The forest trail twisted like a serpent, leading Sid, Mira, Bob, and Verdant Thief closer to the living heart of Eldenroot—no longer a mystery, but still an enigma. Sid had visited the village before. He had seen its tree-homes breathe, its lanterns glow with pulsing lifeforce, and its paths shift when uninvited feet wandered too far. Eldenroot wasn't merely a settlement—it was alive.
But returning now felt different.
"Something's changed," Sid said quietly, halting as they approached the threshold where branches arched into a natural gate. "It's like… it knows we're not just visitors anymore."
"Because you've awakened something," Mira replied. She was scanning the shifting bark, where strange glyphs etched themselves in real-time—living runes spelling out something they couldn't understand.
Bob waddled up beside Sid, his stubby legs crunching moss. "This place gives me gas. But the good kind. The ancient kind."
Verdant Thief hissed low and vanished into the underbrush, melting into a trail of shimmering leaves.
> [Passive: Shadow Bloom Activated — Stealth field initiated.]
A low hum began to build under Sid's boots. He exchanged a glance with Mira. "It's syncing again."
"Eldenroot reacts to emotional and magical energy," Mira said, her eyes wide with both awe and concern. "And right now, it's reading us like an open grimoire."
They crossed the living threshold and entered Eldenroot.
It was even more sentient than Sid remembered. Homes swayed slightly with invisible heartbeats. Leaves turned toward them like ears. Whispers danced in the wind—not made by any person, but by the village itself.
"Last time you were here," Mira asked, "did it do… this?"
"Not like this." Sid's fingers hovered over the hilt of his summoning stone, now glowing with a faint dual hue—one green, one pink. "It's recognizing Bob and Verdant Thief too."
> [SYNC BOND LEVEL 3 UNLOCKED]
[NEW ABILITY: Dual Pulse – Sid can now fuse minor aspects of two summons temporarily.]
Bob grunted. "Don't fuse me with that leafy sneak. I'll start craving cheese."
"Bob," Mira said with a smirk, "you already do."
They reached the heart plaza, a large hollow where roots formed a natural amphitheater. The center pulsed with life energy. Villagers moved like part of the forest—flowing, whispering, pausing to touch trees or drink from crystalline sap. They stared as Sid passed, not with suspicion, but reverence.
"He's the one," someone whispered. "The Weird Summoner."
A small group approached them. At the front was Elder Nalin, the same root-faced seer who had offered Sid a place in the Trials of Thorns weeks ago.
"You've returned," Nalin rasped. "And your bond has deepened."
"I didn't come for another test," Sid said, cautious.
"No. But one has already begun."
Mira stepped forward. "We need help. The Verdant Thief—his echo wasn't the end. And something's infecting the forest's memory."
The elder turned, motioning them toward a nearby tree where bark opened into a spiral stair. "Then come. The roots will show you the truth… if you're strong enough to face it."
---
Inside the Heartwood Archives, a memory grove hidden beneath the roots, they stepped into an ancient chamber filled with glowing pods suspended in moss. Each held echoes—preserved memories from Eldenroot's past.
Bob sniffed one. "Smells like moldy destiny."
Mira pressed her palm against a pod. Light erupted, and suddenly the entire chamber shimmered.
They stood within a memory—not a dream, but a living recreation. Trees whispered a name: Caelwyn.
A young girl stood in the center, weaving a summoning glyph. It was Mira. Younger, unscarred, her hair unbraided and eyes full of wonder.
"This is..." Mira's breath caught. "The day I first summoned the Verdant Thief."
Only something was off. As the glyph formed, it sparked with violet fire—too wild. Too corrupted.
From the glyph emerged not one creature, but two: a proper Verdant Thief—and a twisted echo.
"A shard split," Sid muttered. "You summoned both halves."
"And the echo became the rogue we fought," Mira whispered.
> [Bond Upgrade: Verdant Thief - Evolution Unlocked]
[New Ability: Echo Step - Steal a memory from the environment and turn it into a physical object.]
[Veilshift Activated. Talisman Lock Enabled.]
As the memory faded, Nalin's voice returned. "The forest hid this truth from you to protect itself. But now, you must fix what your magic broke."
Sid glanced at Mira. Her fists were clenched, but she nodded. "Then we go back to the Hollow."
Bob growled. "Or we bring the Hollow to us."
Nalin placed a hand on Sid's chest. "The path forward begins not in action, but in understanding. Go to the Summoner's Grove. Speak with the memory-tree. Only then will the real test begin."
---
As they left the archives, the village shifted again—now more familiar. Welcoming. But also watching.
Sid felt the Dual Pulse inside him warming. Faint flickers of vine wrapping stubby claws. A blend.
