Chapter 354: Before the Heart Breaks

The World Tree’s golden heart pulsed unevenly, sending waves of light through the chamber before the purple corruption swallowed parts of its glow. Every pulse made the roots surrounding Ronin tighten, and every surge of corrupted energy forced them to recoil again.

The two forces were struggling against each other, but the longer the conflict continued, the more damage spread through the network connecting the heart to the five streams.

Arthur watched another golden vein crack beneath the pressure. The crack sealed almost immediately, yet the light flowing through it had become noticeably weaker.

"We need to move before that happens again," he said. "If the heart keeps taking damage, separating Ronin from it won’t matter. There might not be a World Tree left to save."

Luna stood beside the central stream, studying the shifting patterns of light. "The Mirrors are still responding, but their resonance keeps breaking whenever the corruption surges. Athena and I can coordinate them, although we need to find a way to maintain the connection when the heart fluctuates."

Athena knelt beside her, examining the streams as they branched across the chamber. "The five connections are reacting to one another. When the eastern stream weakens, the others attempt to compensate, but that creates additional pressure on the heart. If we activate the Mirrors separately, we might make the situation worse."

"So we activate them together," Sun said, resting Long against his shoulder. "All five at once, one big coordinated burst, and then we take the terrifying tree man apart before he can do anything else."

"That is the general idea," Athena replied.

Sun brightened. "Finally, a plan that appreciates my talents."

"It was not a compliment."

"Still counts."

Kong let out a low chuckle, though his eyes remained fixed on the heart. "If you have enough energy left to celebrate, you can help me reinforce the southern approach. These roots have been testing our defenses for several minutes, and I don’t think they’ll stop just because we’re having a conversation."

Sun’s smile faded as another root slammed against the barrier they had established. He immediately raised Long, releasing a controlled shockwave that pushed the root away from the southern stream. Kong seized the opening and drove both hands into the ground, using his strength to hold the shifting platform steady while Sun reinforced the barrier.

"See?" Sun said. "I can talk and work at the same time."

"Then talk less and work more," Kong answered.

Nearby, Mithra and Melo were already preparing the western side. Melo spread a thin layer of dream mist across the ground, making the approaching roots appear to split into several different paths. The illusions would not stop a powerful attack, but they could confuse the smaller tendrils long enough for Mithra to intercept them before they reached the stream.

Mithra tested her footing and glanced toward Melo. "If Ronin launches another attack like the last one, can your illusions hold?"

"Not against the attack itself. I can mislead the roots, obscure their paths, and make it harder for him to target specific people, but I can’t make a collapsing platform disappear." Melo’s tails swayed as she surveyed the chamber. "If the heart breaks, my illusions won’t be able to convince reality to put it back together."

"Good. I would hate to discover that we were relying on your ability to negotiate with reality."

"I would hate that too. Reality has terrible manners."

Despite the humor, Melo positioned herself closer to Eden, keeping enough dream mist around the Chrono Fairy to conceal her from sudden attacks. Mithra noticed and shifted her own position to cover the opposite approach. Neither needed to explain the arrangement; they had fought together long enough to understand what the other was protecting.

On the eastern side, Athy moved between Athena and the stream, tracking the flow of energy as it passed through the chamber. Her gaze followed each fluctuation, and she pointed toward a narrow section where the golden light repeatedly faltered.

"That connection is weaker than the others," Athy said. "It’s not because the Mirror is failing. The corruption is interfering with the flow before it reaches the anchor point."

Athena leaned closer. "You’re right. If we force more energy through that section, the pressure could spread the damage."

"Then we should redirect the flow rather than increase it. We need the five streams to support one another without forcing any single one to carry the entire burden."

Athena nodded, her expression sharpening as the idea took shape. "Luna, we should establish the eastern connection first, but leave it at a stable level. Once the other four respond, we can synchronize the entire network instead of trying to overpower the corruption at one point."

Luna considered the suggestion before looking toward the central heart. "That might work. I’ll use the existing resonance to identify when each connection is ready. Athena, you’ll need to monitor the fluctuations and tell me when the network can withstand the combined activation."

"And if the corruption surges before we’re ready?" Athy asked.

"Then we hold our positions and keep it away from the heart," Athena answered. "We cannot allow Ronin to force the streams into an unstable state while we’re trying to synchronize them."

Athy nodded, though her eyes briefly shifted toward the golden heart. "Then let’s hope the World Tree can hold on a little longer."

Arthur heard the exchange and turned toward Eden, who was standing beside Vedas. The Chrono Fairy had recovered enough to move normally, but the light around her wings remained dimmer than usual. She was clearly still feeling the strain from manifesting Vedas’s future state, and Arthur had no intention of asking her to repeat that feat without preparation.

"How is your control?" he asked.

"Better than before, but I haven’t recovered completely." Eden flexed her wings, watching the small traces of light gathering along their edges. "I can establish a limited synchronization with you for testing, but I don’t want to attempt a full manifestation until the Mirrors are ready. Their combined resonance might stabilize the connection, but we won’t know until we try."

"Then we’ll keep the test brief. No reaching for a distant future, and no trying to force a stronger state just because the first connection succeeds."

Vedas folded his arms. "I would also suggest that you stop treating the phrase ’limited synchronization’ as though it guarantees safety. We still don’t know exactly what will happen when Eden connects your present state to a possible future."

Arthur glanced at him. "You make it sound like you’re expecting me to do something reckless."

"I’m expecting you to notice a promising opportunity and immediately consider how much further you can push it."

"That’s unfair."

