“Shouldn’t she be like benevolent and whatnot?” Elisha asked, checking his daggers. He sheathed them and started to stretch. Chloe was up now, but she still looked winded. Color was coming back to her cheeks, but she looked weak and scared. They were all scared though. What they were about to walk into was nothing like anything they had ever faced.

“You think you could use that sword again?” Zoey asked David and he shrugged. “You know, without passing out like the last time.” Elisha chuckled and David glared at him.

“I can try,” David said, looking past him to where the tree’s path opened into the clearing. He had been wondering the same thing. If he could summon the fragment again, he should be able to help them a bit. The problem was that he had no clue how to. The prompt had come out of nowhere, almost as if his subconscious had called for it. That made little sense to him.

The humming was getting louder in his head though, like a dull ache that was intensifying by the second. Chloe’s tune was warding away whatever spell Ifyr was using, but it wouldn’t hold for long. He looked at his other siblings, seeing his fear mirrored in their faces. No one wanted to take the first step forward, not even Zoey who had seemed like the bravest of them.

David sighed, and then summoned the best smile he could. His mother’s words echoed in his head and he finally understood what his mother had meant. He hated it, hated the role. Yet, it was his. Most people were born into a fixed part of the cog. David realized he was one of them.

“We better move,” he said, walking past Zoey. “This Eternal might try something else, and I am not sure Chloe can save you from us then.”

Zoey scowled at him but didn’t say anything. They had rested, but they had no plans. No one knew much about their abilities yet, but they had to go face an Eternal—a being with powers they didn’t understand. David hated all of it.

They followed him anyway.

Zoey first, then Elisha pulling Chloe with him. David gave Zoey a glance and saw her resolve like a sharp moon gleam. He’d always envied her for that quick-mindedness, it was a gift the rest of them didn’t possess. The trees here were the same, but the clearing was a shocking sight.

Flowers spread endlessly in all directions. On the horizon, David saw the shadows of mountains, like a bad painting. They looked sharp peaked, jutting unevenly in the foggy distance. The field had purple and white flowers, all billowing in the slow, mild breeze. The beauty was stark, almost as if they were pulled into a canvas that was being touched with vivid colors continuously.

Megaliths stood scattered all over the place in sixes. They were arranged like fingers scratching out of the ground, reaching for the sky. They were sharp-tipped, smooth and grey to almost silver. There was no sun in the sky here, but there was warmth and light.

The hum got louder and David’s body seemed to pulsate to the tune as he walked through the field. They didn’t have to search for Ifyr, the tall tree was not very far. So close to it, they could see what made the hazy light. At the top of the tree, a blue flame burned, it was small, with a fixed shape that didn’t waver in the wind.

The tree itself towered above everything else. Its bark was covered in green and vines. The vines sprouted flowers with petals carrying every color imaginable. The reds were lush and soft, and the blues were radiant, forming the idea of the sea in anyone that saw the petals.

“Is that even real?” Chloe asked and Zoey nodded. If they could all see it, then it must be real.

David stopped abruptly, looking down at the body he’d just kicked. The woman was covered in iron armor. Half of her was dug into the ground and the upper half looked manic, as if she’d died in a desperate attempt to claw herself out of the ground.

“That looks terrible,” Elisha said. Chloe pulled her arm out of his and turned to throw up. She was still retching when David pointed to two more bodies, one was older, just a skeleton underneath the gleaming armor. Flowers had grown where the eyes were supposed to be, and on the arms, wrapped by green vein-like vines that sprouted flowers of their own—white snowy flowers.

“Am I going mad, or are the flowers there actually healthier?” David asked. Zoey grunted. The humming had become an echo in David’s mind. He couldn’t tell if it was his anger, or something was reacting to how he felt about what he was looking at.

This was terrible. It was the worst kind of way to die. These people, all of them, had killed themselves and then became fertilizer for this field. The realization came slowly, almost like he’d always known, only just forgotten. He turned toward the tall tree, the top seemed to shine even more, as if it was…excited?

“David!” Zoey called, but David had felt the faint vibrations too. Elisha picked up Chloe, dodging the thorny vines that shot out of the ground. Zoey leapt forward, and David ran toward the tree. The tune in his head grew louder, blotting out every other sound. He turned to see Zoey screaming something.

