Wraithwood Botanist

Seeing Tyler’s signature in Wood Wide Web gave me mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was clearly alive and next to a very powerful person, likely Kalas, who had a different brightness of aura than anyone save Hadrian. On the other hand, there were two torok signatures, and the fact that Tyler and Kalas were staying still instead of running to base camp likely indicated that there was a third.

My mind ran a mile a minute as I tried to figure out what to do.

Could I even help him? I wondered. These people are far stronger than I am… I’ll probably get in their way.

Kalas was stronger than Lysan and Hallard, and both of them threw me around like a rag doll. If I tried to help him, I would probably just get in the way.

But… I thought. He can’t fight if he’s watching Tyler. If someone was watching him, he could fight…

It was a hard question that was driving me crazy because the thought of saving myself while Tyler died was out of the question. He was family—my brother—and I protected my family. If it were Kline out there, I would rush out there in a moment if it gave him a chance to live. That’s just what we did.

Besides, knowing Tyler, that was what he was planning, wasn’t it? To bring out Kalas and Hackle when he heard that the Melhan family had followed me into the woods? I would like to think that wasn’t necessary, but God knows it would’ve been helpful if they had rushed to my aid when shit hit the fan.

Fuck!

I didn’t know what to do.

Suddenly, as if to answer my question, Kline meowed nervously.

"You want to help him?" I asked.

He meowed.

"And you think we can actually help? I don’t want to go if we’ll just get in the way."

He didn’t respond. Those words seemed to pierce his heart and ego.

"You think we can protect Tyler and let Kalas cook?" I asked pointedly.

He looked up and nodded.

I smiled and turned to Sina. "Hey. We’re about to do something really, really stupid in the name of love and family. I’m sure as someone who travels with a pack, you understand."

Sina nodded.

"So… you don’t have to join us. But I’d really appreciate it if you did. You’re strong, tactical, and I think if it’s us three, we can protect one little idiot while the heavies work…" I paused. "That said, there’s nothing I can offer you but my gratitude and loyalty as an ally. Trying to offer anything else would feel… wrong."

Sina huffed and turned away.

Thought so… I thought with a wry smile.

But to my amazement, she started trotting off south toward the carnage.

I laughed and pointed to the southeast. "We need to go that way."

Sina froze, and I could’ve sworn she blushed. I tried not to laugh as I got on Kline’s back.

"You doing good, little guy?" I asked him.

Kline nodded and meowed.

"Good. Then let’s go."

2.

Tyler watched Kalas nervously. There was a battle raging in the distance between Hackle and the torok, and while it had stilled for a few minutes in a standoff, something suddenly triggered the torok into action, and seismic waves started to break the ground and rattle the trees.

Despite that, Kalas didn’t even pay it mind. He focused on the west and east in two specific angles, as if he could see another two torok there.

Tyler was getting the feeling that it was lucky that they hadn’t been overrun already.

"Everything okay?" Tyler asked.

Kalas hushed him, and he fell quiet again. Things stayed that way for about ten seconds before Kalas suddenly shifted his gaze north with a complex expression.

"What is it?" Tyler whispered before clapping his mouth, expecting to be chastised. But Kalas didn’t. He just turned over and said:

"Your sister’s coming, and she’s bringing allies."

Tyler’s heart soared. "Seriously?"

"Don’t get confident," Kalas said chillingly. "This could save you—or seal your fate."

Tyler gulped.

Kalas watched the forest intently. Then, he turned east and northwest in rapid succession. "As I thought."

"What’s happening?"

"The torok are attracted to her core. They’re stopping their battles to chase her." Kalas sighed. "At least you’re safe."

"Wait, did you just say they?" Tyler cried. "You mean that there’s multiple?"

"Yes."

"And multiple are chasing Mira?"

Kalas turned to him sharply. "If you wish to save her, you can die."

Tyler’s spine locked straight, and he trembled.

"You’re weak, Tyler Hill. Pathetic. Useless. We came here to prove that; have you still not learned anything?"

Those words stabbed Tyler’s lungs and twisted. But that pain turned hot and angry, boiling into fury. "Then what was the point of coming out here? To damage my confidence?"

"Don’t be foolish. We came here so you’d learn not to pick fights with your seniors. Not rush toward them, as you’ve already done today. Tell me, Tyler Hill. Do you think your sister would have rushed toward you if you weren’t here?"

Tyler folded his arms and looked for a rock to sit on. He found none and thought it would be stupid anyway, so he kept standing.

"Listen, to me," Kalas demanded. "Mira came here so you can live. Now she’s clearing the way." He forcefully picked up Tyler without further discussion and burst through the forest. "So live."

Tyler almost cried as he was hauled west through the forest, moving toward the mouth where he would live the rest of his life, knowing that Mira died for him. After all, he had witnessed how fast the toroks moved—and there were more of them. She wasn’t Hackle. She couldn’t fight them. She was going to die, all because he didn’t listen.

"Resolve yourself!" Kalas hissed. "You were foolish, but you weren’t wholly wrong. You understood your weakness enough to summon allies who could protect Mira. That’s not to be ashamed of. But life does not work out as we wish, and you must learn when you are a liability, rather than an ally. Before, it was arguable. Now, you’ve lost all virtue. So keep silence."

Tyler shut his eyes and bit his lip to keep from crying. Then he said, "Kalas… Once we get back to base camp… please save her."

Kalas started to answer but then stopped, turning pensive as he flew through the forest.

3.

My plans changed in an instant. Instead of saving Tyler, I found myself running for my fucking life. Because there were three torok, and the two Lysan wasn’t facing were rushing toward me. Thankfully, the one who fought Lysan hadn’t resurfaced, and something abruptly made one cry out, halting it in its tracks. It all gave me hope, but that didn’t change that the last one, which was guarding the base camp, flew at me like a rabid dog.

