"You need to stop eating. You have had enough."

Sin's voice was but one of countless muffled screams within Yggdrasil's chamber. The beast had grown rapidly, and hungry. Four large flowers had sprouted from the trunk of the tree, four gaping maws that were snapping at the bodies hanging from the ceiling.

Ten, twenty, thirty. Held in the coils of her vines. Men, women, children.

In her hands Yggdrasil was holding some form of critter, though it was no longer possible to tell what it had been at one point, before she had sunken her teeth into it.

"Bold words from you, sister. Ignorant as ever." The critter had stopped twitching in her grasp, so she threw it away. Before the body hit the ground, it was caught by the flower, the maw clamping shut as fur, muscle and meat dissolved within. When it was finished the flower opened again, and the skeleton of the creature fell out and onto the ground.

Sin kept her eyes on her sister, paying no attention to the slaughterhouse that the room had turned into. "And yet you tell me to be less reckless, no? Do you think people will not notice?"

Yggdrasil was busy licking her fingers clean as another root burst out of the wall, dragging another unfortunate victim along. After landing in the chamber the root returned from where it came, burrowing itself back towards the surface.

Before the new victim, a woman, could get on her feet she was caught by another of Yggdrasil's vines, coiled up and pulled high into the air where she began to scream against the vine that had wrapped itself around her mouth.

"I need to grow, sister. For my roots to reach further, wider, deeper. That is my purpose. I only take the dregs, I am not picky." Her countless eyes sprouting from the walls darted from one of her victims to the next.

"The poor, the sick, the destitute. Nobody will miss them. Nobody wants them. Only I do." Yggdrasil folded her arms in front of her chest.

The newest victim would not stop struggling and screaming, unlike the others. She was thrashing and squirming in the grasp of the vine, to the horror of the others. They were silent and unmoving. Because they knew.

The vine clenched. The sound of bones crushed filled the room, and the dead body was thrown into another awaiting maw.

"You are so very fortunate that your other self covered her tracks. If our master found out about your tastes." Sin let her words linger, a wide grin on her face.

Another set of bones cracked as Yggdrasil's lips quivered. Another body thrown into a maw as she spoke. "Our master is on the right track, I doubt that she would mind. And would it not be interesting for her to know who made me what I am?"

All eyes of the beast laid on Sin, who shrugged. "What first draft in history was ever perfect? I still would say that you turned out well enough."

Another squeeze, another dead body. Yggdrasil's body was trembling. "If I could wipe that damn look off of your face-"

Sin clenched her hand to a fist, Yggdrasil's body went dead stiff. "But you cannot. Quit forgetting your place, sister. You have had enough. I will not repeat myself."

Yggdrasil was gasping for air as Sin relaxed her hand, glaring back. Another squeeze, another body. "It is not enough!" She ran her clawed hand across her face. "It never is enough. Every day, every hour, every moment I hunger, I need more!"

The first flower opened again, bones and skull rolling out onto the floor. Sin was resting her hand in her palm and sighed. "Endure it. Things are turning in our favour, when we prevail there will be ample for you to eat."

The air filled with the sound of cracking bones with every step as Sin walked closer to her sister. "Have you seen anything, or were you too occupied trying to fill yourself?"

Her words were answered with a growl as Yggdrasil leaned back. "Nothing of value. People try to cling to normality, more police are around now that all the heroes have been rounded up, people are whispering about martial law."

"Good." Sin stopped right in front of her sister and played with her braid. "And what of the seal?"

Vines clenched, bodies dropped. "It still holds strong, my roots have not reached far enough for me to make a dent." Yggdrasil's voice was but a whisper, her facial muscles were twitching.

Sin looked throughout the room, the rest of Yggdrasil's 'meal'. "You can eat in two days again. Focus your efforts on reaching the seal, I will find a way to convince our master."

With a wide grin Yggdrasil tilted her head to the side. "You can't just pull her into your arms and speak softly, is your talent that meagre now? Or did she realise your limits when you didn't save her from being torn apart-"

Flames surged across Yggdrasil's body, the beast screamed and writhed. Her vines thrashed, crashing her prey against the walls, the ceiling, the ground. When the fires faded, Yggdrasil's body was ashen black, her chest heaving. She was silent.

