Chapter 272: That is the heart of a different beast

Chapter 272: Chapter 272: That is the heart of a different beast

"Please, listen!"

The ancient woman caught her hands again.

"It was already concerning. But I believed I could find a way to separate those traces safely."

Swanly swallowed.

"Believed?"

Thalara slowly turned toward the tree.

Her third eye narrowed.

"Then this happened."

Swanly followed her gaze.

The arrow remained buried in the trunk.

Tiny threads of light moved beneath the bark.

Almost invisible.

Thalara’s expression darkened.

"The First Heart."

Swanly felt cold.

"The System detected something similar in my body."

Thalara immediately turned.

"What?"

Swanly touched her chest.

"I woke up with terrible pain."

Thalara’s face changed.

"What kind of pain?"

"Inside my chest. I couldn’t breathe properly."

"And?"

Swanly hesitated.

"I coughed blood."

Thalara staggered.

Swanly immediately caught her.

"Hey!"

The ancient woman gripped Swanly’s arm.

"When?"

"This morning."

Thalara’s third eye flickered violently.

"No..."

Swanly swallowed.

"Thalara?"

The ancient woman looked toward the tree.

Then down at the ground.

The roots surrounding her feet began moving.

Not attacking.

Not growing wildly.

They simply lifted from the dirt, trembling in the air.

Thalara closed her eyes.

For several seconds, she remained completely still.

Then she whispered:

"The connection has already responded."

Swanly’s ears flattened.

"What connection?"

Thalara opened her eyes.

"Your blood touched the roots of the Rot Nest long ago. But this arrow..."

She pointed toward the trunk.

"It carried your blood into another ancient network."

Swanly stared.

"The Heart’s network."

Thalara nodded.

"The two networks are not the same, Swanly. But their ancient roots can respond to one another."

Swanly slowly looked toward her shoulder.

The scratch had almost healed.

Something so small.

Something she had barely worried about.

And now?

She looked at the arrow again.

"Are you saying someone connected me to that thing with one fucking arrow?"

Thalara’s expression tightened.

"I don’t know whether whoever fired it understood what would happen."

Swanly’s eyes narrowed.

"But it happened."

"Yes."

For several seconds, Swanly said nothing.

Then she laughed.

Once.

A miserable little laugh.

"Of course."

She rubbed her forehead.

"Of fucking course."

Thalara watched her carefully.

Swanly looked up.

"So how do we remove it?"

Silence.

"Thalara?"

The ancient woman lowered her eyes.

"I don’t know."

Swanly stared.

"You’re joking."

"I wish I were."

"You’re an ancient creator!"

"Yes."

"You understand these roots!"

"Some of them."

"THEN DO SOMETHING!"

Her shout echoed through the trees.

Thalara flinched.

Swanly immediately regretted it.

She looked at the ancient woman’s trembling hands.

The exhausted expression.

The fear.

For a moment, Swanly felt ashamed.

Thalara had spent days investigating something she barely understood.

And now she was standing here looking more frightened than Swanly had ever seen her.

Swanly took a slow breath.

"Hey."

Thalara didn’t move.

"Hey, look at me."

The ancient woman slowly raised her head.

Swanly caught her hands.

"I’m sorry."

Thalara shook her head.

"No. You should be angry."

Swanly sighed.

"I’m not angry with you."

Her white ears lowered.

"I’m just scared."

Thalara’s expression softened.

Swanly tried smiling.

"Look, I’m still alive, right?"

The ancient woman’s face changed.

Swanly blinked.

"...What?"

Thalara’s eyes filled with something close to horror.

"Swanly."

Her voice was barely audible.

"You cannot die."

Swanly stared.

Then slowly tilted her head.

"I’m sorry?"

"You cannot die."

Swanly laughed nervously.

"Well, I wasn’t planning to."

"No!"

Thalara grabbed both her shoulders.

"You don’t understand!"

Swanly froze.

"The connection is no longer limited to the Rot Nest. Your blood has now reached the First Heart’s network."

Her breathing quickened.

"And the Heart has responded."

Swanly swallowed.

"So?"

Thalara’s voice shook.

"It may be treating you as part of its living network."

Swanly stared.

"I don’t..."

"If your life suddenly ends, the network could react to the loss."

Swanly’s stomach dropped.

"How?"

"I don’t know!"

Thalara’s voice broke.

"It might try to reclaim what it recognizes. It might tear through the ancient seals. It might awaken defenses that have slept for thousands of years!"

Swanly stepped back.

Thalara followed.

"And Soren..."

She stopped.

Swanly’s face went pale.

"What about Soren?"

"Your bond with him. Your daughters. Their inherited traces..."

Thalara shook her head desperately.

"They may all be affected."

Swanly couldn’t speak.

