Hendrick was forced to march with the rest of the army towards the obviously distressed woman and her uncanny voice. Had Hendrick had much of a choice, he probably would have still marched. She was afterall, a single woman. They, on the other hand, had a massive army about to swarm her.

“Inheritance granted. Enabling repository. Please ensure you place anything back which you want to keep in storage. Reading the valediction as per protocol.”

“I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!”

“Processing request: Denied. The valediction must be played with access to the Memory Vault as according to the will. Playing now.”

“This is quite a novel experience. Writing a will.” A voice spoke over the army. It sounded like a younger male. As he spoke, an ice tower sprung around the Reform woman. Immediately, a barrage was called in to destroy it. Soon it was discovered that this was not a tower, it was useless as one. The magic went straight through the clear blue walls. The walls flickered as the metal and magic went through them. Immediately after, they would reform like strands of light. It seemed that attacking the tower was a waste of oil.

“Really, I never expected to need one. I mean, supposedly we can live multiple millenia now huh? I even have scientific proof of the possibility.” The first rank reached the tower. They hesitated for a second before the Warmaster commanded them to simultaneously take charges off of their back, and place them on the tower. They all froze in sync arms upraised. The tower was not even solid to touch.

The Reform woman was standing on the far side of the fake tower. She was looking at the wall, back turned to the front line that seemed to be reaching for her with their hands. Hendrick was confused as to the point of the strange creation, but did not question it. He did not have time to, as the most pressing matter was the hands and heads of the front line falling to the earth below. The second line followed suit, however, with only their heads being separated.

“Usually you write a will when you expect to die. But sis, I’m writing this one so you know that I will come back. I may be as good as dead, but this is purely temporary.” The woman walked out of the tower, a massive sword in her hand. It, like the tower, was clear, but this one swirled with a myriad of colors. Waves of fire, ice, light, dark, weapons and whatever the other races had were thrown at her. She simply waved the sword as if it weighed nothing.

The air split. As the sword shattered, a wave pulsed out dividing all. Fire caved on itself, ice split falling harmlessly, the light and dark split apart like a theater curtain. The same curtain that fell on the lives of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth waves that were low enough on the hill to be decapitated before the wave cut into the earth.

“Still there is a possibility I will die I guess. If all goes according to plan, death won't be an issue, I hope. Believe me there is a plan to all this. I know it seemed like a whim, and I ended up not looking for the city using the ritual like we planned.” She walked back into the tower. An orb was soon lobbed through the blue veil. A group of soldiers jumped on the suspected grenade. Their bodies were nothing but a useless sacrifice as yellow and red tigers lept out of the orb.

They wreaked havoc, killing dozens before dispersing into motes of light. Hendrick did not see whether the orb remained. The orb that fell at his feet was far more important. They immediately sank to their knees in thick mud. A man to Hendrick’s left let out a startled cry as something pulled him under the muck. Hendrick tried to run, but the downside of agreeing to the Warmaster’s contract reared its ugly head. Orbs continued to fall.

“Trust me, I had a reason. I can’t tell you everything, but this is for our good. Finding the city is not the end goal. I know you most likely will ignore me, you tend to be stubborn about that.” The Administrator walked out once more, scythes splayed behind her like the wings of death. It seemed her first few items were merely tests, and this was her personal favorite. Like a field ripe for harvest, the scythes flew about on their own and reaped their harvest.

Hendrick saw another soldier go under the mud. Finally, the Warmaster got around to moving the soldiers. Hendrick got out, tears streaming down his face, alone. Magic rained on the Administrator. Two scythes cut anything that came close. It seemed their power was not limitless however, as their crystalline blades were becoming dimmer. They returned to her back before she took out a thin rapier.

“Situations change. I learned more about what was really going on. Had we gone through with the original plan I fear we would have all been doomed. Of course, again, if you do find the city it will be extra security just in case.” Bodies were dismembered in a straight line through more than sixty lines. The blast curved up the hill, not caring to be shunted into the dirt as the sword’s did. The rapier carved another line into the depths of their ranks before it broke.

