“Ugh. Where am I?” I feel like I fell off a ten-story building. As I scan over my body I notice no huge injuries. There’s only a few cuts and bruises left on the surface of my skin.

After I threw the girl and the boy, I was swept by the mole wave. I thought they would have torn into me, but they passed over me like I was thin air. I had just gotten enough courage to stand up from my prone position, but vines had appeared from the ground and coiled around my legs.

They pulled me away before a massive explosion struck the location I was previously at. The shockwave knocked me out. I think that might have been Phoebe’s attack.

As I regain some of my strength I look around me. I’m in a large burrow. Bright blue moss lights the room. The only other source of light is a ray of sun coming from a hole in the ceiling.

I’m lying on a dirt mound covered in leaves. Vines cover the floor. They squirm and slither around the mound. They almost seem alive. Some of them notice my consciousness and begin to crawl up the mound towards me. I immediately activate my lightning.

“Rest easy young one. No harm will come to those whom I accommodate in my home.” A melodious voice from behind startles me. I turn around to see a lady standing behind me.

She’s about a head taller than me. At least 7 ft tall. Her green hair flows freely down her back. Flowers dot her hair. Her body… is quite nice. Covering her privates are large pieces of leaves which accentuate her enchanting figure.

“Hello? Who might you be?”

“Oh? Might you be one that has arrived from outside the sanctuary?” Sanctuary? I can’t detect anything from studying her face. All I get is this weird vibe from her. She seems almost familiar to me. It’s like she’s my mom or something like that.

“How wonderful! We haven’t had a guest in many years. Please make yourself at home. Don't mind my children.” A table made of vines appears between me and her. She gestures to me to sit on the seat that has appeared. As I take a step off the mound the vines retract from wherever I step.

“Children? I don’t see any kids.”

“Whatsoever do you mean? Don’t you see them all around you? Look closer and you will be able to see them.” A vine from the wall slithers to the lady. It slides up her body before nuzzling itself on her cheek.

The sight leaves me speechless. “The plants are your children?! Doesn’t that mean your children are all the plants in the forest?”

“Of course. All my children love me and I love them.” The ground seems to rumble as if responding to the lady.

“O-ok. I have a question. Why did you save me? I’m not one of your children right? Why did you make the vines rescue me?”

“I don’t know.” Her response stuns me. I was expecting her to say something…more informative.

“I felt a connection to you. The stench of beast’s comes from you, but so does the stench of the demons. Yet something else lies even deeper.”

“Who are these demons you keep talking about?”

“They are the beings who cut down my children year after year. They take their flesh and fashion them into implements for writing or as places for living.”

“Who would do that? You’re a living being and so are your children so isn’t it cruel to take their lives and treat them as mere items? What type of people would be able to do such a thing!”

The lady’s eyes nearly double in size. My words seem to have shocked her. “You truly! Ahem. Excuse me. It was just… some reminiscing. But yes I felt a connection to your beastly aura. Pure and unfathomable like an ocean.” Hm? I don’t think I smell like an animal.

“Within you I could sense the primal roars of the clouds. The might of the sky’s wrath dwells in you. Violet light dyes your aura. It is unmistakable. You are the direct descendant of one of the ancestral races.”

“Erm. Direct descendant? Sorry to tell you this, but I’m no direct descendant of some ancestors. I’m a pure, born-and-raised human.”

“You must be mistaken. Clearly your memories have been altered due to living with them for too long. Here let me awaken you from your confusion.” Her hands clasped onto my arms like a vice. I try to struggle, but my efforts are useless as a vine slithers up the length of my back before entering through my ear. My consciousness begins to fade. I feel myself falling down into darkness.

———————————————————————

“Senior brother! Senior brother! When will I be able to get as strong as you?” A young child sits in what seems to be the middle of a forest. They wear fashionable blue robes similar in fashion to eastern clothing and a bandana.

Before them stands a towering figure. The figure emanates an aura of loftiness. It’s as if they have never been touched by the impurities of the world.

“Haha! If you want to get strong as me then maybe you should first gain some muscles like me. That excess skin on your body is useless you know?”