"Don't. forget. your. place." Sin turned around and walked to the exit, adjusting her sleeve. "The master is not a blind child anymore, though she can still use my guidance. I am doing nothing more than the duty of a loyal maid, sister. And useful as you may be."

At the door she gave one last glare to Yggdrasil, her eyes narrow. "I will not have you slander my honour like that."

She pulled the door open, and stared into the eyes of Maria. She was crutching on Armoire, her eyes gazing past Sin into the room, her jaw dropping at the sight.

"My master, you must understand that it is vital to our operations that-" Sin's body froze as Maria clenched her hand, unable to move her head as her master walked past her into the room.

Yggdrasil's countless eyes fixated on Maria as she limped towards her, a look of discomfort on the blind beast's face.

"I suppose this is the moment that I will be felled with righteous anger?" She lowered her head, unable to hide a smirk as her flowers let go of another finished skeleton.

Maria stopped in the middle of the hall, her gaze fixated on her gluttonous servant. Most of the victims had been crushed in Yggdrasil's rampage upon being set ablaze, the few still alive staying dead silent.

"Sin, get over here."

Her master's words gave speed to Sin, she hurried to her side, keeping her head low. Armoire gave her a look, but quickly gazed off to not draw her master's attention.

"Why are people hanging from the walls, how does it serve me, and how many does it take." Maria did not take her eyes off of Yggdrasil, her whole body trembling.

"She is the eldest of my sisters, my master." Sin was fidgeting her hands behind her back as she spoke. "We were not yet as proficient, which is why she is still the most human. Her growth requires sustenance."

Maria shook her head, staring across the bones that littered the ground around the treelike beast. "Fine. There's enough people for that, I suppose that is why she is kept down here? What else have you been hiding?"

Sin and Yggdrasil stared at each other, before Sin took a deep breath. "Yggdrasil is the one that has been created in order to weaken the seal to the world of the Ancients. To break it if the need arises."

All her master could do was stare at her servant in disbelief as she continued. "The for her growth was to reach and control the world and it's roads, so that it cannot be used by our enemies, like yesterday. Though for that to be possible we need to break the seal that bars the greater gates."

"Which is the only thing that keeps those things away!" Maria grasped Sin by the collar, her eyes wide. "As long as I live those gates will stay closed, you hear me?! For nothing in this world will I let those things enter, I wont let them awaken, I-"

Sin rose her hands into the air, batting her eyes. "Nobody speaks of awakening them, my master. They are still, aimless weapons without a wielder. But with the gates open, imagine what we could do. To bring an army into the Ancient's world now would take days, as would it to bring them out again. But with the gates open and under Yggdrasil's control, we could send hordes through the ancient roads, they could cover thousands of kilometres within hours."

She got down on one knee amidst the bones and gazed up to her master. "We could topple the order of the world within a single day, strike anywhere and retreat at a moment's notice. My master, this is what you are owed, your inheritance. The key which we need."

Maria pulled her hand back, she could not stop it from shaking. "And be under the shadow of those things, I, I." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Finally she turned her back on Yggdrasil.

"She may continue. But nobody touches the seal without my explicit and direct permission." The young master limped back out of the room with Sin in tow, who gave a cautious glance back to Yggdrasil.

The beast was sprouting more vines from her trunk, beginning to cover the ground and bones in a fine net of white. They clenched around the remains and pulled them together around the tree itself, until they were barely visible under the roots and vines.

The last few unfortunate people met their demise, consumed by her ravenous maws as the door to her chamber shut.

The walk out of the basement was silent until they reached the foyer, greeted by the first rays of the sun. First here, among the quiet sounds of daily life did Maria slump forward, shaking her head.

Sin looked at her master for a few moments before stepping closer. "Please forgive my discretion, I was not aware if you were, prepared yet for the sight."

Maria stared down at her hand, then ran it across the scars marking her face. "I appreciate it, but never keep something like this from me again. You will not treat me like a child anymore. Though, damnit, now I really lost my appetite. Ah well."

They made their way to the dining room, where her staff was already hard at work to set the table.

"I understand, my master. I shall not act this way again. But if I may ask, why did you seek me out at this early in the day?"

Maria sat down at the table, staring down at the pre-cut fried egg and sausages, and sighed. "I wanted to talk to you about getting a hair cut, that was all."