Chapter 61

The dark inner realm was silent, with only the rhythmic heartbeat echoing between light and shadow.

Seed 237 gazed silently at the shadowy alternate personality, its outline appearing and disappearing in the void like a trembling black leaf.

"Understanding...coexistence?"

His voice was low, filled with wariness and doubt.

The shadow parasite let out a low laugh, devoid of sharp malice, more like a murmur:

"You understand, right? I'm not the enemy."

I am simply the inevitable other side of you.

If you insist on resisting, I will tear it apart;

If you choose to accept me, I will breathe with you.

This plain... can only hold complete 'trees,' not broken seeds.

The brilliance of 237 stirred deep within his chest; he could feel the light root trembling, as if rejecting the temptation.

But at the same time, another, more primal intuition was roaring in my ears:

—It wasn't all lies.

He slowly closed his eyes.

"If I agree to coexist, will you relinquish control over my will?"

The shadow alternate personality was silent for a moment, then said softly:

"Won't.

But I will share my strength with you, so that you can see the corners where the light cannot reach.

This sentence caused the air to freeze.

Coexistence does not equate to equality.

It was a test, a gamble.

Just as 237's will was about to waver, a tremor came from the desolate plains of reality.

The earth cracked open, and a strong, damp smell swept in from the southeast.

A force far greater than mere probing is pressing in.

Sprout 12 opened its eyes, suddenly waking up from a light sleep.

He looked into the distance, his eyes filled with horror:

—The army of the Shionuma Lotus Alliance has made its move ahead of schedule.

The branches and leaves of the light field swayed, and the unhealed cracks were torn open again.

The vines of Sui Ke Ridge surged from the ground, spreading across the land like an iron torrent.

In the sky, the black buds of the shadow vines formed a curtain, blocking out the last starlight.

War, without warning, once again engulfed the plains.

While Seed 237 is battling his inner demons, he has been driven into a dead end by the external war.

The light on his chest suddenly dimmed, and the whisper in his heart became clearer:

Choose.

Without me, you won't make it through the night.

The desolate plains were suddenly swallowed up by the Black Tide.

Water pulses, vine trampling, and shadow bud attachment—three forces approached the light domain almost simultaneously.

The earth trembled, as if groaning.

Sprout 12 charged into the enemy ranks, his branches and leaves transforming into swift blades that cut through shadow buds and tore through vine armor time and time again, but the enemy kept coming, and his breathing gradually became rapid.

"237—!"

He screamed, but dared not turn around.

Because he knew that the outcome of the battle at this moment did not depend on him, but on that seed.

In the center of the light field, Seed 237 closed its eyes, its mind being torn apart by a double pull.

Guanggen roared: Stay pure! You are the successor of the Mother Tree!

The shadows whispered: Embrace me, and you will be worthy to be called the ruler.

The roar of the outside world turned into the sound of shattering in my heart.

The black buds of the Shadow Vine have broken through the defenses, wrapped around the roots of the Light Domain, and frantically absorbed the light energy.

237 felt a sudden tightness in his chest; he could clearly feel himself rapidly depleting.

"If... I were to rely solely on light, I would be swallowed up."

He muttered to himself.

The next moment, his consciousness suddenly plummeted into a dark abyss.

The shadow alternate personality reached out, its fingertips spreading like ink:

"Lend me half, and you can slaughter them."

Don't hesitate any longer.

The light is too gentle; it cannot quell your anger.

The roar of my heartbeat drowned out all other sounds.

Seed 237 slowly opened its eyes, its pupils burning with both light and darkness.

boom--!

The light field suddenly burst open, unleashing a wave of light and darkness, like ripples from a solar eclipse. This shattered the water veins and forced back the vanguard of the armored beast.

Light and shadow collided fiercely within him, yet manifested a destructive combined force on the outside.

Sprout 12 was stunned.

The first time he saw the power of 237, it was no longer pure, but stained with a deep black.

"You...you used the power of shadow?"

Seed237 did not answer; he simply walked step by step toward the enemy.

Light roots tore through the ground, while dark roots spread through the void. These two opposing forces managed to maintain a balance within his body.

As he raised his hand, dozens of roots intertwined with light and darkness suddenly erupted, tearing apart the approaching armored beast, splattering blood and vine armor everywhere.

The water veins were evaporated into mist in an instant, and the shadow buds were swept into the void and turned to ashes.

The three armies paused for a moment, and the plain fell into an eerie silence.

All eyes were focused on that contradictory and terrifying existence.

At this moment, Seed237's mind was also torn to its limit.

Guanggen roared: You are defiling yourself!

The shadows are laughing maniacally: This is the real you!

He gritted his teeth, a blood-like radiance erupting from within him, and roared in a low voice:

This is...my choice!

Whether it's light or darkness, it's my root—not yours!

The atmosphere on the plains changed instantly.

Light and darkness intertwine, transforming into an unprecedented source of power.

But that force was also a double-edged sword, burning his will.

Sprout 12 stared intently at him from the edge, feeling both fear and shock.

He realized for the first time:

—237 may no longer be the simple "inheritor of the mother tree".

He is becoming something new.

A shockwave, a mixture of light and darkness, swept across the plain.

