Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Silver finally had the luxury to look around properly now as he recovered, with others filling in to support the others, giving him a much needed rest. Jimmithy seemed to have the battle in hand. The Grove was a Tier 4 beast, same as him, but unlike Jim, the tree had no way to recover from the damage inflicted upon it during the battle.

Jimmithy would take the pieces of vine and bark that had crystalized to lapis lazuli and shove them into his monstrous maw. The lapis had a regenerative effect when consumed by him, allowing his wounds to close almost comically fast when he consumed enough of it at once.

The battle was completely one sided at this moment; Jim’s victory assured. Silver looked around and spotted Tara, fighting alongside a duo of warriors and one of the Picton mages. Silver slightly wished he had been fighting with her. They had fought together a few times during the marches and he thought they made a good team. She was always able to take advantage of his supporting abilities in ways that other people seemed to miss out on; she was creative.

After all of this was over he really needed to talk to her. If she really didn’t know how to meditate, as her friend, he had to be responsible and teach her. Or get Mern to. He was pretty sure he’d be a pretty shit teacher.

Edwin and Gervase were having an easier time as well. Gervase had smoke pouring from between the gaps in his teeth, molten lava dripping down his chin, as he growled at the smoldering remains of the vines surrounding him.

And it looked like Edwin had requisitioned himself a few buddies from among the lower Tier grove clones, effectively directing them to attack and defend on his orders. He was going to be scary when he grew into his power.

Mern on the other hand was…yeah, still cackling like a madman. He was now lobbing spears of flame and orbs of anti-tree magic into the hostile grove surrounding the group. The trees either bursting into flame or warping horrifically, their inhuman wails of pain echoing around the battlefield.

“At least Mern is having fun,” Silver commented sarcastically to no one in particular.

Savarti made a noncommittal grunt of agreement. “That idiot is a battle maniac, but he follows the commandments of the Dark One almost as strictly as a Black Knight.”

Silver glanced over at Savarti, wanting to ask about the commandments, but realizing this probably wasn’t the best time. For once she didn’t seem offended by his mere presence. Remembering Mern’s words about her not being accustomed to being leered at by creeps like him, and about not calling her fluffy, he coolly glanced away. As enamored with her as he was, it took most of his willpower not to look back at her and stare at her softly twitching ears, or her silvery hair, or her perfect face.

“He seems a little unhinged, though,” Silver said, watching as said grey reptilian man stomped on a vine after magically enhancing his body, snatched it from under his foot, pulling it so hard that it almost uprooted the clone tree it was attached to. After struggling back and forth for a moment, he succeeded in pulling it from the dirt, it’s roots flailing wildly. He smiled triumphantly, before turning and pulling the vine over his shoulder, and using it to slam the tree into the ground.

“Unhinged?” Savarti raised a brow at the word. “Like a door?”

“Uh, kinda,” Silver responded, also unsure. He’d never actually questioned where that saying came from before now. “It means insane. Or sort of insane. Like when something is unhinged, how it’s sort of just, I don’t know, off. Ya’ know?”

She gave him an odd look as she used her sword to swat two vines away simultaneously without looking at them. “Well of course, most followers of Alexei are ‘unhinged,’ as you put it. He is an evil deity, he teaches of life through death, rebirth, and to never be bound by the powers you pursue. His Domains encompass Darkness and Domination. He teaches his church to live as rot lives, growing and thriving in the dark and filth of the world. Uncaring, growing strong and fat in the places where others would simply die from existing. Many of his devout have been baptized in his Truth. They have heard the whispers of the heavens surrounding him, that herald his arrival and sing his eternal praises. It changes them.”

Silver thought back to when he had likely met the Dark God Alexei. The whispers that had sung inside of his head, of death and other terrible, horrible secrets. He knew he had heard no physical voices, no music, no whispers. But he also had. And they had seemed so beautiful, even as they sang of horrors so atrocious that no mortal could ever comprehend the true terror of those actions. They had sung to him of a being of unknowable evil, sleeping in a void, dreaming as he influenced his world from his dreams, like some Lovecraftian nightmare.

There were truths among those whispers that had called to Silver, as if trying to impart something important to him, yet he couldn’t grasp it. Something in them seemed familiar, and urgent. Even thinking of it now, Silver felt like he had missed an opportunity. It had to be whatever the Dark One was talking to him about. Something that had disappointed a god.

But was he changed by the experience like Savarti implied others were? Maybe. Thinking back on it, to how close he had been to true divinity. To an evil god. Yeah-maybe he was changed. But he’d rather not think too deeply about something that could change a man that deeply in only a few moments of conversation.

Silver was dragged from his thoughts by the pained roar of an injured beast, followed by a deep crash. His head swiveled to look over to the battle between Jim and the main body of the Living Grove. The Grove had used most of the vines remaining on its body to spear Jim through the chest and force him away, driving the ends into the ground as they hardened and temporarily immobilizing him on his back, then severing its own vines off before the crystallization could reach towards its bark.

