It started with roots.

  Harmless. Ordinary.

  Until they moved.

  ?

  Zariin was the first to notice. She stood by the edge of the watering basin, head tilted.

  “The vines… they breathe.”

  Grinsh raised a brow.

  “You mean sway?”

  “No. Breathe.”

  ?

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  Rell and Myla were pulling bark fibers.

  Ishro meditated near a stone ring.

  Selena boiled jungle fungus.

  Then — Tesska screamed.

  A vine lashed around her leg and yanked her skyward.

  “GET IT OFF—!”

  Before anyone could move, the jungle erupted.

  Roots tore upward like spears.

  Trees bent backward as if exhaling.

  Vines slithered down like tongues.

  Maws opened from moss patches — lined with bark teeth.

  The forest had changed.

  And it was hungry.

  ?

  Rell blasted flame. A vine recoiled.

  Selena spun, staff blazing. Fire ringed around her in defense.

  [THOUGHTS]

  Not plant. Beast.

  He grabbed Tesska mid-air, slashed the vine holding her.

  They tumbled into the dirt together.

  Another vine lunged — Rell ducked, Selena blasted it mid-flight.

  They moved back-to-back.

  No words.

  Instinct.

  Magic flared from Rell’s hand — molten and sharp.

  Hers bent like wind through fire.

  “Duck!”

  He rolled under her spell.

  She followed with a spear of flame.

  “We need to regroup!”

  [SPEAKS]

  “…Grinsh. Myla. Where?!”

  A roar answered. Grinsh charged through the vines, body wrapped in broken stalks.

  “Get to the ring! Regroup there!”

  ?

  Ishro pulled Myla to safety, fists glowing with energy — each strike caving roots inward.

  Zariin flickered from spot to spot, her magic illusions confusing the plants.

  But they weren’t just attacking.

  They were surrounding.

  ?

  Grinsh looked around. The camp — their home for months — was gone.

  Overrun.

  Choked in vines.

  Covered in teeth.

  “It’s not a jungle…”

  He gritted his teeth.

  “It’s a feeding ground.”