Reinhard fell to the ground as the roots binding him disintegrated.

He hit the platform hard, rolling with the impact before pushing himself forward on hands and knees. His right hand extended, fingers wrapping around the flower's burning stem despite the flames engulfing it.

Pain swept through his palm, searing heat that should have charred flesh to bone. He grimaced, teeth clenching as the flames rushed over his hand.

But he didn't release his grip, and to his surprise, the flames weren't burning his hand, but he could feel the pain.

Reinhard gritted his teeth before pulling the flower up.

The flower resisted, roots anchoring it to the platform, trying to maintain its grip. But the fire had weakened them, turned roots to ash, and anything keeping it tied down into powder. With a final pull, the flower tore free with the stem, roots, and all coming loose in Reinhard's grip.

Another scream erupted, this one filled with rage rather than pain.

A voice rang through his mind. Release me! Release me, You-

Reinhard chuckled before ignoring the flowers as his right hand glowed brighter, the Fire Rune responding to his will. Flames intensified, consuming the flower faster, the purple-crimson-grey petals blackened, curled, and disintegrated into ash.

He looked around, noting with approval that different sections of the platform were catching fire. The flames spread along roots, following the connections between flower and tree. What he'd started couldn't be stopped now; the entire pale tree was beginning to burn from the inside.

Time to leave.

Reinhard began running, following the pathway downward. His right hand remained extended, flames bursting from his palm in a continuous stream. He let the fire catch everything, the roots beneath his boots, the walls on either side, the ceiling overhead.

The entire interior became an inferno, golden-red light painting everything in radiance.

As he descended, he saw the golden Melo warriors scattered throughout the interior. He saw some engaging remaining enemies, others moving toward where their allies slept in cocoons. They looked up as he passed, seeing him running with flames trailing behind.

"Jump straight down and free my friends and comrades!" Reinhard shouted, his voice carrying over the roar of spreading fire. "I will meet you at the bark we came through!"

The warriors hesitated slightly, concern evident in how their spectral forms flickered. But then they nodded, accepting his command despite the danger.

"We will see you there, Supreme Commander!" Bargest's voice rang out above the others. "We trust you won't fall!"

Reinhard laughed in relief before he continued rushing down the roots while setting everything ablaze. The flower in his grip burned continuously, never fully consumed but always burning, its screams growing weaker with each passing second.

Roots all around began rushing toward him, dozens becoming hundreds, all rushing towards his position. The tree's final desperate attempt to stop him, to reclaim the flower, to prevent its own destruction.

Reinhard's eyes shifted, three diamond pupils expanding in a triangle formation. Fenrir's enhanced senses activated fully, showing him threats before they appeared.

He perceived vibrations through roots announcing approaching attacks. Heard the creak of wood preparing to strike, and felt air displacement as tendrils shot toward him from blind spots.

A root erupted from below, trying to impale his leg, but he leapt before it emerged, boots landing on a perpendicular pathway. Three more roots struck from the left, but he dove right, rolling across a burning surface without breaking stride.

The fire didn't hurt him, the flames recognized their creator, parting around him while consuming everything else.

Are these the effects of the runes? They're amazing…

Reinhard launched himself across a gap, soaring through open air before landing on another root spiral. This one wasn't burning yet, but his right hand dragged across its surface as he ran, flames spreading from the contact point.

Within seconds, the entire pathway was set ablaze.

Then more roots converged, creating a cage that closed around him. No obvious escape route existed, leading him to be trapped between roots that rushed all around.

Reinhard switched to Odin instantly before blue ripples spread from beneath his feet. Time slowed to crawl, the world shifting into that frozen state. The rushing roots became stationary while he began analyzing the situation rapidly.

Three roots ahead, two behind, eight from the sides, all positioned to prevent escape. But the slowed time revealed gaps, spaces between tendrils where a human body could fit if positioned correctly.

Zenuken carved through the root ahead, creating an opening. Reinhard slipped through before time resumed, emerging on the other side as the cage closed on the space where he was. He deactivated Drasil Step, and time returned to normal speed.

