Chapter 270: Thalara! Where have you been!

Chapter 270: Chapter 270: Thalara! Where have you been!

Soren paused.

She smiled sweetly.

"I like it when you cook for me."

His silver eyes softened.

"Then I’ll hunt something."

Before leaving, Soren tucked the blanket around her legs and kissed her forehead.

"Rest until I’m back."

Swanly caught his hand and smiled.

"Only if you make it delicious."

His lips twitched despite his worry.

He left through the northern forest approach, far from the Veskari camp.

Not long afterward, Kael returned to the repairs near the shelter, keeping the children close while Nerin helped them sort safe wooden pieces.

Swanly watched from her bed.

She waited.

And waited.

Then slowly sat up.

"System."

HOST.

She blinked.

"Why do you sound suspicious?"

BECAUSE YOU HAVE THAT EXPRESSION AGAIN.

"What expression?"

THE ONE YOU MAKE BEFORE DOING SOMETHING STUPID.

Swanly gasped.

"How dare you?"

YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE RESTING.

"I am resting."

YOU ARE PUTTING ON YOUR SHOES.

"Resting with shoes."

HOST.

Swanly sighed.

"Fine. I just want to check something."

The fairy stared.

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

"It’s inside Ironwood."

THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT SAFE.

"I won’t go underground."

YOU SAID THAT AS THOUGH IT IS A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT.

Swanly ignored it.

She stood carefully.

A dull ache remained beneath her ribs, but the sharp pain had eased.

She changed into clean clothes, tied back her white hair, and stepped outside.

Kael immediately looked up.

"Where are you going?"

Swanly smiled.

"For a short walk."

His black ears twitched.

"Swanly."

"Just nearby."

He studied her.

Then glanced toward the children.

Miko was currently trying to convince Eira that a wooden spoon was a sword.

Eira looked deeply unimpressed.

Kael sighed.

"Stay within the protected paths."

"I will."

"And don’t overexert yourself."

"Yes, Papa."

His eyes narrowed.

Swanly laughed.

Then walked away.

Very calmly.

Very innocently.

Until she reached the bend beyond the family shelters.

Then her expression changed.

"System. Show me the arrow location."

A golden path appeared.

HOST, I MUST OBJECT.

"Object while guiding me."

THAT IS NOT HOW OBJECTIONS WORK!

Swanly followed the path.

She passed the herb gardens.

Then the damaged eastern walkway.

And eventually reached the quieter forest path near the old maintenance entrance.

But she stopped when something enormous moved between the trees.

Druun.

The giant guardian.

His massive body was partly hidden behind the ancient trunks.

He stood near an old root formation, one huge hand resting against the ground.

Apparently listening.

Swanly froze.

"Oh, no."

The System tilted its head.

WHAT?

"If he sees me, he’s going to tell Soren."

GOOD.

"System!"

I SUPPORT THE GIANT.

Swanly looked around.

Druun’s enormous head turned slowly.

She immediately ducked behind a tree.

The fairy sighed.

YOU ARE HIDING FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS SAVED YOUR LIFE.

"I’m not hiding."

THEN WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

"Respecting his privacy."

BEHIND A TREE?

"Shut up."

She waited until Druun moved toward the damaged northern roots.

Then took a smaller forest path.

Carefully.

No running.

No jumping.

And absolutely no fighting.

She was only going to look.

That was all.

At least, that was what she told herself.

The forest was quiet when Swanly reached the old maintenance exit.

She recognized the broken stones.

The moss-covered roots.

The narrow path leading toward the hatch.

And the tree.

Swanly stopped.

"There."

The arrow was still buried in its trunk.

Its shaft had darkened slightly from exposure, but the wood around the point remained split.

Swanly approached slowly.

Her fox ears turned forward.

She looked around.

Nothing.

No footprints she could clearly identify.

No broken branches suggesting where the attacker had stood.

No unfamiliar scent.

"System?"

SCANNING.

Golden light spread across the ground.

Then climbed the nearby trees.

Swanly waited.

NO ACTIVE HOSTILE SIGNATURES DETECTED.

She frowned.

"Again?"

THE ATTACKER IS NOT PRESENT.

"Can you tell where they fired from?"

TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS INCOMPLETE. ENVIRONMENTAL INTERFERENCE AND THE PROJECTILE’S CONDITION LIMIT RECONSTRUCTION.

Swanly stared at the arrow.

She remembered how it had passed her shoulder.

How close it had come.

She touched the faint scratch beneath her sleeve.

It was almost healed.

"Whoever did this was good."

The fairy remained silent.

Swanly leaned closer to the tree.

The arrow looked ordinary at first.

A dark shaft.

A narrow head.

Small markings carved along its surface.

But something about the tree bothered her.

The bark around the embedded point looked slightly different.

Darker.

Almost damp.

She frowned.

"System, scan the arrow itself."

INITIATING MATERIAL ANALYSIS.

Golden light covered the shaft.

Then the metal head buried in the wood.

A panel appeared.

BIOLOGICAL RESIDUE DETECTED.

Swanly blinked.

"Blood?"

CONFIRMED.

"Whose?"

A pause.

HOST GENETIC SIGNATURE CONFIRMED.

Swanly’s ears shot upright.

"Mine?"

YES.

She slowly looked at her shoulder.

Then back at the arrow.

"When it scratched me..."

