The forest grows quiet. The deeper Wobo walks, the less natural the world feels. Leaves hang in the air as if unsure whether to fall. The air pulses faintly, like a breath being held.
Suddenly, the great heartbeat begins again, **THUMP**… **THUMP**… **THUMP**... **THUMP**...
From between the trees, **a figure steps into view**.
[[Approach the figure]]
A tall, radiant being emerges, bathed in a soft glow. Vines wrap around his body and shoulders like living armor, blooming with delicate red flowers. His eyes shimmer silver, sometimes gold, sometimes blood red, deppending with the intruder's motive. His voice hums like the wind in the trees.
**ASHBORN**:
"Ah. The forest weeps of your presence, wanderer."
**WOBO** (tense):
"Who... who are you? You look strange, and you don’t look like the others. What are you...?."
**ASHBORN** (smiling gently):
"I am **Ashborn**, guardian of the Mother Root. I am her voice, her will, her watcher. And you… you the curious one."
[[Ask about the heartbeat]]
→ [[Step back in fear]]
**WOBO**:
"I heard something, like a heartbeat. What is it?."
**ASHBORN**:
"It is the heart of this place… the pulse of the forest, Mother Root herself. She beats for those who are lost, for those who seek, for those who carry burdens they do not yet understand."
**WOBO** (confused):
"Is she alive? Like... really alive?."
**ASHBORN** (nods):
"Alive, and ancient beyond your imagining. She remembers the first breath of the wind, the first laugh of the trees. And now, she remembers you."
[[What does she want from me?]]
**WOBO**:
"I scared i think Iam going to go back."
**[END]****WOBO** (anxiously):
"Why does she care about me? I’m just… I don’t even know what I am anymore."
Ashborn steps closer. The vines around him curl protectively.
**ASHBORN** (softly):
"You carry change. That frightens the forest. But it also gives it hope."
He gestures to the blooms on his arm, one of them opens slowly.
**ASHBORN**:
"You were a child once. That child still lives. The Mother Root sees both, Wobo, and the one you are becoming."
**WOBO** (Sadly response):
Tears running down his cheeks.
"I feel… broken."
**ASHBORN**:
"Then let us begin again, piece by piece."
[[Let him guide you deeper into the Grove]]
→ [[Refuse and turn back]]
Ashborn turns, his footsteps silent. Roots shift, opening a new path ahead.
**ASHBORN** (glancing back):
"Come, Wobo. There is more to see."
→ [[Follow Ashborn into the heart of the forest]]
WOBO** (steps back):
"I… I’m not ready."
Ashborn doesn’t stop you. He simply nods.
**ASHBORN**:
"Then go with care. But know this, some doors close when the pulse sleeps."
→ [[Fade back into the woods]]
As Wobo follows, the sound of the heartbeat fades. The forest quiets. Somewhere ahead, the flowers bloom brighter.
This is not the end.
It is only the next beginning of new life filled with much knowledge.
**[END]**
The air grows cold as Wobo turns back. The trees watch him go, silent.
In the distance, one flower closes.
**[END]**