It dragged its enormous body further back. Stretching its roots out in a web dozens of meters around itself, as the clones began to retreat towards it. The fighters unanimously decided to let it retreat as they pulled themselves in, forming a tighter perimeter and using the time to drag any injured into the center to be healed. Tara finally spotted him and hopped over, a gentle smile on her face. He gave her a small grin back before turning back to regard the trees.

Though this had given the group a breather, Silver suddenly had a really bad feeling. His instincts were screaming danger. Tara also started looking around uneasily, while Edwin squinted towards the tree.

Jim was tearing the frozen vines from his body and consuming them, trying to heal the gaping wound in his torso. The wound looked absolutely horrifying; Silver could clearly see the ground through the gore.

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Silver looked at the other Siphons around him, all of them seeming on edge. “I don’t think this is good. I have a feeling we should get out of-,” Silver didn’t get to finish, dumbfounded, as the first of the clone bodies arrived near the outstretched roots of the main tree, and Silver joined the silenced and alarmed group of onlookers, as the tree absorbed its weaker body. He watched as it shriveled up and just liquified, absorbed by the roots into the original, soon followed by a second. Then a third.

The vines began to regrow, the tree was healing. The cracks in its bark sealing. But that wasn’t all. Very quickly, a palpable wave of power began rolling off of the tree. The bulky aspen on steroids began getting even larger, its wooden face clearer, the vine arms gaining bark of their own, the tentacled roots weaving together into wooden legs. The titanic being slowly standing, taller then ever, soon towering over Jim. The few remaining tentacle-like roots forming twin tails. The monster had a completely humanoid, bipedal form now, and its power was still growing. The feeling around the monster changing.

Jim was looking up, shocked mute at the transformation. The more human-like monster clearly posing more of a threat now. Even Mern was looking on stoically. Suddenly no longer looking so eager to fight.

It was Tara who looked up in horror and finally broke the silence. “It’s evolving to Tier 5…”

Without moving, eyes still closed, the monster tilted its head slightly at her voice, one of the monsters twin tails struck out. A sonic boom rang out, a blurred trail left in the air beside Silver as Tara’s body was smashed yards away. Silver’s eyes widened as he slowly turned to look at the now empty space beside him, turning his body to look further behind him at Tara’s broken body now lying near the entrance to the settlement, unmoving, limbs twisted at unnatural angles.

Silver barely registered as the others around him began running away, the sounds of the tails lashing out, breaking the sound barrier with whip-like cracks. Bodies piling up around him. He barely noticed the hands pushing him, urging him to run.

His body moved mechanically, but he ran. Towards Tara’s body. He had to save her. She was one of his only friends. He had to teach her to meditate. He still hadn’t really gotten to know her yet.

He continued to run until a wall of earth appeared in his path, not stopping quickly enough and running into it nose first. His nose bloody and throbbing, he vacantly turned to regard a furious Mern that had apparently been chasing him. Mern raised a hand and savagely slapped Silver.

The feeling of his lip splitting finally doing the trick, bringing him back out of his haze.

“Where the fuck do you think you are going, you stupid human?” He gestured around him at the death and chaos surrounding them. “There is a monster of the verge of evolving to Tier 5 right in front of us. We need to run. NOW!,” he screamed into Silver’s face.

Silver felt the tears threatening to spill at the corners of his eyes, but tried to blink them away. “Mern, what if she’s not dead?” He motioned to behind the wall of earth separating them from Tara’s mangled body.

“What does it matter to you? You barely know her. And you’re weak, Silver. Don’t die trying to be a hero. Death happens, and she’s for the abyss now.” Mern’s hand was gripping Silver’s shoulder tight and he glanced behind him, looking nervous. “Look, I understand. I have no reason to want to save you either. People are selfish. But sometimes that selfishness can kill you. Will you pursue your goals even at the cost of your own life?”

Silver looked up at Mern. His life? His life meant shit to him. And he wasn’t a hero. He couldn’t save everyone, and he wouldn’t even try to go out of his way to save a stranger that meant nothing to him. But was that Tara? No. She had been there for him. Even if it was only slightly at this moment, that kindness was something that meant a lot to a man who knew so little.

He was human. He had evil and he had kindness in his heart. And right now, kindness wanted him to save one person, even if it was all he could do.

Would he be able to pursue his goals even at the cost of his life? He didn’t know. Since being dropped into this world, he hadn’t really established any clear goals beyond survival and some minor networking. But Silver knew to be successful, especially in a world like this, he’d have to be hard. Hard on others, but even more brutal on himself. He couldn’t afford to be weak forever.

Like he had always been before…

This world was a new opportunity. He had to learn to be loyal to himself, even if it meant moving alone in the darkness. He had to find his path.

His gaze met Mern’s, settling into a calm resolve, his eyes flashing darkly.

“I don’t know if I can pursue my goals to my death. But I have an opportunity to find out, and you’re standing in my way.”

Mern didn’t say anything, only looking into his eyes for a moment longer, then broke into a wide grin. “Just as I’d expect of someone who holds the favor of the Dark One. If what you want is to save her, then do it. Or die trying.”

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