A series of crags came next. They spread from the Administrator, stabbing into people at random. Hendrick marched onto a spike. The rock pierced his foot with no resistance. He was forced to march through it, tearing the rock out of the back of his foot. He stumbled forward and fell on his face. He was physically unable to keep marching. He crawled forward.

“And I know it was selfish. I should have told you more, I would have told you more. Yet every single piece of knowledge is knowledge that can be used against us.” The stone tore the ranks just like it did Hendrick’s foot. Next was a meteor that fell from the heavens, matching the motion of a staff in the devil's hands. Incomprehensible weapons and confusing damage consistently assaulted the soldiers. Waves of force, literal waves; piercing blades, massive swords falling to the earth; monstrous blasts, blasts of monsters. The tears streaming down her face, the yells she loosed into the world, and the way she meted out judgement was all startling.

In minutes, thousands of them had died. The warmaster called a retreat. The Administrator was too lost in grief and anger to allow that. A stampede of ethereal beasts tramped through the ranks, goring, cutting, slicing, maiming, and killing.

“My words may be meaningless, but I hope that the message gets through. I love you Justinia. Keep your little brother's body safe! I’ll need it when I get back.” Eventually, they successfully retreated. As many died as were mentally scarred. As many walked home as were carried home in bags. Two neither walked nor were carried: Hendrick crawled away as the Warmaster went missing.

Yuclaus instinctively gasped for air. Instead of the light airiness of a breath, he was choked with dirt that flowed like sand. He clawed for air, but found himself helpless in the current. Isencia fared no less. With the earth flowing like the ocean, her vines were unable to find purchase. Trees, shrubs, grass, weeds, and flowers were all swept in the storm, slowly choked to death by the onslaught.

Yuclaus felt something smash into his side. Luckily, he had been tensing his mind constantly during the tidal dirt. At least, for all that he remembered he was. You could never be certain when it came to memory and Yuclaus. He clung onto the object, just wanting to be able to cling to something. The object likewise clung to him in return. The two were tossed through the earth like ragdolls.

The two that clung to one another halted as the earth around them solidified. They stayed in the cavity momentarily until Yuclaus’ handhold started to shift. The two then rose to what he assumed was the surface. After a minute of wiggling on both their parts, they managed to extract themselves.

They stood on a hill overlooking freshly laid soil. Where the shadowed trees once stood was now a large area of rolling earth. The forest remained unchanged outside of the perimeter —which was equidistant from the massive creature floating in the center. As Yuclaus stood there dazed, he watched others escape the earth. Plants pulled themselves from the soil, pushing themselves either upright, or growing at insane speeds. Not Gourami speeds, but close.

For each new flauna that extracted itself, the mole-like-fish-creature would turn to look at them. In this way, creatures that seemed to be scarce were revealed. All stayed put, knowing they were in the presence of a supreme predator.

Yu, where are you? Are you ok? The leaves whispered from the forest in the distance. The few plants that had resurfaced also echoed the breeze.

“Huh, Sen what are you talking about you’re right… here….” Yuclaus looked at the companion he escaped with. The black leviathan was slowly extricating the rest of its body from the hole. The serpent looked up at Yuclaus when it felt his attention on itself. The two stared at each other.

“I guess I owe you gratitude,” Yuclaus eventually surmised. “You did pull me out of the earth after all, that would have been significantly harder for me to do myself.” The serpent just stared unblinkilly. “You know, we should just not kill each other right now. I know, I was hunting you and all, and you almost strangled me to death; that is all in the past.” Yuclaus stuck out his hand in the air towards the snake, seeking a handshake.

The serpent still made no move. It was watching the hand warily. A shame, had it taken Cause up on the offer, it could have been relieved of its life. Well, I don’t think Yuclaus is as heartless as me. If his hand conveniently slipped however…. No, another time, that would take too much effort on my end.

