared.
Confusion replaced it.
"You're..."
His voice faltered.
"Impossible."
Arlen immediately noticed.
"So you remember something."
The scout pressed both hands against his head.
"I saw..."
His body began shaking.
"I saw black Threads."
Kael froze.
The room seemed to shrink around him.
Black Threads.
Again.
"I saw them covering the roots."
The scout whispered.
"Everywhere."
His voice trembled.
"And there was a gate."
Silence.
"A gate?" Arlen asked.
The scout nodded frantically.
"Huge."
His eyes stared into the distance.
Seeing something nobody else could.
"Bigger than a castle."
Sweat rolled down his face.
"It opened."
The room waited.
"What was inside?"
The scout's expression collapsed into horror.
"I don't know."
His breathing became ragged.
"I can't remember."
The frustration in his voice was heartbreaking.
"I KNOW I SAW SOMETHING!"
The outburst echoed through the infirmary.
Then—
The memory vanished again.
The scout slumped back onto the bed.
Confused.
Lost.
"The roots are opening."
He whispered once more.
And nothing else.
Arlen remained silent for a long time.
Eventually he motioned for Kael to follow him outside.
The corridor felt colder than before.
"What was that?"
Kael asked.
Arlen exhaled slowly.
"A warning."
The old instructor looked older than ever.
"One I've feared for many years."
They stopped beside a window overlooking Havenfall.
The city stretched below.
Peaceful.
Unaware.
Children played in the streets.
Merchants reopened their stalls.
Life continued.
None of them knew.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Kael asked quietly.
Arlen remained silent.
Then finally—
"Have you ever wondered why the Black Forest exists?"
The question caught Kael off guard.
"What?"
"The largest forest on the continent."
Arlen looked west.
"It has stood for thousands of years."
"Kingdoms rise and fall."
"The forest remains."
His eyes narrowed.
"Does that seem natural to you?"
Kael thought about it.
No.
It didn't.
Not really.
"Forests don't swallow roads."
"They don't consume watchtowers."
"They don't slowly expand for centuries."
Finn's maps suddenly came to mind.
The missing roads.
The vanished lodges.
The shrinking borders.
Arlen nodded when he saw the realization.
"Exactly."
The old instructor folded his hands behind his back.
"The Kingdom teaches that the Black Forest is dangerous because monsters live within it."
A faint smile appeared.
"The truth may be the opposite."
Kael frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Arlen looked toward the endless sea of trees.
For the first time...
His voice became almost reverent.
"What if the forest isn't imprisoning something?"
A pause.
"What if it's protecting it?"
The words sent a chill through Kael's entire body.
Protecting.
Not containing.
Protecting.
The tremor that followed was stronger than any before.
The academy shook.
Windows rattled.
People shouted outside.
Somewhere in Havenfall, bells began ringing.
Not warning bells.
Not city bells.
Ancient bells.
Deep.
Resonant.
Impossible.
BOOOOOONG.
The sound rolled beneath the earth.
Across roots.
Across stone.
Across forgotten kingdoms.
Far beneath the Black Forest...
Massive gates slowly separated.
Ancient mechanisms awakened.
Black Threads flowed through vast underground streets like rivers.
Lights began appearing.
One after another.
Across a city buried beneath roots.
A city that should not exist.
A city that had slept for thousands of years.
And deep within its heart...
An ancient woman opened her eyes.
Silver Threads drifted around her like falling starlight.
She looked toward the distant surface.
Toward Havenfall.
Toward a boy she had waited centuries to meet.
A gentle smile touched her weathered face.
"At last."
The Elder of Rootwatch had awakened.
And the hidden world beneath the Black Forest was preparing to reveal itself.