Fred gasped as he came to.
Cold iron shackles bound his wrists and ankles, their weight biting into his skin.
His body felt alien — heavier, buzzing with energy he could barely contain.
The room was dim, lit by a few sputtering torches embedded in the walls.
Stone. Underground. A dungeon, by the look of it.
Voices echoed from beyond a thick iron door.
He recognized one instantly — Mira.
And then, chillingly, Selene's.
---
"We can't trust him anymore," Mira whispered harshly.
"You saw what he did. The Root has marked him."
Fred's heart twisted.
Selene's voice slithered through the cracks.
"He's no longer one of us. He's a vessel. A weapon. We must control him... or destroy him."
Mira hesitated.
A silence stretched — heavy, suffocating.
Fred closed his eyes, the betrayal sharper than any blade.
Was this what they truly thought of him? After everything?
The door creaked open.
Mira entered first, avoiding his eyes.
Selene followed, her hands folded neatly in front of her, an expression of detached pity on her face.
Fred struggled to sit up.
"You don't have to do this," he rasped.
Mira flinched.
Selene smiled thinly.
"You did it to yourself, Fred. You made the choice. Now you must live with the consequences."
Two guards moved behind them — rough men in tarnished armor, carrying cruel iron rods crackling with magic.
Fred could feel it — the power of the Root thrumming inside him, begging to be unleashed.
But he didn't move.
Not yet.
Not until he knew who Mira really was now.
---
Mira stepped forward, her voice trembling.
"We'll help you, Fred. But first… we have to break your connection to it."
Fred's laugh was low and bitter.
"You don't want to help me," he said.
"You want to erase me."
Mira's face crumpled, but she said nothing.
Selene gave a nod.
"Begin."
The guards raised their rods.
Lightning leapt toward Fred.
Pain exploded through his body — worse than anything the seed had done.
His muscles seized. His vision blurred.
The Root screamed inside him, fighting back.
And Fred… let it.
---
Chains snapped.
Torches blew out.
The stone walls shuddered.
Fred rose to his feet, his body wreathed in a sickly green glow, the seed's power now fully awake.
The guards stumbled back, terror etched across their faces.
Mira gasped.
Fred's eyes locked onto her — and for a moment, the boy she had known flickered there.
And then, he turned away.
Without a word, he vanished into the darkness.
---