Eventually, Yuclaus let his hand fall to his side. The serpent looked back at Cause’s eyes, then looked towards the lord of the earth holding them all hostage. Neither may be able to communicate verbally with one another, but the look gave a clear message. The leviathan was sentient, perhaps sapient even, and had decided they should not fight each other at the moment.

The same sentiment was not shared by Gourami, who wanted the serpent's lifeblood for itself. It had been consuming, growing, and developing significantly by devouring creatures. Slowly, it could feel itself controlling more of its bond to Yuclaus. Soon, it could usurp control. It just had to push a little more. It was a shame the Lord of Earth —Yuclaus’ mental designation of the fish-mole creature— had been waiting for it.

As the root burst from the earth nearby, looking to skewer the serpent, a splash of soil hit it. It was cleaved in twain as the soil condensed to a material that treated the root like putty. The rough exterior was sheared, the root tossed away, its metal interior gleaming in the light. Yuclaus had witnessed two truths of Gourami simultaneously. Gourami was not his friend. Gourami was a disgusting amalgamation of creature, plant, and machine —just as Isencia had said.

The lord of earth dove into the soil, a wake flowing behind it like beautiful almond hair. It headed straight for a glistening canopy in the distance. A canopy that Yuclaus could now see from his height on the newly formed hill. The beast was headed for Gourami. Yuclaus found himself not moving a muscle. He didn’t even utter a word of protest.

The root tried to withdraw itself back into the earth, hoping to use it to protect itself. Yuclaus made it stop. He did not ask Gourami, he did not inquire, he asserted his will upon it. He froze the mangrove so that as the lord of earth approached, it could do naught but wait for its demise.

“Weeks. For weeks you have been stopping us from getting crucial wisps. Countless memories and creatures that could have helped us, for what? What can you gain from interrupting our hunts? What benefit did you have? Did you just want to keep us weak Gourami? Do you know how much we sacrificed, giving away our location constantly to get even one wisp to help us?”

The lord of earth reached Gourami, and Yuclaus allowed it to struggle. He wanted Gourami to reap what it had sown. The Spore had turned against its master, and now its master watched on in disgust. Roots pierced the hide of the lord of earth, drawing dark brown blood which soaked the earth. The beast tore apart metal and bark, methodically dismembering the mangrove.

Gourami emitted as strong a pulse of electricity as possible, but the lord of earth was firmly grounded. The current passed harmlessly, only shaking it slightly. The two titans duked it out. Gourami had grown significantly in their last weeks of travel, all from kill stealing. The filth. Neck beard was an apt description for what Gourami was doing.

Yuclaus watched on in pain as his Spore was destroyed. He had thought that Gourami could understand him, he had thought they had bonded. Only to realize that the reason they were stressed, worried, and anxious was Gourami. The betrayal he felt from the Spore brought out anger. Yet as he watched, he still felt a deep ache in his chest. He remembered the times he had clung onto the trunk in the tumbleweed as it splintered from the lord of earth’s webbed hand.

He did not hear words, but he could hear the begging from Gourami, to help. The Spore needed him. It could not survive this. All of its work, its strength, was being torn apart. Isencia landed next to Yuclaus at some point, but the only sound she made was that of her arrival. Isencia had a suspicion after the hawk, she thought the Spore just wanted to feed. Seeing it try to kill the serpent in front of Yuclaus spoke differently.

The serpent also stayed with the two humanoids. It looked on the mangrove the same as they did. While the rest of the mobile flauna left, the three stood together in solidarity. The leviathan did not understand what was transpiring, but knew that it was watching something important. The fact the two had stopped hunting it also allowed it to relax a little.

“Let’s go,” Isencia finally spoke.

“Where?” Yuclaus responded, not looking away from the scene. Glittering leaves were torn by incomprehensibly dense pebbles, roots flailed in anguish.

“To Gourami.”