Thalara looked toward Ironwood.

"And if the ancient seals break, everyone living above them could be caught in what follows."

Silence.

The wind moved through the leaves.

Swanly stood completely still.

For a moment, she imagined Eira sleeping beside her brothers.

Sira giggling whenever Azren spread his wings.

Kael quietly preparing food.

Soren holding their daughters.

All of them.

Her entire family.

Her home.

She swallowed.

"So you’re telling me..."

Her voice came out weak.

"If I die..."

Thalara looked at her.

Swanly forced herself to finish.

"Everyone could go down with me?"

The ancient woman closed her eyes.

"Yes."

Swanly stared.

Then slowly turned away.

"Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me."

She put both hands on her head.

"First, I die in one world."

Thalara blinked.

"Then I wake up in this one."

Swanly began pacing.

"Then I get five children, two mates, a giant snake problem, an infected problem, a royal insect problem..."

HOST.

The System appeared in her vision.

Swanly ignored it.

"And now apparently I’m some kind of walking disaster button?!"

HOST, PLEASE CALM DOWN.

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN?!"

Thalara stared at her.

"Swanly?"

Swanly immediately remembered that Thalara couldn’t hear the System.

She stopped pacing.

Then smiled stiffly.

"Nothing."

Thalara’s third eye narrowed.

Swanly sighed.

"I’m thinking out loud."

The ancient woman looked even more worried.

Swanly rubbed her face.

Then took a long breath.

One.

Two.

Three.

Finally, she walked back toward Thalara.

"Okay."

Thalara looked up.

"Okay?"

"Okay."

Swanly caught her trembling hands.

"Listen to me."

The ancient woman stared.

"We’re not dead."

"Swanly..."

"My children are safe."

"For now."

"And Soren is probably cooking something delicious right now."

Thalara blinked.

Swanly smiled weakly.

"So I’m not going to stand here screaming until my lungs fall out."

Thalara looked as though she wanted to argue.

Swanly squeezed her hands.

"We’ll figure it out."

The ancient woman’s lips trembled.

"Swanly..."

"Hey."

Swanly leaned closer.

"Breathe."

Thalara tried.

Her chest rose shakily.

Then fell.

"There."

Swanly smiled.

"See? Everything is fine."

Thalara suddenly grabbed her arms.

"No!"

Swanly jumped.

"AH!"

"Everything is NOT fine!"

"Okay! Not fine! Understood!"

Thalara’s third eye glowed intensely.

"You don’t understand what those Veskari are doing here!"

Swanly froze.

Thalara’s expression hardened.

"They want the First Heart."

"I know."

"They are willing to destroy your boundary to reach it."

"I know that too."

"And if they discover your blood has formed a connection..."

She stopped.

Swanly’s ears slowly lowered.

Thalara looked directly at her.

"They may try to take you."

Swanly went still.

"Take me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because your blood might give them something they cannot obtain by force."

Swanly slowly looked toward the western forest.

The Veskari camp.

The royal soldiers.

Prince Vaedric.

Azren.

Her stomach tightened.

Thalara continued.

"They have spent years seeking the Heart. Do you think they will leave you alone if they believe you can help them reach it?"

Swanly said nothing.

"They could use you."

Her voice dropped.

"Your blood. Your bond. Your life."

Swanly’s fox ears flattened completely.

"And my daughters?"

Thalara hesitated.

That hesitation was enough.

Swanly’s expression went cold.

"No."

Thalara watched her.

"No one is touching my babies."

"Swanly..."

"I don’t care if they’re princes, kings, ancient gods, or flying cockroaches."

Her fluffy tail lashed.

"If they touch my children, I’ll kill them."

For the first time, Thalara almost smiled.

Almost.

Then her expression became serious again.

"There may be a way to end this."

Swanly stopped.

"What?"

Thalara looked toward the tree.

"The connection has to be understood before it can be safely broken."

Swanly waited.

"And to do that, we must find the creature connected to the First Heart."

Swanly blinked.

Then frowned.

"Wait."

Thalara looked at her.

"What do you mean, find the creature?"

The ancient woman said nothing.

Swanly pointed toward the ground.

"The Heart is down there!"

"Yes."

"I saw it!"

"I know."

"It was glowing and beating and doing all that creepy beautiful stuff!"

Thalara nodded slowly.

Swanly stared at her.

"Then what creature are we supposed to find?"

Silence.

Her ears lifted.

"Wait a minute."

She looked at Thalara.

Then at the ground.

Then back at Thalara.

"I thought the Heart was the creature."

Thalara’s expression changed.

For several seconds, she simply stared at Swanly.

Then she shook her head.

"No, silly."

Her purple third eye glowed faintly.

"That is the heart of a different beast."