The summons waited.
And so did the secrets.
The heart of Eldenroot pulsed with quiet magic, its rhythm syncing with Sid's every breath. He could feel it now—not just hear or see it—but feel it deep within his bones. The village wasn't just alive. It was aware.
Even Bob seemed to be affected. He stood still near the ancient Root Altar, his wrinkled, grumpy face uncharacteristically contemplative. His tiny leathery wings twitched once, his eyes glowing faintly as he stared up at the vines that hung like curtains around the central clearing.
"It watches us," Bob muttered. "It remembers. Trees don't forget like people do."
Mira knelt at the altar, fingers tracing the carved spiral grooves that radiated from its center. The roots here were thicker, gnarled with age and pulsing faintly with life essence.
"This place is a fragment of something older," she whispered. "Eldenroot's core is tied to the original Summoning Pact. The first pact between humans and familiars."
Sid took a step closer, brow furrowing. "So that's why it feels like it knows me?"
Mira nodded. "It recognized your bond. The Sync Level 3 connection between you and Bob and the evolution of Verdant Thief... the village responds to that kind of power."
Verdant Thief emerged silently from the edge of the grove, his vine-woven form brushing lightly against leaves without disturbing them. The raccoon-shaped summon paused beside Sid and dropped a glimmering leaf carved from crystal into his palm. A memory.
> [Echo Step Activated – Memory retrieved from the altar site. Item Created: Rootheart Fragment]
Sid turned the tiny object over. It pulsed with a low hum.
Bob huffed. "That thing's older than my sarcasm."
Mira stood up slowly, brushing the dirt off her robes. "We're going deeper. The village's outer shell is just a barrier. The secrets are held in the inner sanctum—The Hollowroots."
"The Hollowroots?" Sid repeated.
She pointed toward a wall of tangled vines across the courtyard. "Behind that veil lies the memory-core of Eldenroot. Only bonded summoners may pass. Alone."
Bob flared his stubby wings. "Define 'alone'."
"The summoner goes. The familiars remain outside. Even I can't follow," Mira admitted. "The village will test Sid. It's part of the process."
"Of course it is," Sid muttered.
He stepped forward. The vine-wall shimmered as if acknowledging him, rippling with a soft green glow. As he reached out, the Rootheart Fragment in his hand pulsed brightly, and the wall parted.
"Good luck," Mira said softly. "Remember—it's not just your strength they'll test. It's your truth."
---
Inside the Hollowroots, the light dimmed. The air was thick with the scent of sap and forgotten magic. Sid felt disoriented, like he was walking through a dream carved from bark and memory. Voices whispered faintly in the distance—echoes of past summoners, past pacts.
Then, without warning, a figure stepped from the shadows. It looked like Sid—but older. Hardened. A scar down one cheek, eyes weary but fierce.
"What's this?" Sid asked aloud.
> [Hollowroot Projection: Self Mirror Trial Initiated]
The older Sid drew a blade made of root and shadow. "You summon beasts, but can you summon conviction?"
The duel was sudden. Swift. Brutal.
Sid countered with agility, calling on the memory of Echo Step without Verdant Thief by his side. He used the Rootheart Fragment to conjure temporary shields, even as his mirrored self sliced through the air with haunting familiarity.
The test wasn't just about fighting. It was about understanding. Every strike from the projection forced Sid to reflect: on fear, on loss, on his purpose.
Finally, with a deep breath, he stopped fighting.
"I'm not you yet," he said. "But I will be. Not because I fight well. But because I choose to keep moving."
The projection froze. Then nodded—and dissipated into glowing spores.
> [Self Mirror Trial Complete] [Memory Unlocked: Summoner's First Oath – Passive Bond Increase with All Familiars]
As the spores drifted around him, the Hollowroots pulsed once, then opened a new path.
There, at the very center of Eldenroot's memory, he saw it:
A stone mural carved with the images of two beasts—a small, grumpy, winged creature with a twisted grin… and a vine-wrapped raccoon stealing stars from a branch.
Bob and Verdant Thief.
They had been here before. Long before him.
Sid smiled. "So this is destiny, huh?"
And Eldenroot answered, not with words—but with light.
> [SYNC LEVEL MAX FOR CURRENT STAGE] [NEW PASSIVE AWARDED: Pactkeeper's Aura – Familiar bond growth doubled in sacred regions.]
When Sid returned from the Hollowroots, his eyes were shining like the roots themselves. Mira stood waiting, and both his summons rushed to his side.
Bob blinked. "Did you just come back wiser?"
Verdant Thief tilted his head, vines shifting.
Sid smiled. "Maybe just more… me."
And Eldenroot, silent and alive, seemed pleased.