THE PROJECTILE COLLECTED A SMALL AMOUNT OF YOUR BLOOD BEFORE PENETRATING THE TREE.

"Okay..."

Swanly folded her arms.

"So?"

The fairy continued scanning.

Then suddenly froze.

Its golden eyes widened.

Swanly noticed immediately.

"What?"

No answer.

"System?"

The fairy’s wings spread.

WAIT.

Another panel appeared.

Then another.

Golden symbols began moving rapidly across them.

UNUSUAL BIOLOGICAL REACTION DETECTED WITHIN THE TREE.

Swanly frowned.

"What reaction?"

The System enlarged the image.

Deep inside the trunk, near the buried arrowhead, tiny threads of light were moving.

Very faint.

Almost invisible.

They traveled through the wood.

Downward.

Toward the roots.

Swanly slowly crouched.

"Are those..."

THE RESIDUAL BLOOD HAS INTERACTED WITH AN EXISTING ANCIENT ROOT NETWORK.

Her expression changed.

"The Heart’s roots?"

POSSIBLE. THE NETWORK DISPLAYS A SIGNATURE SIMILAR TO THE ONE RECORDED NEAR THE FIRST ROT HEART.

Swanly stared.

A horrible thought began forming.

"System."

YES, HOST?

"Are you telling me that when the arrow scratched me and hit this tree..."

She swallowed.

"My blood connected to something underground?"

The fairy hesitated.

THAT IS ONE POSSIBILITY.

Swanly’s stomach dropped.

"WHAT?"

THE ROOT NETWORK MAY HAVE TRANSMITTED A BIOLOGICAL SIGNAL AFTER CONTACT WITH YOUR BLOOD.

She slowly stood.

"And what does that mean?"

UNKNOWN.

"Unknown?!"

I CANNOT YET DETERMINE WHETHER THE SIGNAL TRAVELED INTO THE UNDERGROUND NETWORK, RETURNED TOWARD YOU, OR BOTH.

Swanly stared at the tree.

Then remembered the pain in her chest.

The blood.

The strange signature inside her body.

Her face slowly lost color.

"Wait..."

The System opened another panel.

COMPARING HOST BIOLOGICAL SIGNATURE WITH ROOT NETWORK ACTIVITY.

Golden light flickered.

Then a warning appeared.

POSSIBLE RESONANCE CONNECTION DETECTED.

Swanly stepped back.

"No."

Her fox ears flattened.

"No, no, no."

The fairy looked at her.

HOST...

"Don’t tell me..."

Her voice dropped.

"Don’t tell me I’m connected to that Heart."

The System hesitated.

Then answered:

I CANNOT CONFIRM THE NATURE OR EXTENT OF THE CONNECTION. HOWEVER, YOUR BLOOD AND THE ANCIENT NETWORK ARE DISPLAYING CORRELATED ACTIVITY.

Swanly stared at the tree.

Her mouth slowly fell open.

"So I’m not just injured?"

THE INJURY IS REAL. BUT IT DOES NOT FULLY EXPLAIN YOUR SYMPTOMS.

"Oh, wonderful."

She laughed once.

Not because anything was funny.

"Fantastic."

She looked toward the sky.

"I save everybody from underground monsters, and now the stupid underground might have found a way to save my number?"

The fairy blinked.

HOST, THAT IS NOT A SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION.

"I DON’T CARE!"

Her voice echoed through the quiet forest.

Swanly immediately looked around.

Nothing moved.

She lowered her voice.

"Okay."

She rubbed her face.

"Okay, think."

The arrow had scratched her.

Her blood had touched the tree.

The tree’s roots were connected to something ancient.

And now her body was displaying a strange signature.

But why?

Had the arrow been deliberately aimed to collect her blood?

Had someone known about the roots?

Or had everything happened by accident?

Swanly looked at the dark shaft again.

Then her eyes narrowed.

"System, don’t stop scanning."

I WILL CONTINUE ANALYSIS.

"Good."

She took another step closer.

Then stopped.

A strange sound moved through the trees.

Not a growl.

Not footsteps.

Breathing.

Heavy.

Uneven.

Swanly’s ears shot upright.

She turned.

"Who’s there?"

The forest remained still.

Then something shifted between two enormous trunks.

Swanly immediately summoned her bow.

A golden arrow formed.

"Come out!"

The heavy breathing grew louder.

Then a familiar figure stepped from between the ancient trees.

Tall.

Ashen lavender skin.

Branch-like horns rising from her head.

And a glowing purple third eye resting in the center of her forehead.

Swanly froze.

"Thalara?"

The ancient Aelari woman stopped several steps away.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her long fingers trembled, and the thin roots curling around her arms moved restlessly.

Swanly lowered her bow.

"Thalara! Where have you been!"

But something was wrong.

Thalara wasn’t smiling.

She barely seemed to hear her.

Her eyes moved over Swanly’s face.

Then her shoulder.

Then toward the arrow buried in the tree.

She went completely still.

Swanly frowned.

"What’s wrong?"

Thalara slowly approached the tree.

Her third eye opened wider, its purple glow growing brighter.

She stared at the faint light beneath the bark.

Then at Swanly.

Then back at the tree.

Her breathing suddenly became uneven.

"Thalara?"

The ancient woman’s lips parted.

For the first time since Swanly had met her, genuine terror appeared on her face.

She whispered:

"Oh no."