People always ask me what the strangest rescue mission I’ve ever been on was.

And honestly?

It was the day we found Fregalis.

The whole thing started because our Carnivora Bloom crops were failing.

Not struggling.

Failing.

Entire rows of Crimson Hearts inside the sanctuary greenhouse had started turning black around the roots. The meat pods were shrinking, the vines were becoming brittle, and even the nutrient lamps Astra designed weren’t helping anymore.

Which was bad.

Really bad.

Carnivora Bloom wasn’t just food for us. A lot of our Glyphs depended on it too, especially the larger ones. Without healthy Bloom harvests, the sanctuary would eventually run out of supplies.

Astra had been stressed for weeks.

“There has to be another strain somewhere,” she muttered while flipping through old botanical records one night.

That’s when Zena found it.

A mention of a rare Blue Carnivora Bloom strain hidden deep within the flooded marshlands beyond the Scarlet forrest. According to the records, the blue strain produced healthier Crimson Hearts and could survive almost any disease.

Naturally…

We went searching for it immediately.

Me, Luna, Zena, Aurabeak, and Astra loaded up the rover before sunrise. The farther we traveled into the marshlands, the stranger the world became. Thick fog covered the water while twisted Blood Bark roots stretched across the swamp like giant skeletal fingers.

Even Aurabeak stayed unusually quiet.

“I hate this place,” Luna whispered.