I have landed, but I am not whole.
The dark is different now.
Not the crushing, infinite kind that swallowed me before—this darkness is wet.
Cool. Breathing.
Alive.
I lay still.
Not that I didn't want to move, but because I can barely feel anything right now.
There's something beneath me, cradling my fragile form.
It's not soft, but not harsh either.
It yields. It holds.
Soil.
That word comes to me like a half-remembered lullaby.
I don't know what it is—not really—but it makes something in me ache.
Ache in a way that isn't pain—more like longing.
Then—I feel it.
A pulse.
Pulse?
Not my own.
Do I have a pulse?
A deep thrum, like the heartbeat of the world.
Slow. Ancient.
It rises through the soil and brushes against me.
I twitch—no, I tremble.
Roots.
I have roots.
They're so small.
I didn't know they were there.
But now they wriggle, guided by instinct—no, by hunger.
I reach for that warmth beneath me, shivering and blind, desperate to hold onto something real.
And the moment my rootlets touch deeper earth—
⊹ SYSTEM UPDATE: GROUND CONTACT CONFIRMED ⊹
Initiating Root-Soul Integration…
Stabilizing Sap Flow…
🌱 Photosynthesis Activated
🌱 Soil Affinity Assessment in Progress…
Welcome back, Seedling.
You are alive.
I can't explain it, but I feel fuller.
Like a fog I didn't know I had is starting to lift.
Energy trickles into me, slow but sure—
like morning dew rolling down bark.
Wait—Morning dew?
Bark?
And then it happens—
A whisper in my mind. Gentle. Curious.
You have gained your first Ability Point.
Would you like to open the Ability Store?
[Yes] / [No]
Yes.
I don't hesitate.
My will just pulls the word from inside me.
And with it, something unfurls again inside my mind.
🌿 Ability Store – Tier 1: Sprouting Instincts
Abilities designed for survival, self-awareness, and early growth.
Current Ability Cost: 1 AP
Available AP: 1(Granted upon Root-Soul Integration)
Moisture Sense – Detect nearby water and humidity in the soil.
Minor Vine Tendril – Grow a thin vine for touch and grasp.
Healing Dew – Create a single drop of sap with mild restorative power.
Tremor Whisper – Sense minor movement through the ground.
I hover in that quiet space inside my mind.
The list glows softly—like fireflies nesting in fog.
Fireflies?
Well, either way. They are possibilities.
Paths I could take.
New ways of becoming.
I don't know what's best.
But something tugs at me.
Something warns me.
I won't be alone down here for long.
And when something finds me—
I want to feel it coming.
My roots stir.
I choose.