My only consolation was that Tyler and Kalas took that opportunity to rush to safety.

Thank. God.

That said, I was pretty bitter about that. I mean, I didn’t get to sacrifice myself like a war movie hero, rushing in to save Tyler like a legendary Mongol, riding a war panther as I shot arrows at my foe. That was a cool fucking image in my mind, but in reality, I was acting as bait, and Tyler would never know just how cool I really was.

Gah!

It was so petty, but it kept me angry and focused as I flew through the trees on Kline’s back, Sina in tow, listening to the distant crack of trees as this creature flew at me.

Suddenly, Wood Wide Web picked up another signature.

"Another one?" I cried. "They must’ve been waiting for me… I should’ve expected this."

Why wouldn’t I have? The torok were obsessed with my core—then I purified it into a Kyfer core, obtaining the ability to breathe mana and thread without limitations. I was still unsure what it did, as I hadn’t been pushed to mana deprivation since then, but it didn’t matter—the torok thought it was the best thing since sliced cheese, and they waited all damn week in hiding until I finally left camp to trap me.

Suddenly, I heard screaming in the distance, and when I checked Wood Wide Web, I released a frustrated grunt. It’s unreadable! I internally screamed.

There were over a hundred dots in the area, all fleeing south to the base camp. It made sense; it was the last full day of the Harvest, so people were heading home.

Suddenly, I heard the torok in the west screech and slam the ground, followed by harrowed cries of harvesters before the beast kept rushing.

"Go south!" I yelled. "The Bramble’s our only shot!"

Both Kline and Sina nodded in unison. There was no way we could outrun the toroks if we went north. We learned last time how fast they were, and while we improved, we had already learned that they were slightly faster. Our only chance was to get east to give Tyler a chance to get to the Bramble, then juggle back and forth like a soccer player and fly into the Bramble.

I doubted that the Melhan would get involved if there were toroks around—assuming that they even made it through the torok to get to base camp, to begin with. Either way, we needed to risk it. It was our only hope.

Suddenly, a torok blew into the clearing behind us, and Kline picked up speed, leaving Sina behind. Once he realized that, he slowed as I acted, pulling out Nymbral. I felt it was impossible to hit the thing, so I took another strategy. I summoned the most intense hurricane arrow I could, then aimed at its legs.

It roared as I released the arrow, dodging the strike. I was ready. I curved the arrow to hit the ground it was landing on.

A geyser of dirt and water blew up at its feet like a modern explosive shell. It wasn’t enough to hurt it, but it fell forward, crashing into a tree with a loud thud.

It earned us time—but not for long.

The one in front of us had almost caught up.

"Do you have a Triumph?" I yelled to Kline.

He meowed.

"Okay. I’ll shoot an arrow left. Sina, you go right. Kline, go wherever it’s vulnerable and use it!"

Kline meowed, Sina barked—we flew forward.

It wasn’t five seconds before it crashed into my field of vision, stepping on harvesters who seemed to appear all around us out of thin air. There were dozens, and they were all screaming and crying and yelling for help. We were all so close to the Mouth. Less than a quarter mile, probably, according to my soul scan. Yet in the game of life or death, it didn’t matter if you lost by an inch or a mile; dead was dead—dead was absolute.

And it was a problem. As soon as I summoned another hurricane arrow, I aimed and found a group of harvesters where I needed to shoot.

"Son of a bitch!" I yelled. "Get the fuck away from there!"

That was a stupid thing to say, considering how desperately they were trying to flee. But it turned out not to matter, anyway. The torok stomped on one, and three flew away from a seismic shock. Then it picked up a fourth and hurled their screaming body at me.

"You got to be—"

Kline warped out of the way right before the screaming body hit the earth, leaving my imagination to fill in the details of the impact.

Adrenaline was already pumping through my veins. Moxle dilation was on a low setting, so I could use it without fear of cracking, and I didn’t know how many arrows I could make.

I’ll need to use it, I thought.

There was no choice. We were close. Nymbral was a possibility, so long as it didn’t blind Sina and Kline and sign our death warrant—and I felt that it just might at this point. I was a lot more powerful. I still needed restraint and testing. Fuck.

In the meantime, I had a hurricane arrow—so I used it.

The torok jumped at us, and I used its inability to dodge to attack. I thought it would be a direct hit, but that was naive. It thrust out its palm, and a huge gust of wind blasted toward us. Kline barely warped ahead in time to avoid it, but it hit Sina and sent her crashing through the forest.

"Sina!" I cried—but had no chance to think about her.

We had warped near the torok to avoid the wind, and it responded by slamming the ground with its palm. The earth shattered in an intense wave, and I thought we were gone for.

But we weren’t.

Kline jumped in the air like he was climbing a staircase, dodging rocks midair as it rushed above the torok. I thought he was just trying to escape, but my little warrior was a total badass. He used his vantage point above the torok to launch us down like a meteorite.

The torok thrust its palm straight at us. It darkened the sky as it engulfed us, and time shut down at that moment. But Kline… Kline was something else. He lifted his paw and released Silvern’s Triumph, releasing all the aura he had collected that day, including the feast of third evolution meat that we ate for breakfast for that exact reason.

The effects—were devastating.

Four massive blades sheared right through the torok’s arm, cutting it in thick ribbons under my slow motion, and continued on to hit the torok in the head. The blades weren’t enough to slice through its skull completely, but it was enough to break through its calcified mask and reach its brain.

With a final geyser of blood, the torok fell to its knees and then fell to the ground like a robot that ran out of batteries, quaking the ground as Kline landed on its body and released a battle cry under the harvester’s shocked gazes.