The city's silence was deceptive.
Underneath cracked concrete and twisted metal, a world thrived — ancient and tangled.
Lira led him down narrow alleys where the walls seemed alive, pulsing with faint light.
"Why here?" he asked, struggling to keep up.
"Because," she said, "the fracture's root isn't just in the sky.
It's beneath us — buried in the ruins forgotten by time."
They came to a collapsed building swallowed by vines and moss.
The air smelled of earth and old rain.
He knelt beside the rubble.
The seed in his chest pulsed harder, as if calling out.
"Close your eyes," Lira said.
He obeyed.
Suddenly, his mind opened — a flood of images crashing in.
An ancient city, once thriving, swallowed by its own greed.
Forests burning.
Rivers running black.
Children crying.
A voice whispered.
"This is the fracture's beginning — the wound caused by those who forgot to listen."
His eyes snapped open.
"What happened?"
Lira's face was grim.
"Long ago, the city's ancestors tore the balance.
They reached too far for power, ignoring the roots beneath the earth."
He touched the ground, feeling a vibration — the heartbeat of the city's memory.
"And now it's trying to heal?"
"Not exactly."
"The fracture is unstable — part curse, part chance."
"It's a battle between destruction and rebirth."
The seed pulsed violently.
"And I'm the battlefield?"
Lira nodded.
"The fracture chose you to carry its root.
To decide its fate."
Suddenly, the ground shook.
From the rubble, twisted shapes emerged — creatures born of earth and memory, their forms shifting like smoke.
"You will fight them," Lira said.
"Not to destroy, but to reclaim."
The creatures lunged.
He summoned roots from his chest, glowing with fierce light.
The vines wrapped and pulled, but the creatures were not just enemies — they were echoes of the past, lost fragments seeking peace.
One creature broke free and looked at him with hollow eyes.
"Why do you fight us?"
He hesitated.
"Because you belong to this city.
And so do I."
The creature's form shimmered, breaking apart like mist.
Lira lowered her blade.
"You're learning."
The seed inside him pulsed softly — no longer a burden, but a promise.
Above, the fracture narrowed, but the sky remained fractured.
The city held its breath.
"This is only the beginning," he said.
"But maybe... the beginning of the end of the fracture."
End of Chapter 10.