Did I say I'm ready?
Ready to die?
Don't let anyone deceive you. I, Clayton Hunt, am never ready for death.
I would spite the universe. I would spite the world just to live a single day longer, to show it that even an outskirt rat like me could survive.
That was the only reason why I still had the will to look at this new enemy with rage smoldering through my veins and stems, filling me with power.
The Verdant Archon attacked.
BAM!
The first strike cleaved through three layers of bark. My torso caved inward, sap exploding in green smoke.
I reeled, dodging into my territory, but it followed me there. Even in my dominion, I was no match.
The vines lashed out like serpents, ensnaring me, choking me. I summoned what few aphids I had left; they were torn apart mid-flight. I was just too depleted after the fight with Thryss.
I launched a tangle root; it sliced it in half before it struck soil.
Every second was borrowed time.
Every second, I was closer to death. I saw no hope of victory, not yet. It seemed like scaling a mountain just to injure the bastard, I saw no hope of winning.
And yet, did that make me give up? Throw the towel?
NEVER!
I would never give up.
I would never give in.
Let this world, let Echoterra grind me, burn me, forge me through fire. No matter how many times it takes to do it, I'll prove to it that I'm gold; I'll prove to it that I'll never succumb and crumble.
I'll come out shining and precious.
DING!
~----~
[WARNING: Core Integrity at 43%. Territory Command Weakened.]
~----~
I felt weaker than ever before.
Not just due to the exhaustion. As a plant, I don't lose blood but I've guessed for some time already that I lose nutrient points. I've already lost so much of myself in the consecutive battles that I could feel dizziness settling it.
I could feel it; I was dying, slowly.
Thud!
I collapsed into the mud, my spore petals curling around my core. I was reduced to defense, survival.
'Fine by me'. I thought.
Defense? It was my forte, I always loved playing defense.
I would believe everything that I needed to believe just to keep me going for a second more, 2 seconds more. I'll do anything to keep myself alive some more, I'll do anything to spite death, and also spite my enemy, not giving it the satisfaction of a quick and easy kill.
Yes, you're stronger than me.
Yes, you attacked me when I'm already weakened but still, I won't make it easy for you. You'll lose an arm and a leg to kill me, you'll lose fountains of blood.
I'm going to die? I'll make sure I take a part of you with me.
I tried to reach for my aphid senses…
'Come on brothers!'
'Fight for me!'
But the connection to my kin and minions… it was hazy. They were all hazy in my vision. Blood loss? Energy drain? I didn't know anymore.
All I knew was to never stop, to keep on going, to keep on fighting, to keep on struggling, to pay the bastard back pound for pound; an eye for an eye.
Another scythe came.
BAM!
I screamed, not with a mouth, but with pure will.
The pain was unbearable. I felt like my very soul was being shredded, slowly being separated from my body. And yet, despite the blinding pain, I kept on going.
My roots exploded outward, not in attack, but in retreat, launching me backward. The Archon didn't follow. Instead, it watched.
Judging.
Its words came again. "Is that all the rage in your seedling soul? You would wield spite and still kneel before order?"
My vision blurred. The world was green, gold, and filled with pain… so much pain.
"No," I croaked. "I'm not done".
"I'm not done yet".
'Done? That's a term for the weak. I'm not weak!'
'But I would never tell him that. Look at me as weak! Let him look down on me, let him underestimate me!'
'Look down on me bastard! That's how you die.'
I forced myself to stand. My broken vines reshaped into a crude spear. My aphids buzzed weakly to me, gathering into my core. I saw the truth in their gaze. They were mine.
I hurled the weapon; it shattered harmlessly against the Archon's chest.
But the blow wasn't the point.
The message was.
I stood.
And then, something changed.
Something in the Nexus trembled again.
~----~
[Directive Complete: Trial of Dominion – Passed!]
[Nexus Guardian Withdrawing…]
~----~
The system notification flashed before me, and I was…
'Huh?'
I was stumped; confused.
The Archon tilted its head.
"Live, Clayton of Thornkind. But know this, only a King may kill me. When you believe yourself more… come find me".
With that, it dissolved into shimmering spores, leaving behind only silence.
Finally, silence.
For what felt like a few seconds, I felt its soothing presence. I embraced it greedily, taking it in, and then…
DING!
~----~
[CODEX ENTRY UNLOCKED: NEXUS REVELATION – THE GREEN CODE]
["In the beginning, there were no kings. Only roots."]
["The Trial Nexus was not built… it was grown. Each sector a greenhouse of war, where the strong either ascended or decayed."]
["The Nexus is not merely test, it is inheritance. A vault of memory, a throne left vacant, a legacy meant to be reclaimed by one who grows beyond instinct."]
["The Nexus Law binds all apex lifeforms who touch its core. It recognizes leaders, architects, devourers. It rewards dominion, punishes stagnation."]
["You, Clayton, are now marked."]
["Seed-Ascendant."]
["Your will affects the code. Your network echoes commands."]
["You are not just a plant."]
["You are a Domain."]
…
[Unlocked: Aphid Network (Expanded).]
>Full aphid communication relay activated.
>Cross-species command initiation unlocked (Insect-class, Rodent-class).
>Remote vision through swarm eyes enabled.
>Influence Radius: 61.3 square meters.
>Network Loyalty: 92%.
[Codename: Verdant Warlord Protocol (Initiated).]
~----~