I'm falling.
The air roars around me, screaming through a world I still can't see.
I'm spinning—over and over and over—until I forget where up is. Where down is.
I tumble in a spiral of nothing but air and panic.
My self thrashes wildly in the gust. I have no control. I'm just a speck, a flick of dust on the wind.
The pressure's unbearable. It crushes me from all sides, as if the sky itself is squeezing something deep inside me—something that wants to burst out.
Make it stop!
Then—
Silence.Weightlessness.
I don't land.
I drift.
Like a feather caught in a forgotten dream.
Wait—what's a feather?
Something shifts.
A dim flicker ignites inside me—not quite light, but clarity.A whisper of something ordered. Something ancient.It spreads like roots through my thoughts.
And then—
It unfolds.
A screen. Inside my mind.
I don't know how I see it.
I still don't have eyes.
Wait—What are eyes? Screen?
But… it's there.
Alive.
⊹ SYSTEM ROOT INTERFACE BOOTING… ⊹
Welcome, Seedling. You have awakened.
Your consciousness is now linked to the Root-Soul Framework.
Initialize? [Yes] / [No]
Auto-response detected… Initializing…
BEHOLD THE SYSTEM
🌱 Become The World Tree 🌱
Name: ???
Race: Plantae
Species: Seedling (Very Common)
Level: 0
Evolution Tier: 0 – Sproutbound
Status: Rootless Drift
Health: 1
Strength: 0
Agility: 0
Stamina: 0
Photosynthesis: 5
Vital Sap: 5/5
Mana Conduction: Inactive
Soil Affinity: None
Sunlight Exposure: 0%
Evolution Progress: 0%
Next Evolution: ??? (Hidden until Soil Contact)
Titles: — None
Skills:
—Instinctive Rooting (Passive)
—Sapling Senses (Passive — Obstructed by Blindness)
⚠ WARNING: Environmental conditions critical.
— You are airborne. No soil contact detected.
— Vital Sap will begin draining in [2:59]
Seek ground.
Seek warmth.
Seek life.
May the World cradle you.
I… blink?
No. Not blink. What's blink?
Something inside me recoils—startled. Overwhelmed.
The glowing green words fold away like petals closing at dusk.
The voice—the presence—is gone.
What was that?
Who was that?
My thoughts buzz like angry bees in a storm. Bees? Storm?
I'm still spinning, still caught in this roaring chaos.
But I remember.
Soil.
The system said… I need to find soil.
And something called sap.
It's draining?
I don't know what sap is, but I know—I know—I don't want to lose it.
The wind screams again, more violent now.
No longer gentle or curious.
It tears at me like invisible claws.
I'm scared, panicking.
And then—
Impact.
A crack of sensation.
Everything goes black again.
But this time… something is different.
I feel it.
Beneath me.
Soil.
Damp. Cool.
Alive.
A pulse rises through it, slow and deep. Not a sound, but a feeling—like the earth itself is breathing just beneath the surface.
I've landed.
I don't know where I am, or what waits for me in this darkness.
But something ancient is here.
Watching. Listening.
I've fallen into the heart of the one place even legends dare not speak of.A cursed forest whispered across the continent in shivers and stories:
The Rotwood.
I don't know it yet,but I've just entered the heart of the place all others fear.
And I've just taken root.