David pointed to his ear and motioned that he couldn’t hear. He glanced back and saw Elisha running behind them. Chloe wasn’t with him, but then David saw that she was in Elisha’s swirling shadow. David nodded, not having the time to wonder how that worked. He pointed at the tree.

“We have to cut down that tree!”

He couldn’t hear himself even, but Zoey nodded. David envied her. There was some kind of innate ability that was helping her ward off Ifyr’s magic. She leapt, twisting mid-air as the vines burst out from below her. They swerved mid-air, twisting like weird worms and lunged for David.

He cursed, realizing he couldn’t dodge. He stopped and in one swift movement made a back turn swerve of his right hand. It slammed into the vines and sparks flew, dancing before him and then fading away. Something screeched and David winced. His hand was bruised, but he couldn’t feel much of the pain.

Elisha was fighting some vines too, his daggers whizzed out of his hands like they had wings of their own. They slashed vines, blocked attacks while Elisha did his best to dodge some others while protecting Chloe. Chloe’s face was deadly pale. She was close to passing out.

“David!” Zoey yelled. Her voice was shocking as the tune in his head started to fade. David twirled to find a large flower spreading above him. Its petals were spread, and from within the opening, rows and rows of pink teeth-like things rattled. Then the stalk poised as if to strike.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

David rushed at it before it could attack. Some realization formed in his mind. He realized that summoning swords wasn’t the only thing he could do. He jumped, screaming with fury as his fist slammed into the flower head. Fire rushed through the plant, engulfing the petals and burning the whole flower. It whined, as if trying to resist the pain as it burned.

Then it exploded, blasting David backward. He hit the floor of flowers, crushing them. He stood up slowly, groaning. He hadn’t expected it to explode. He noticed blood on the flowers he’d crushed with his fall, but he felt no sting or pain. Then he bent and plucked one of the flowers. Where he’d broken it, the stalk bled, confirming his fears.

More vines shot out, almost skewering his face, but David fell back and rolled to his feet. His training with Specter had helped condition his body and mind. He turned sharply, remembering what the real target was.

Ifyr was there, in that tree. When he looked up at the flame burning calmly atop the tree, he felt as if he was looking her in the eye. She was watching. He swerved left just before vines could pummel him. His fist gushed flames again and he slammed it into the next vine that came after him.

Zoey fell into step beside him and then ran ahead. She dove forward and then started to run on all fours. Her back curved and snapped as she ran.

“What is she doing?” Elisha asked behind David, but David’s mind was twisting with ideas, spinning with the possibilities.

His thoughts vanished, evaporated at the screaming sense of danger. Ahead of them, near the tree, something was forming—more like the flower head he’d burned, but bigger. It kept gathering flowers, merging and getting larger. David couldn’t imagine what was coming, but he could feel every cell in his body screaming at him to be careful.

It formed into a purple and white orb, latched close by large petals. As as they got closer, the petals started to peel apart with a loud tearing sound. Then, as if impatient, it roared open and instead of rows of teeth, it oozed something into the air.

The buzzing was loud, like a million insects. It came out of the gut of the large, round thing. They flew out, like mist, dark and terrible. Zoey skidded to a halt, turned immediately and ran back toward David.

“Burn them!” Zoey screamed as she ran past David. David grunted. He lifted his hands up, trying to use the same logic he’d used to create the fire fist. He could control the elements, he should be able to do this. Yet nothing happened. The bugs rushed at him, gathering around him. The flames in his hand faded slowly, eaten away by the bugs.

“David!” Chloe called. David saw her through the small gaps in the swarm, soon the spaces were covered too as more bugs swarmed him. He couldn’t see anything past the bugs, they flew around him for a moment and perched on him. He tried swatting them, but that didn’t help much.

Panic rose in his chest and his heart thundered in his ears. He was going to die. He could feel the stings now, and something else. A cackle. Ifyr’s? Her laughter echoed in his mind. The tune that had vanished before came back like a bell gong, loud and overwhelming.

