Perfect. Let's dive in:
Chapter 66:
The Twelve Roots of The Cosmic Tree
I. The Map of Ancestor Realms
The night sky had shifted.
Errin, now cloaked in celestial ash, stared into the void that once reflected his destiny.
Now it reflected Echo's.
> "Each ancestor you carry," Errin told the child, "is more than memory. They are realms. Domains. Roots of a cosmic tree that once connected gods to all life."
These roots had withered when the divine bloodline was sealed.
To restore them, Echo must travel to each Ancestor Realm—each a pocket world shaped by the emotions that defined that soul.
Twelve in total.
Twelve trials.
Twelve branches to rebuild the bridge between heaven and mortality.
Errin placed a glowing seed into Echo's palm.
> "This will bloom only once all twelve roots accept you."
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II. Realm One: Wrath of the Firstborn
The first realm was shaped by anger—pure, fiery, and endless.
A battlefield of eternal war where skies wept molten blood and swords grew like trees from the ground.
The Firstborn Ancestor, Ael'Rhaz, was the war-forged brother whose soul was never calmed.
He tested Echo not with force, but with injustice.
Villagers pleaded for mercy, only to betray him.
Allies asked for help, only to leave him bleeding.
When Echo, shaking with fury, raised his divine hand to burn it all—
He paused.
He forgave them.
> "I see now," Echo whispered. "Your wrath was born not from hate… but pain."
The realm dissolved, leaving behind a glowing ember that entered Echo's chest—the first root accepted.
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III. Realm Two: The Garden of Silent Grief
Unlike the first, this realm was still.
A garden where time moved backwards. Trees bloomed with forgotten names. The wind whispered lullabies to the dead.
Here, the Matron Ancestor, who had lost all her children to divine war, wept eternally.
Echo wandered the garden and saw versions of himself—a child, a god, a monster, a corpse.
The Matron asked only one thing:
> "Will you remember us, when you become more than mortal?"
Echo answered with silence—he sat, he wept with her, he named each flower after a forgotten soul.
The second root bloomed in his soul.
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IV. Meanwhile: The Usurper Stirs Again
Far across time and dimension, the Usurper's vessel took shape.
It was no longer formless. No longer shadow.
It wore a body. A borrowed face. It looked like Echo… only twisted.
And it had begun hunting the remaining ancestor realms.
> "Let's see how many roots I can corrupt before the heir finishes."
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Next: Chapter 68: Trial of the Third Root – The Maze of Leadership, where Echo will be tested by illusions of power, control, and manipulation—and must choose between influence and truth.
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