The roots behind him crashed together, too slow to catch him. He continued descending on the burning pathways with increasing speed.

Everything around him was consumed in flames, and spreading over the three centuries' worth of roots. The screams continued, the flower in his grip shrieking, the tree itself groaning as it began to break apart.

But then Reinhard saw them.

Golden figures throughout the burning interior, the manifested spirits of trapped victims. They were no longer holding back roots but freed by the fire consuming their prisons. They lined his descent path, hundreds of them, their spectral forms blazing brighter than the flames around them.

A man with burn scars smiled at Reinhard as he passed, tears streaming down his translucent face.

A woman who'd been ostracized cried openly, hands raised skyward as she shouted. "Thank you! Thank you!"

The nameless warrior stood at attention, saluting as Reinhard ran past. His spectral form showed armor intact, weapons ready, standing with dignity he'd been denied in death.

Young adults danced, literally leaping and spinning with joy only the young could express. They laughed, the sound mixing with the fire's roar to create something approaching music.

Their hands waved at Reinhard, encouraging him onward.

Elderly spirits gathered in groups, arms around each other, swaying gently. Some sang old songs from before the Dark Silence, melodies Reinhard didn't recognize, but felt the emotions behind them.

A final farewell given voice one final time before fading.

He saw a young couple holding hands, their spectral forms intertwined. They'd been captured together, had slept side by side for who knows how long.

Now they were free together, smiling at each other before turning to bow toward Reinhard.

More voices joined the chorus.

"You did it!"

"We're finally free!"

"Thank you for not giving up!"

"Thank you for finishing what we couldn't!"

"Thank you for freeing Eastern Hesod!"

Reinhard's throat tightened, emotion threatening to overwhelm him, but he channeled it into speed, running faster, descending more rapidly. His boots barely touched the surface before launching to the next pathway.

The burning flower in his grip felt lighter somehow, as if the spirits' gratitude was lessening its weight.

Phantasm Beasts appeared among the human spirits.

A Werefang materialized in golden spectral form, its three tails no longer fused but moving independently. It tilted its head, crimson eyes studying Reinhard before bowing towards Reinhard.

An Autumn Deer stepped forward, its antlers glowing with golden light. Leaves grew from the bone, but natural leaves rather than parasitic growth. It too bowed, the motion graceful and deliberate.

A Bear-Terror's massive spectral form appeared and roared towards him, not threatening but acknowledging. Then it bowed, the gesture awkward for its bulk but unmistakably in gratitude and thanks.

More Phantasm Beasts joined.

Tonothus, Cheronos, even a Kungala whose building-sized form made the interior seem small.

All of them tilting their heads in that animal gesture of curiosity before bowing to the person who'd helped free them from eternal imprisonment.

Reinhard laughed in both shock, awe, and joy at the sight of even Phantasm Beasts thanking him for burning this place down. He continued heading down as the world burned around him.

More Golden spirits lined his path on both sides, creating a corridor of light through the inferno.

They cheered, cried, danced, sang, bowing, all of them were expressing liberation in ways as varied as the individuals themselves.

The burning flower's screams grew weaker, fading to whimpers. The millions of voices separated, becoming distinct for brief moments before disappearing entirely.

Each voice silenced was a life finally released, a soul no longer bound to the tree's terrible purpose.

Reinhard descended through it all, moving across collapsing pathways, through gaps in falling debris, and over chasms. The pale tree was dying, and he raced its collapse toward the bottom where his friends waited.

The golden spirits followed his descent, their forms growing brighter as the fire consumed their physical prisons completely. They were ascending even as he descended, rising toward whatever came after, finally free to continue journeys interrupted centuries ago.

"Go!" They shouted in unison. "Live!"

Reinhard grinned fiercely, golden cape blazing behind him as he ran through fire. The bark entrance was visible below, a dark opening in the burning interior, promising escape and reunion.

Almost there. Just a little further.

The pale tree groaned, its death rattle shaking reality. But Reinhard kept running, kept descending, kept clutching the burning flower that had terrorized Eastern Hesod for three hundred years.

The end was here.

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