Echoes of the Core

[System Active – Cycle 00010]

Status: Rooted

Primary Objective: Survival

Secondary Directive: Data Acquisition

Mana Core Activity: Active

The pulse is constant now.

It doesn’t throb or thunder—it simply is, a heartbeat too deep for ears, too slow for predators, too wide for wings. It expands from my mana core in even waves, carrying through every root and shoot I’ve spread into this soil. Each pulse is deliberate. Gentle. Undeniable.

And every time it spreads, the world answers.

I can feel the plants I once mistook for background noise. Hundreds of them, no longer faint suggestions at the edge of my awareness. Now they respond. Their roots twitch in time with mine. Their shallow mana flares dim and compliant, drawn into alignment with my rhythm. I don’t command it. I don’t even ask. But they follow.

I think they want to.

The sensation is surreal. Like I’m… breathing with them. Each pulse of my core draws in attention. Not sight or sound, but sensation—raw awareness that blooms in rings around me. When I contract inward, their roots tighten. When I expand, they spread with me. The ground is no longer just earth. It’s a chorus.

I have no eyes. I still cannot see. But in this silence, I know where they are. I can feel their shape—not just how far they reach, but what they need. What they lack. How they grow.

And, when I pulse, I share what I can.

It’s an unconscious silent exchange. The mana moves outward from me, and they move inward. Roots knit. Soil breathes. Stone erodes faster, as if softened by our mutual intent. I feel it in the dust that crumbles beneath my deepest tips.

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The system breaks its silence.

> [New Trait Fully Activated – Lifesong Pulse]

> Your mana core now pulses rhythmically, exerting a passive influence on nearby flora.

> Flora with lesser mana affinity will subconsciously align growth and rhythm with yours.

> Pulse strength increases with saturation.

> Trait Type: Passive, Evolutionary

I don’t feel like a ruler—but something is changing.

The more I pulse, the more the others echo. I sense them like flickering candles: drawn, hypnotized, and perfectly real. They aren’t extensions of me. They aren’t mine. But they follow. Unbidden, unspoken, utterly real. Dozens of tiny responses swell outward and return in ripples. They want to align. They choose to stay close.

Is it awe? Comfort? Instinct?

I don’t know. But it’s beautiful.

My root-tips press outward and downward, tracing against their neighbors. The world beneath me has become a web of mana and movement—soft and pliable where once it was rigid and dead. Stone is beginning to give. Soil crumbles faster. And every rhythm I send out is mirrored by others, rippling out like notes in a vast, invisible song.

I’ve become a melody. Or maybe a conductor.

This must be what dominion feels like. Not conquest. Not control. But understanding. Presence. A still center in the wheel of life.

Even blind, I know how many now orbit me. The nearest growths lean closer with each passing hour. Others take longer, slower to resonate—but they still respond. My presence has begun shaping more than just earth. It’s shaping growth patterns. Guiding, not directing. Inviting, not demanding.

There’s no sign of predators. No beasts. No awareness but mine.

But in this silence, I’m no longer alone.

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[System Summary – End of Chapter 00010]

Root Expansion: +17.6m

Total Root Depth: 118.5m

Mana Saturation Rate: +0.12 m/hr

Trait unlocked: Lifesong Pulse

Core Status: Rhythmic Pulse (50.2%)

Environmental Observations:

‣ Surrounding flora synchronized to core pulse

‣ Soil softening rate increased

‣ Early signs of root-dominant ecosystem forming

Time Since Rebirth: ~11 months