In that instant, the air was shattered into layers of vacuum, the crimson mist was forcibly torn apart, and the three armies retreated in the face of the immense force.

The armor of the armored vine cracked and its tendrils broke off; the energy chain of the water vein collapsed into a turbulent, sourceless torrent; the shadowy phantom of the shadow bud screamed and dissipated, being swept into the cracks in the void.

The battlefield was deathly silent.

Seed 237 stood on the edge of the shattered light field, its branches and leaves shimmering with alternating golden-white and jet-black light. It was like a spear stuck in an abyss, seemingly on the verge of breaking, yet no one dared to approach it easily.

The three armies gathered in the distance, hesitant to advance.

They realized that this seed was no longer simply a guardian of the light domain, but rather the core of some kind of... distortion.

If they get any closer, they may be swallowed up by that destructive force.

"retreat."

The leader of the water veins gave the order in a low voice.

Although unwilling, Kato and Kageya chose to retreat temporarily out of fear and anger. The army slowly retreated like a tide, disappearing into the depths of the crimson mist.

However, the price of victory arrived at this moment.

--puff!

A burst of energy backlash suddenly erupted from Seed 237's chest, and chaotic currents of light and darkness overflowed wildly from his body.

His branches trembled violently, and light and shadow tore at his bark, as if trying to split him in two!

"ah--!!"

A agonizing roar ripped through the silence. He clutched his chest tightly with both hands, and specks of crimson light fell one by one onto the scorched earth, extinguishing like stars that had burned out.

Light and darkness refused to merge; they tore at his very core.

His consciousness blurred in waves, and the world before him began to collapse, turning into a pure void.

"Enough—!"

A familiar voice echoed from the edge of the void.

Sprout 12 rushed to his side and hugged him tightly with both hands.

Even as the scorching energy tore his branches and leaves apart, he still did not let go.

You are neither light...nor darkness!

You are 237!

You are—the one who stands shoulder to shoulder with me!

At that moment, the darkness in Seed237's eyes suddenly froze, and the remaining light trembled like a dying flame.

He seemed to catch a glimpse of the weight of reality in Ya Dou's embrace—

An anchor point that transcends light and darkness.

boom--

The raging energy within his body suddenly sank, as if forcibly pushed into the deep sea.

As darkness receded and the light dimmed, the intertwined cracks slowly closed.

Seed 237 collapsed into Sprout's arms, utterly exhausted, its eyes still gleaming with a lingering black-gold light.

He murmured softly:

Am I... still here...?

Sprout 12 pressed his forehead against his branches and leaves, his voice deep and firm:

"You are here. As long as I am here, you will not be swallowed up."

The wind howled, and the wasteland fell silent once more.

The distant mist swirled, but did not approach any further.

Amidst the ruins of the luminous realm, a new glimmer of light seemed to ignite between two swaying, crumbling figures.

—But they all knew it was just a brief respite.

The rift between light and darkness has not truly healed.

When the next encirclement and suppression arrives, that force may completely tear them apart.

As night fell, the sky over the wasteland was devoid of stars, only a crimson light obscured by a thin mist.

The desolate, shattered realm of light was utterly silent. The wind whipped up scorched earth and ashes, swirling among the branches and leaves as if telling of the earth's suffering.

Sprout 12 sat quietly in the center of the ruins, with the unconscious Seed 237 resting in its arms.

His breathing was shallow and weak, and the light flickered and dimmed at times, like a candle flame that might be extinguished at any moment.

Sprout lowered her gaze and stared at 237's face.

My heart tightened in waves.

He had never seen 237 so fragile—the one that had stood before him countless times, supporting the light domain, was now like a withered leaf swaying in the wind, as if even the wind could carry him away.

"Why……"

He muttered to himself, his voice trembling slightly.

"Why do you have to endure all this? Why not push the darkness away... Why try to understand it..."

He paused for a moment after saying that.

Because he understood that 237 wouldn't give up on any possibility, no matter how small, even if it meant certain death.

That was his most foolish, yet also his most resolute, moment.

Sprout reached out and gently stroked the remaining crack on 237's forehead. It was cold, with a faint burning sensation.

The lingering darkness still slumbers, like a venomous snake coiled deep within the veins, ready to awaken again at any moment.

"what do I do……"

Sprout's voice was low and hoarse, almost blown away by the wind in the wasteland.

"Should I help you fight it, or...stop you before you completely succumb?"

Conflicting thoughts tore at him.

To protect, or to sever?

He couldn't give himself an answer.

In the distance, a thin, crimson mist quietly swells.

A lingering hostility remained, yet no one dared to approach rashly. Perhaps it was fear, or perhaps it was waiting.

The bean sprout stood tall, its branches and leaves taut; it knew it had to keep guarding.

Even if he's the only one left, he'll stay until 237 wakes up.

He leaned slowly against 237, but dared not close his eyes.

In the darkness, every whistling sound could be a harbinger of an ambush.

And every time he gazed at 237 in his arms, an indescribable pain would well up in his heart—

It was worry, guilt, and fear that I didn't want to admit.

It is also a bond that is deeper than belief.

The wind continued to howl, and the night relentlessly stretched on.

Sprout 12 remained motionless, like a lonely guardian monument.

Until the deepest part of the sky, the faint light flickered again.

—That was a sign that dawn was coming.