Location: Verdant Bastion, Rootcore Chamber | Time: Five Days After Kingdom Evolution
The verdant heart of Ashen's kingdom pulsed not with stability—but with tension.
The [Memory Chamber] was dim. Its once-gleaming echoes were now clouded by a spreading corruption at the edges, like vines wilting under a black sun. The chamber's crystalline structure shuddered, and Ashen stood at its center, watching a dark bloom slowly corrupt one of the floating Echo NPCs.
Galhadrien flickered into view beside him, her silhouette trembling. "The Black Root has awakened."
Ashen narrowed his eyes. "Then the rumors in the system's backend were true. The devs made a counter to the Living Kingdom?"
Galhadrien nodded, grim. "A twin, buried in code. Version 0.98b. A failsafe AI intended to consume rogue systems—systems like us."
Ashen clenched his fists. The living data around them hissed with distortion. Vines retreated instinctively from the corruption's edge.
[System Notification]