“To Gourami? Why? I say just let it face the beast on its own. Hopefully the lord will be satisfied and leave us be.”

“Lord? As good a name as any for such a beast I suppose. But Yu, we still need wisps. While it is distracted, we can get a crucial ability. If we can swim in the earth like the ‘lord’ we could theoretically go completely undetected. Neither of us have to breathe oxygen, we can make it all the way to the elevator.”

“What about Gourami?”

“Do you want to save it?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. I want to believe it wasn’t malicious, just following it’s instincts. Yet, it listened to me when I asked it to return to us. It can understand me to some extent. It knew these creatures were important to us but kept intervening. For weeks Sen!”

“Yet you still want to save it,” Isencia stated. There was no question.

“Lets go,” Yuclaus started walking before turning back to the serpent who watched their exchange without a hint of emotion. Not that Yuclaus could decipher snake emotions. Do snakes even have emotion? This one could, I guess. “Want to come? You can also just leave I guess.” The snake neither left, nor went with them. It simply watched on. It looked between them, and the battle in the distance.

Yuclaus felt vines swirl around him, and moved towards the fight as Sen launched herself forward. Cause started to take control of the glittering roots in the water to pierce the beast where it entered the pond. Gourami did not have a choice of whether it wanted to be controlled or not, Yuclaus demanded it.

The lord of earth fought back harder. It grabbed a root with its snout, and tugged. For a moment nothing happened, until thick cords and wires broke off with the vine; it was torn from Gourami. Yuclaus had Gourami engage it as they neared. The lord either didn’t notice them, or decided they weren’t worth the effort. They were just small ants facing a giant.

Pink fluid dyed the surface of the pond with every lost limb. Gourami was missing half its canopy, a majority of its roots, and all of its electrical energy. The lord knew the time was up. As it flung a massive wave at the mangrove, it felt a small hand touch the top of its head. Why was the beast here? Oh the mangrove infiltrated its lai— When was the last time it ate? It must've been last wee— Ah that was a delicious meal! Who knew such a delicious root existed! Wait. Something was wrong. Where was it? Its instincts screamed danger, and it dove into the earth without hesitation.

Isencia pulled Yuclaus off with her vines before he submerged with the lord. He landed on his mangled leg, immediately falling to the earth once more. While he was watching the destruction of Gourami, he was able to forget his injuries while standing. However, now that he was looking at his leg, one that was flickering from skin to pink blob, he knew something was wrong.

It seemed they were too late for Gourami as well. The canopy and leaves finally collapsed on itself. The tree submerged into the large pond, defeated. A green light flitted from the mangled roots and limbs, and shot towards Yuclaus. It darted into his thorned vine scar, briefly illuminating it before Yuclaus felt his Spore once more. Weakened, defeated, humbled, ashamed, but back. The only difference this time was the small feeling of emptiness at the loss of an assumed friend.

Isencia touched the mark on his left arm for a moment, before wrapping her hand around it and tugging.

“Let's leave. We should find somewhere new for camp as well. Our precious site is destroyed. I got some good meat during the fight though Yu. I can make us something tasty. We can recline in our chairs, talk about nothing important for a bit. We have wisps now, we can relax. Sounds good?” Isencia tried her best to distract or comfort Yuclaus. She hopped all over the place with her logic. To anyone else it might have seemed callus, but Yuclaus was comforted by it. He knew she was worried and didn’t know what to say.

“That sounds very much needed,” He responded. The two turned to head back in the direction they came. Still on the same hill was the serpent. It raised its head, looked at them, flickered its tongue for a moment, before falling to the ground and slithering away. They would meet again. As the narrator I obviously have the knowledge of the future. Or do I?

Yu and Sen walked back the way they came, Yuclaus’ arm over Isencia’s shoulder. Isencia also had vines supporting him, but Yu wanted to walk. He wanted to do something physical, something to distract him from deciding what to do about his broken Spore. He needed to figure out something fast, they were a few days from the edge of the forest.