“Wuwuwuwu. Master! Senior brother’s bullying me!”

“Shush shush! I was just joking! I was just joking! Please don't take offense to my remarks Lil Chu.”

“Mmm. I will… if you give me five candies?”

“One candy is enough.” The child begins to pout. Their eyes soon form tears looking ready to burst. “Okay! Okay! Five it is.”

“Yay! Thank you so much big bro!” The tall figure sighs. The childishness of his junior sister was quite a nuisance, but he couldn’t help and smile when watching his junior sister dance in joy.

The man’s gaze pierces past the horizons. A sliver of his killing intent bursts from his eyes. It vanishes as quickly as it comes. He retracts his gaze from the far off future. He should focus on the present. There is no time to dawdle on such useless thoughts.

———————————————————————

“Another round for us!”

“Haha! Get me the finest lady!”

“For the glory of our men and our kingdom!”

Many men wave around mugs in a bar. A great celebration seems to be occurring. The largest of the men stands silently in a corner of the bar. He leans on a claymore much larger than his body as he watches over them. A young boy approaches him holding tray filled with drinks.

“This one’s on the house sir.” The boy extends the tray to the man. The man gently shakes his head and declines the boys offer. The boy, looking disappointed, heads to the other side of the bar.

“Oi kid.” The boy turns his head around expressing his confusion to the man. “I heard from the old man upstairs. You said you wanted to become a knight huh?”

The boy vigorously nods his head towards the man. “Well to tell you the truth… I’ve been needing someone to help clean my men’s armaments. You don’t perhaps know anyone that could do that sort of labor?”

The boy ponders for a second. The lost look in his eyes is slowly replaced by unwavering determination. “I’ll do it!”

“Well said! Now rest. You’ve got to be at our camp before the rooster crows. You’re officially part of my BloodForge Legion.”

“Ah… really?” The tall figure nods. His eyes seem to bear the gentleness of a father caring for their children. “Thank you so much big bro!”

———————————————————————

“You’ve lost.” An old man sits over the edge of a cliff. His frail hands grasp uneven ground as he leans closer towards the abyss. An individual stands behind them wielding a blade.

The figure holds the blade to the old man’s neck. Their hands seem to tremble while grasping the blade. “You’ve been like a father to me. You’ve taken care of us all. So please just answer me this one question. Why?”

Behind the old man lies the bodies of many individuals. Some wear armor. Many wield weapons. Not one corpse is similar to another. They all aim themselves towards the old man. None of them reach their goal.

The figure sighs as they glance back at their fallen companions. Their eyes almost produce tears. The sorrow present in their eyes is soon replaced by their newfound resolution. They lift the blade before bringing it down with all of their might.

“I’m sorry big bro.”

———————————————————————

“NO STOOOP!”

“Oh my. You’re finally awake. Hm? Have you gotten your memories back?” Cold sweat runs down my back. My head is pounding. I can feel my brain filtering out those scenes from my head before it can collapse from the mental strain. It’s too much for me! The green lady stands over me as I convulse on the ground.

“The scent on you has grown thicker. It seems to have worked. Do you know our purpose now?”

“Hah… I still don’t… Hah… know… Hah… what you’re talking about. But I do know one thing. Your children- the plants- they want to do something! Something terrible!”

“Oh? Could you have seen some of my thoughts? What calamity could my children ever commit?”

“They want to escape from this field. And they’ll kill anyone in their way…even the people in the forest!”

“You are correct. I plan to free my children from this accursed prison and journey to the most sacred of lands. A few casualties of those demons won’t make much of a commotion with the virility of their population.”

“You- You- You can’t! My friends are still up there! All the innocent people are still in your forest! If you take it now then they’ll all die!”

“And so what? For many years those demons have taken advantage of us. Taking our skin. Using our blood. They are a menace which I will gladly sacrifice and you will not stop me.”

Two vines burst out from the ground. They entangle my legs making me unable to move. I struggle to escape as the green lady walks towards me.

“As a direct descendant of our ancestors I shall spare you, but not before giving you a gift.” She grabs my wrist and pierces it with her nails. I watch as she places what looks like a seed into my wound.

