Chapter 296: Memories Of A God
The entire cavern began to collapse.
It started with a tremor, subtle at first, like the void was holding its breath. Then came the low groan, a grinding, weary sound that echoed through the infinite dark.
Cracks split through the floor, spiderwebbing outward from the Heart's shattered remains. Veins of pale light wormed their way through stone and void, unraveling the reality of the space where they had just fought to survive and destroy.
The very structure of the void warped and buckled. Pillars of obsidian, black and older than memory, appeared out of nowhere, revealing what was holding the sky up and supporting the ground beneath their feet.
With a crackling sound, the pillars snapped like twigs.
Arcs of wild energy surged through the air, rupturing open rifts that shimmered with impossible color. Time frayed. Gravity spun. The entire void became a storm.
"MOVE!" Ren shouted, but the command came too late.
From the broken shell of the Heart, light erupted in a wave. It poured out in an unstoppable surge, bright as a newborn sun, hot as judgment, and utterly silent.
It wasn't light that filled the space. It was meaning. Memory. The raw scream of the Heart's death cry.
It caught them like a tide. It didn't burn. It lifted.
Zuzu cried out, flailing instinctively. Thorn reached for her, catching her around the waist. Their bodies twisted together as they rose, weightless, swept upward by the force of the Deep's final cry.
Ren spun, searching, then saw Lilith, her body limp, drifting like a leaf on the current. Her pale hair floated around her head like a halo.
He dove for her, teeth clenched, every instinct screaming. His fingers brushed hers, and then caught.
"I've got you!" he shouted.
But his voice was swallowed by the roar of collapsing space.
Around them, the void unfurled. Walls peeled back like petals on a flower. Air twisted into ribbons. The ground disappeared. Space folded in on itself, spinning them through layers of existence.
They passed through dream-like fragments of different realities. Oceans made of eyes, burning skies, twisted roots reaching through stars. Soul matter drifted like ash through a void of emotion.
Whether the realities were true or false, they had no idea. But they spun between memories not their own, the light reflecting everything around them.
Below them, Elias's body began to glow. There was no scream. No farewell. Just the soft dissolution of flesh into light. He didn't fall. He rose.
Then he was gone.
Ren clutched Lilith closer, heart hammering.
The light intensified. It pierced everything. Skin, thought, memory. They were no longer falling. They were ascending.
And then, the sky broke.
With a sound like thunder cracking through glass, they shattered the surface of the sea.
Water exploded around them as they emerged, gasping, blinking in the sudden sunlight. Real sunlight. Warm, golden, and blinding.
The air smelled of salt and sky. The wind hit their faces like a blessing.
They floated in stunned silence.
Around them, the wreckage of what must have been a dozen ships drifted. Splintered hulls. Torn sails. Broken flags. Debris stretched for miles, making this section of the sea look like a cemetery for battles they never saw.
They drifted together, pulled by the current and their own exhaustion. For a long time, no one spoke.
Lilith was unconscious beside Ren, but her chest rose and fell.
Zuzu clung to Thorn, her hands white from gripping him too tight.
Ren stared up at the clouds. His mind was a storm.
Then, without warning, his chest arched. A violent gasp escaped him.
Purple light exploded from his skin.
His veins ignited, threading beneath his skin like snakes. His eyes rolled back. He convulsed, held tight to Lilith, barely able to breathe.
Then came the knowledge.
It tore through him like an electric shock.
His mind stretched. Expanded.
He saw things. Felt things. Knew things he should not.
Images burned into his skull. Trenches that reached the planet's core, creatures that wept galaxies. He heard a voice, distant and endless, speaking in the language of stars.
Yggdrasil.
The World Tree.
He saw its roots entwined with reality. Its branches cradling moons. Leaves that whispered secrets of the first dawn.
And he saw the Deep. A shadow clinging to the lowest root, gnawing at the anchor of all life.
Then the vision shattered.
Ren collapsed back into the water, gasping for breath.
He had ascended.
Rank 5 of Soulbinding.
His body ached. His thoughts spun. The memories were quickly fading away, just as fast as they came, but he buried one thought deep within him, anchoring it to his very consciousness.
Sever yourself from all Trees of Power or you shall die!
A few seconds later, the memories were gone, leaving behind a deep sense of unease.
Lilith stirred in his arms.
"Lilith..." he whispered, his head snapping to her in an instant.
She groaned, blinking weakly. Her lips parted.
"Ren..."
He smiled, tears welling in his eyes. "You're alive. We made it."
She nodded faintly, then passed out again.
Zuzu sobbed softly. Her cries were ragged, almost soundless. She buried her face into Thorn's shoulder. Thorn just held her. His eyes were glassy, fixed on the sky like he didn't believe it was real.
Elias was gone.
But the Deep was dead.
They floated together, held aloft by the sea.
Time passed in pieces. Minutes, maybe hours. None of them could tell.
Then, shouts.
A ship.
Sails snapped overhead. A battered merchant vessel, patched and sun bleached, cut through the wreckage. Shouts came from above. Ropes dropped.
Strong hands hauled them aboard. Blankets wrapped around shaking limbs. Cups of water. Bread. Salted fish.
They were safe.
An older man with a scarred face and commanding voice approached them. The captain. His beard was grey, his coat threadbare but proud.
"You came from the dead sea?" he asked Ren.
Ren could barely nod.
"The Tidecallers sent warnings. Said something had awakened. The sea rose. Ships vanished. We saw the waves. Saw the sky go dark. Thought the end had come."
Ren looked at him through half-lidded eyes. "It almost did."
The captain scanned the group. Lilith. Zuzu. Thorn.
"And you... you killed it?"
"We stopped it." Ren said, voice hollow.
The captain was silent for a moment. Then he removed his hat.
"Gods preserve you. You'll have stories to tell."
He turned and shouted to the crew. "Give them room. Let them rest. These ones fought in the belly of the world."
The ship turned, heading east.
Ren sat with Lilith resting against him. Zuzu lay nearby, curled up. Thorn sat with his eyes closed, his hand over his heart.
The sea rocked beneath them.
The sun shone above.
The Deep was gone.
And they were going home.