The mark from the orb didn't fade.
It etched itself across Kai's palm like living flame, curling in symbols older than cultivation. As the power stabilized, the land around him began to shift.
The bloom at the Shardspire's core trembled—then grew.
Not upward.
Downward.
Roots, golden and glowing, sank into the ground like fingers into fate. The earth responded. Old trees twisted, standing straighter. Broken stones hummed.
Ayaka stood back. "You're changing the realm…"
"No," Kai said softly. "The realm is responding. It remembers this power. It remembers me."
Suddenly, a blast of light split the sky.
From it descended a blade wrapped in writhing vines—its hilt blooming with flame petals.
Ren grabbed his own sword. "That's not natural."
"It's not," Kai whispered. "It's meant."
The blade hovered before him.
And then—without sound—it spoke.
> You once bound Heaven to ruin. Now, bind the earth to rebirth.
Kai reached out—and as his hand touched the hilt, the world bent.
He rose into the air, fire and root spiraling around him. The orb sank into his chest, becoming a pulse in his very heartbeat.
> Root-Binder Kai.
A title not claimed.
A title returned.
---
Meanwhile… far away.
On a dark throne surrounded by void, the Twin-Faced Sovereign growled. Shadows whispered in his ears.
> "He remembers."
"He's becoming what we buried."
"Should we act?"
The Sovereign stood.
"No. Let him bloom."
He turned, voice like ash.
"So I can be the one to burn him again.