The array network split into its basic runes, no longer restricted by the magic circles or hindered by the holes created by the exploding Demons.

The entire sky above the Fringe lit up with blinding light as if the sun had come dangerously close to Mogar's surface.

***

Blood Desert, Ra'ntar cell, at the same time.

The Chronicler screamed in agony and Jirni didn't miss the sudden change in his voice. As the elf cried, the sounds he emitted became deeper and more guttural. They reverberated off the walls as though they were coming out of a hollow musical instrument rather than lungs.

"Aalejah, is this normal?" Jirni exposed a patch of hardened brownish skin among the many that were forming all over Ra'ntar's body.

She would have missed them if not for her bond with Skywarp. As the elf's voice changed, the quasi-sentient weapon had met an increasing resistance from his body. Ra'ntar's skin was getting ticker and his flesh harder by the second.

It had been nothing much for the Davross needles at first, but soon Skywarp couldn't stop the regenerations of the altered tissues, no matter how sharp it made its edges or how much pressure it applied.

The needles were being pushed out from the Chronicler's nerve clusters and it was only a matter of time before the pain hindered Ra'ntar no more and he regained mobility.

Skywarp alerted Jirni who in turn sought an answer from the former Chronicler candidate.

"Great mother protect us!" Aalejah had heard of the phenomenon but even for the elves living with the Yggdrasill for generations, it was just a rumor.

A spooky story the veterans used to scare the children and put the Chronicler candidates' commitment to the test.

"The World Tree is taking over. The fragment inside the Chronicler is eating his body from the inside and turning him into a Yggdrasill Puppet!"

Ra'ntar's eyes shed sap-green tears of joy and despair.

His torment was finally over and his body free from the cruel needles. The hunger and thirst that until a moment ago had consumed his every thought were gone. The panic and fear had been replaced by an indomitable will and unshakable confidence.

Yet it came at a price and wouldn't last long.

The former Chronicler knew that once the World Tree's Overgrowth bloodline ability finished infiltrating his body, the elf known as Ra'ntar Rainsong would die. His

consciousness would fade away and his memories would become an echo in the Yggdrasill's mind.

His existence would be reduced to mere data, recorded in a few books because irrelevant to the World Tree, and entrusted to his family as a testament to his sacrifice.

"Meaning?" Jirni knew nothing of elven traditions aside from what the bedtime stories she had read to her children said.

Elves were supposed to be beautiful, stuck-up, and prideful, and they loved parties and jewels despite not having any visible means to finance their lavish lifestyle. Based on her limited interactions with real elves, none of it seemed to be true or remotely relevant to her situation.

Jirni devoted her focus to keeping the elf still and her needles inside his body but as the brown patches spread, Ra'ntar's physiology changed into something she didn't recognize anymore.

"The Yggdrasill has given up on their Chroniclers. Ra'ntar and all those who carry a living fragment of Yggdrasill wood being eaten up alive from the inside." Aalejah replied. "That's not an elf anymore but a sprout of the World Tree!"

The Ra'ntar thing snarled, flexing what was left of his muscles to expel the Davross needles from his body. He no longer had nerve clusters that could feel pain or joints that could be restricted.

Every fiber of his being had been replaced by Yggdrasill hardwood but the sting of Skywarp still felt unpleasant.

The Puppet split his limbs into bundles of razor-sharp tendrils that whipped toward Quylla, Jirni, Friya, and Aalejah at the same time.

Quylla tried to restrict the growing sprouts with Bloodbind but the wood got thinner and slicker, escaping the grasp of the bigger and rougher Adamant chains.

Friya Blinked herself and her mother to safety just for the creature to give them chase. The cell was small and now it limited the space of maneuver of the four women just like it had done for the elf while fighting Lith.

The tendrils kept extending in every direction, lifting Quylla with ease and sending her to slam against a wall.

Luckily for her, the golden sparks of Dimensional Ruler formed dimensional fissures that intercepted the blades aimed at her heart, head, and womb while also forming a Warp Steps behind her that saved her from the impact.

Quylla found herself near Jirni and Friya who scaled the dimensional openings and severed the vines from the main body.

"Get up, Quylla." Jirni lifted her daughter to her feet with one hand. "The mission isn't over. We have to find a way to restrain the Puppet and keep inflicting pain on it or everything we've done will be for naught!"

"How, exactly?" Quylla flooded the fragments trapped inside Bloodbind's links with darkness magic without any visible effect. "Yggdrasill wood is one of the hardest materials on Mogar and I don't think it can feel pain like you and me!"

As if to confirm her words, the lower body of the wooden elf shapeshifted into a dense spike and started to spin on itself to drill its way out of the cell. Unfortunately for the Puppet, any surface of Salaark's dungeon was as hard as Davross and nothing could break through.

The four women used their best spells, burning, blackening, and freezing the recognizable parts of the Puppet that had held Ra'ntar's vital organs until a few seconds

ago.

"This is all your fault." The Puppet said, its voice now resembling that of the World Tree, leaving only a faint trace of Ra'ntar's timbre in the background. "You killed me and before the Yggdrasill consumes me completely, I'll bring you down with me!"

***

Back at the Fringe, right before Lith and the strike team unleashed Ruin.

"Mom?" Solus asked. "Is that you?"

Her eyes recognized the features of Ripha Menadion and her ears still remembered her mother's voice despite the changes it had undergone after becoming a Demon. Yet Solus' brain refused to accept Menadion's sudden return from the dead and her heart to believe it, afraid of losing her mother again.

"Yes, Epphy." Menadion nodded. "You have no idea how much I've missed you. How many times I just wanted to answer Verhen's call and hold you in my arms. I've been waiting, dreading this moment for so long, yet our reunion can wait a bit longer.

"Don't take human form, Epphy. Save your strength for when we get out of here." Ripha caressed the stone ring, every crack singing her finger felt like a stab to the heart even though she didn't have one. "And you!"

The First Ruler of the Flames grabbed the Librarian, the only elf she had kept alive, from the scruff of his neck. Menadion prickled her skin with her claws, using Abomination Touch to fill her with dread but without affecting her life force.