The blood stops flowing. I feel something grow from within the wound before branching out into my body. The lightning in my blood doesn’t remove the foreign matter. They both seem to ignore each other.

“What did you do?!”

“Just a parting gift. Oh and one last thing. The title I am given is Lilea. Remember it so you may know who saved you from your accursed fate with those demons. Now go!” The vines pull me up by my legs causing me to faceplant on the ground. I feel myself being pulled through foliage and branches. I’m thrown up into the sky. I see the full expanse of the forest. Then I fall onto the ground.

“Urghhh… She could’ve been a bit lighter?” I feel like my organs are out of place. I rub my aching bottom. “H-Halt! Stay down if- if you don’t want to get hurt!”

I turn my head to the source of the voice. Two people stand a few feet away. One is pointing a spear at me while the other has their hands outstretched. I notice that both of their legs are shaking.

“Uh- Give us your medal! I can pierce anything with this!” The spear user waves his spear in front of him.

“Yeah! He pierced a big boar back in the village with it!” The other person seems to shrink back at my stare, but moves forward when they realize I’m injured.

They begin to whisper with each other not knowing I can hear them. “Sal. I think he’s hurt. Should we call the soldiers for some help?”

“... Before we do that let’s see if he has any medals. We need this Amy. Once we’re sure that he doesn’t have any let’s call the soldiers.”

“Um. Excuse me?”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. They’re like two small animals. Too naive for a competition like this. “You guys have to leave right now. I just came from underground. There’s something coming. I need to warn the soldiers to evacuate the candidates!”

“Oh sure thin-“

“Wait!”

The spear user interrupts the girl. “How do we know you're telling the truth? What if you just want us to lead you to the safety of the soldiers so that we can’t take your medal?”

“...”

“As I thought! You’re trying to trick us. Don’t listen to his lies Amy.”

“Fine. I’ll prove it to you.” I really hope this works. Most of my bag was burnt up, but I still have some supplies in my pockets.

“Stay far back.” I light a match and throw it into foliage. For a second nothing happens. The two people seem to look confused. Suddenly an ear piercing screech resounds through the forest. The roots of the tree erupt. I didn’t really think this through did I?

“Run!” I bolt past the two and head towards the clearing. As I look back I notice that they are still dazed by the roars of the forest. I dash back and grab them, but not before seeing multiple small animals being eviscerated by the plants.

Multiple vines and branches appear, but most of them seem to move away from me. Many of them try to grab the two people I’m holding. I run faster before they can grab hold of them.

As I run out of the forest I see many soldiers coming towards us. I run towards them, but stop when I see a familiar figure.

“Miss Claudia!” My shout catches her attention. She was just in the middle of talking to a soldier, but she stopped him. I throw Sal and Amy to the soldiers.

“Hello Cayden. Right now you should move to the evacuation site at the southeast part of the campus.”

“That’s not important. The forest! It’s all moving!”

“What do you mean? This is most likely just the large animals creating a mess. Don’t worry. We’ll make sure all candidates are handled safely.”

“You don’t understand! It’s Lilea! The green lady! She’s taking the whole thing!”

“Lilea! That devil… Cayden, thank you for this information. Now head to the evacuation site while I deal with this.”

“Wait! All the candidates inside. What about them?” Claudia’s eyes become stern? Her reaction causes me to panic. I take no mind of her and rush to the forest. If there’s anytime to save my friends, then it’s now!

I see the soldiers readying their guns before Claudia stops them. I can still hear the forest screeching. The ground rumbles as many plants begin their rampage.

I don’t know where they are! Damn! I never think things through do I? Just when I feel like I’ve lost all hope, I feel something strange occur. It feels like my feet are connected to the ground as if I’m rooted down like a plant. I can see through the ground. A squirrel being eaten. A deer torn in half. Even a bear fighting off many branches before an unseen vine trips it

This is like a sort of sixth sense! With this I could probably find Phoebe and Shay. I don’t know the limit to it, but from what I sensed those scenes were miles away. Is this the gift from Lilea?