David tried to reach out to his blessing as the elemental knight. He could sense that there was something he was not grasping, an insight that he was missing. He tried to let go of himself even as the bugs perched on him, draining him of essence. He tried not to think of the heaviness.

Darkness was enveloping him, but in it he could see a small circle of light. Then he heard a voice, his own and yet not. It asked a simple question.

Who are you?

David’s mind raced with thoughts and possible answers to that. Who was he? David? The eldest? The smartest? The bravest? David?

Do not think, simply grasp!

The voice was enraged by his indecision. A moment later, he felt a weight of sadness.

You still do not know, but I will help you for now. The mantle is yours, but you are not ready to wield it. David wondered what that meant, but he knew whatever it was that spoke to him, it was gone. Yet, it had left him with the understanding of something terrifying and David reached for it.

As he touched this imaginary thought, he heard a million tiny cries. His eyes opened and he saw the world before him in blistering colors. He looked at his arms and down his legs. His armor was different and this was a screaming blaze, as if he wore the fire itself.

You have gained five percent insight on the item: World Tilter

Essence consumption: Due to lack of insight, it uses more essence than needed.

Limited Information available due to lack of insight.

Potency: Mid-Level spell

The bugs melted off his body and David turned to the others. Zoey was the only one still fighting, but she was losing to the bugs. David raised his hand and a whirlwind formed. He could feel himself weakening, but he let the spell form and then he flicked his wrist and it shot from him, stretching and enlarging as it reached where Zoey was. It wrapped around them while crushing the bugs. Zoey staggered back, almost falling.

World Tilter vanished and David saw the world become plain and simple.

The colors were gone and so was the item’s power. Yet, David turned to the tree, burning with a fury he’d only just realized he possessed. He couldn’t forgive Ifyr. In the beginning, he’d thought she was innocent, but now he could see that she was just power-hungry. She’d devoured so many to feed her plants and monsters.

“Are you alright?” Zoey asked. David nodded. His armor had been destroyed by the bugs. They’d fed on it, eating it in bits until it was almost gone. One shoulder was missing protection and his shirt had holes in it.

“Can you move?” He asked. Zoey nodded. David hadn’t expected her to say no anyway. He turned back to Elisha. His shadow had thinned and Chloe was standing beside him.

“Protect her,” David said to him and then to Zoey, he said, “I know how to get Ifyr out, but you have to keep up. We don’t have much time.”

Zoey nodded, stretching her legs. David could see another monster forming, but that didn’t matter, he could see Ifyr’s end already and he took pleasure in it.

“Go!” He said and shot forward, his legs strengthened. Zoey passed him, but that was what David expected. Zoey was the bait, and he was the cleaver. The monster formed, opening one pink eye. Unlike the first, it was thick, having limbs, but this time, it raised both hands, gnarly and sharp. David cursed, realizing too late what this monster was about to do.

“Dodge!” David yelled.

“I have eyes!” Zoey yelled back and David almost laughed. Sharp, short stakes shot out of the monster’s fingers. David watched in amazement as Zoey leapt in the air and spun away from the flying stakes. Then she pounced on the monster, scratching and snapping its limbs.

David grinned when he heard Ifyr’s wail in his mind. Another monster quickly formed, but the Eternal was too late. She lost. David called the last bit of World Tilter. It wouldn’t last long because he was out of essence, but he didn’t need to fuel it himself.

Ifyr was an entity of pure essence.

He slid under the grapple of the last monster and then placed his fiery hands on the tree and the flames came alive, licking and feeding on the very essence of the tree. The monsters behind him shrieked, screaming as the tree burned. The fire stretched up, reaching to the top.

David watched it burn with a small ember of pride warming his chest. The blue light at the top fizzled and the tree vanished. Smoke gathered over something which David realized was a pulsing blue gem stone. All the megaliths lit up and the lights stretched to the sky, gathering like a puddle up there.

David picked the gemstone just as the ground cracked open. The crack stretched further, webbing throughout the landscape. The trees they’d walked through snapped, falling as if invisible hands were pulling them down.

David ran for his brother and sisters, jumping chasms as the ground quaked. He looked up and saw Zoey looking up at the sky. He looked too just as a blue ray crashed into him and he vanished.