The Garden thrived, growing lush and beautiful under Akira's endless blessing.
Vast jungles, sparkling rivers, radiant meadows — it was a paradise hidden beneath a ruined world.
But peace... was never eternal.
---
Far beyond the Garden's borders,
something ancient stirred.
A rotting titan, its body stitched from the corpses of dead worlds, limped through the void.
It had no eyes, yet it saw.
It had no mouth, yet it hungered.
Drawn by the bright song of life emanating from Akira's Sanctuary, it crossed dimensions, breaking into the once-forgotten land.
The titan carried a Void Parasite in its chest — a monstrous creature of gnashing teeth and tendrils — a fragment of the Outer Gods' will.
> [Warning: Outer Corruption Entity Detected.]
[Target: Your Genesis Root.]
The invader screeched, a noise that turned the skies black and made the earth tremble.
It had come to devour.
---
Within the Garden, Akira stirred.
He felt the rot gnawing at the edges of his domain.
No.
Not here.
He extended his will, summoning the House of Verdantia.
The First Royals gathered — their faces grim, but their spirits fierce.
Cairos Verdantia, the Vine-Knight Commander, spoke first:
> "My King, grant us your blessing.
We shall defend your Garden until the stars fall."
Akira responded not with words, but with power.
A pulse of green-gold light flowed through the Garden.
Every Royal felt it:
Their strength surged.
Their bloodlines bloomed.
Their spirits roared.
> [Royal Command Issued: Defend the Root at All Costs!]
[Temporary Buff: Verdant Wrath — Attack and defense massively increased within Garden territory.]
---
The Battle Began.
The titan smashed its way toward the inner Sanctuary, leaving craters in its wake.
Tainted creatures — twisted wolves, corrupted trees, writhing shadows — spilled from its body.
The Garden responded.
Trees twisted into living barricades.
Rivers rose into spears of ice and water.
The air itself thickened, choking the invaders.
Cairos led the charge, wielding a living spear crafted from Akira's own root.
He leaped, striking the titan's legs, vines wrapping and ripping at the rotting flesh.
Other Royals unleashed storms of thorns, tidal waves of leaves sharpened like blades, beams of pure life energy.
Still, the titan pressed forward, immune to pain, fueled by the Outer Void.
---
At the heart of the Garden, Akira focused.
He realized:
This was only a scout — a tiny fragment of what was truly out there.
If he faltered now, it would signal weakness.
No.
He would answer corruption with creation.
Akira activated his new power.
> [Genesis Overgrowth — Engaged.]
The earth shook violently.
Giant roots, thicker than mountains, burst from the ground, coiling around the titan.
It struggled, screeching madly, but the roots tightened.
They drained the Void, converting it into pure life energy.
The titan shrieked one last time —
—and exploded in a storm of silver ashes.
Silence returned.
---
Aftermath:
The Royals knelt, victorious but bloodied.
Above them, the once-dull cavern ceiling now shimmered with millions of tiny glowing seeds, forming an artificial sky.
The Garden had grown from the battle — stronger, deeper, vaster.
Akira, at the center of it all, pulsed with quiet satisfaction.
---
System Notification:
> [First External Threat Repelled.]
[Genesis Garden Level: 1 → 3.]
[Rewards Unlocked: Royal Evolution Paths, Domain Expansion, World Tree Seedling Growth Accelerated.]
And then... another message.
> [Universal Forces have taken notice of your awakening.]
[Prepare yourself, Verdant King. You are no longer hidden.]
---
Akira's thoughts were calm.
So be it.
If the Universe — and beyond — wished to challenge him,
then they would find him ready.
They would find a Garden that could cradle stars,
a King whose roots would touch all worlds.
And soon...
They would find that he — Akira — was not just a tree.
He was life itself.