The orb in my abdomen revolves faster as my lightning is diverted towards my legs. I emulate Corvus’ footwork to my best ability. The trees around me are torn apart by the force of my run. I have a clear path now.

I continue to traverse through the forest. I find some candidates and take them out of the forest. Others I can only find what’s left of them. I still can’t find Phoebe and Shay. Suddenly my senses pick up a great disturbance. I feel many plant roots begin to converge at the center of the forest. I follow them hoping to find my friends.

As I reach the center I immediately notice the variety of colors flashing through the trees. Red, blue, silver, green. It’s like a light show over there. I can hear roars and explosions.

I arrive at the source of the lights and gawk at the sight. A massive battle is taking place in front of me. Multiple figures are facing off against a massive plant thing. It towers above everyone making us look like ants. On the top I can barely see Lilea sitting on the crown of its head.

Shay is launching multiple icicles at its body to no effect. Phoebe fires a rain of arrows which bounce off the hard bark skin of the creature. The girl and boy duo from before cut away at the ankles of the giant. Another person seems to be moving the earth as a wave of rocks assault the creature. And the last person… is that Phil?! He’s not moving from his spot, but many swords seem to be flying around him cutting at the creature.

The shockwaves of the battle are ginormous. I think each blow of the creature has enough force to take down the salamander from before in one shot. All of the candidates either block or dodge the attacks of the plant creature. They all look to be worn out.

I’ve got to think of something fast. I can’t get the plant creature's attention without taking one of its hits. I can’t dodge its attacks and I don’t think my blows would even faze it. Am I really too weak to help…

“You need some help big bro?”

“Bronya?! I thought you were sleeping? Didn’t you say we wouldn’t meet each other soon?”

“Did I say that? Well I lied, but I heard you need some help! I need a little incentive to offer my services. You know what I want big bro?”

“...”

“Come on. If you don’t say it now that giant plant will kill your friends.”

“Hah. Fine. Little Sis, can you please help your big bro?”

“Hahahaha. Sure! Sure! Just listen to what I have to say!”

———————————————————————

“Argh! I can’t hold on for much longer! This guy’s too strong!” Cordin’s arms feel numb. His familiar has been straining itself underground to provide him energy. He’s almost out of earth essence. He doesn’t know whether he could keep the plant giant in place for long. He looks over to the five others fighting with him.

The person with the staff seems to be slightly stronger than him. His eyes never wander too far from the plant giant’s body. His chanting forms a mysterious melody. Ice forms behind him before molding into spikes which attack the giant. The difficulty of shaping your essence and manipulating it like that must take years of practice.

The bow user is on another level. Their fire pushes back the plant giant. They float in the air launching arrows akin to artillery strikes at the plant giant. Wings made of flames flap behind them. They’re like a Valkyrie from the legends.

The girl and boy pair work seamlessly as a team. Everyone of their attacks sets up the other for another chain of attacks. They commit a nonstop assault on the plant giant.

The figure with the swords… they’re probably the strongest person here. They haven’t moved an inch from their position. They arrived out of nowhere and single-handedly locked up most of the plant giant’s vines.

“At this point we’re doomed.” Cordin couldn’t help but despair. He hasn’t heard anything but the roars of the giant for quite some time. No soldiers. No other candidates. He wonders if they’re the only ones left?

Before me stands the heavens and the earth.

“Who?” The forest seems to calm at the voice. The plant giant itself looks around as if to locate the source of it.

Unparalleled between both. They only serve to hinder me.

“So you’ve truly awakened this time, young one.” A voice comes from all the plants in the surrounding area. Repeating the same phrase over and over again.

There is only one path left for me to traverse.

A figure walks out from the forest. Arcs of lightning dance on their body. The energy tears apart any branches coming near them. They raise their hand up to the sky. Clouds form above them. A bolt of lightning thicker than a house lands on them.

The giant reaches for them wishing to crush their body with its strength. It reaches the figure before disintegrating from the energy around them. The giant screeches in desperation as it launches many vines towards the figure.

Passing through the thundering hell. Severed Sky!

The giant falls.