"Would you like me to list the occasions when you’ve done exactly that?"

"No."

"Then I shall spare you the embarrassment."

Eden giggled, and even Arthur found himself smiling. The brief exchange eased the tension, but Vedas soon grew serious again.

"When the time comes, I will remain beside you. If your synchronization becomes unstable, I want you to tell Eden immediately instead of attempting to endure it until the operation is finished."

"I will."

"And if you cannot continue, we withdraw. We do not sacrifice you simply because we have finally found an opportunity to defeat Ronin."

Arthur met his gaze. "Agreed. But I need you to understand something as well. If we get that opening, I’ll need you to trust my judgment. We may not have time to discuss every move once the operation begins."

Vedas’s expression softened. "I have trusted your judgment for a long time, Arthur. That does not mean I will stop reminding you that your life matters as much as everyone else’s."

Before Arthur could answer, the heart groaned.

The sound rolled through the chamber, deeper than anything they had heard before. Golden light surged outward from the center, followed by a violent wave of purple energy. The roots surrounding Ronin convulsed, their surfaces splitting as the artificial Miasma core in his chest flashed unevenly.

Arthur immediately activated [Reality Dominion].

What he saw made his expression change.

The core was failing.

Its purple veins had developed several cracks, and the energy within it was no longer flowing smoothly. Instead, each pulse sent uncontrolled waves of corruption through the surrounding roots. The World Tree was fighting back with increasing force, trying to reject the artificial structure embedded within its heart, but Ronin’s connection was too deeply rooted to be removed cleanly.

The corrupted roots began spreading in every direction.

"Everyone, reinforce your positions!" Arthur shouted. "The core is becoming unstable!"

Sun barely had time to brace himself before a cluster of roots burst through the southern platform. Kong intercepted the largest one, catching it with both hands as its impact forced him backward. Sun struck the ground with Long, sending a shockwave through the smaller roots before they could reach the stream.

"That is not the kind of instability I wanted!" Sun yelled. "Can’t the man just explode somewhere that isn’t the heart of the entire Secret Realm?"

"Keep your attention on the roots!" Kong growled, struggling to hold his position. "If this section collapses, the corruption will reach the stream!"

Across the chamber, Mithra darted between two surging roots while Melo’s mist concealed Eden from the spreading corruption. A root swept toward them, but Mithra cut through its outer layer and redirected its momentum away from the central platform. Melo followed with a concentrated burst of dream mist, drawing the remaining tendrils toward a false image of the western passage.

Athena and Athy worked together to keep the eastern stream stable, adjusting the barrier whenever the pressure changed. Luna watched the five connections, calling out each fluctuation as she tracked the resonance.

"The eastern connection is holding!" Luna shouted. "But the northern stream is weakening. We need to keep the pressure balanced!"

Athena reinforced the barrier without increasing the overall flow. "Athy, watch the next pulse. If the northern stream begins compensating for the eastern one, tell me immediately."

"I will!" Athy replied, her attention fixed on the moving light. "But we can’t keep doing this forever. The heart is taking more damage every time Ronin’s core pulses."

Arthur knew she was right. The World Tree was resisting Ronin more aggressively now, but that resistance was creating the very instability that threatened to destroy it. They could not simply wait for the Tree to win, nor could they attack the core without risking the heart around it.

Ronin lifted his head from within the roots. His expression had twisted with pain, but he still managed a bitter smile.

"You see it now, don’t you?" he called. "The Tree rejects me, yet it cannot cast me out. The harder it fights, the more its own power tears it apart."

"Because you forced your creation into its heart!" Arthur shouted back.

"I created a means to control a power that the ancient people were too weak to command. They built their Mirrors to stabilize it, to preserve a world they barely understood. I will not repeat their mistakes."

"You’ve mistaken control for ownership," Arthur replied. "And now you’re destroying the thing you claim to have mastered."

Ronin’s smile vanished. The core pulsed again, and the surrounding roots erupted with purple light.

Arthur’s upgraded aura flared as he used [Pillars of Dominion] to redirect a cluster of roots away from the golden heart. Vedas moved beside him, intercepting another wave with his spear, while Eden watched the shifting energy and searched for the moment when the Mirrors could safely establish their combined resonance.

"We can’t hold this chamber indefinitely," Vedas said as he pushed a root away from the central platform. "The core is becoming less stable, and Ronin is forcing himself deeper into the heart. If we wait too long, we may lose the chance to separate him without destroying the Tree."

"Then we don’t wait," Arthur answered.

He turned toward Luna and Athena. "Are the connections ready?"

Luna glanced at the five streams, then at Athena. Athena checked the fluctuations one final time before nodding.

"We have a stable window," she said. "It won’t last forever, but the five connections can resonate together if we activate them now."

Luna raised her hands, focusing on the existing network between the Mirrors. The golden streams began to brighten, one after another, as the resonance traveled through the chamber. The northern stream responded first, followed by the eastern, southern, western, and central connections. Their light strengthened until all five streams were pulsing in harmony.

For the first time since Ronin had forced himself into the heart, the golden light was no longer being overwhelmed by the corruption.

Eden’s wings brightened in response. Vedas tightened his grip on his spear, and Arthur felt his own mana rise as the five connections aligned around the heart. The others reinforced their positions, preparing to hold the chamber steady while the decisive operation began.

Arthur looked toward Ronin, then toward Eden and Vedas.

"Everyone, hold your positions," he ordered. "The moment we begin, we don’t get another chance."

The five Mirrors resonated as one, their combined light spreading through the World Tree’s heart.

Arthur raised his hand.

"Begin!"