Emily ran as her mind made the natural conclusion. The howling and the cries. I’m the only one who can understand him. It couldn’t understand the first servant I met before because I was still fully human. He had a mission, and you do too.

With the roots finally free, the monster could attack with all its power. Cink and Silas look at it with anguish. Their plan failed, and half the army was dead. Their corpses were used as fuel for this nightmare. They could see the core slowly growing back. They didn’t have more power to deal another blow. It was the end.

They looked at each other and agreed. They tried, but more would be foolishness. There is no point in fighting an unwinnable battle. "Retreat to all forces! Take the wounded and disperse in the direction your squadron was assigned!"

Cink gave the order, but most of the army had been destroyed. Instead of an organized retreat, it looked like they were headless chickens running away in panic. The only saving grace was that the monster wasn't pursuing them.

"He’s going to recover to full health before attacking again." Silas was correct. It still possessed enough intelligence to recognize its wounds.

Cink managed to grab the unconscious Franco with his whip, and Nathan protected the soldiers as they retreated. In the middle of all that, Emily ran forward with nothing to defend herself.

"What is she doing? Nora, tell Emily she needs to retreat."

"I did. I’m sure she can hear me, but she’s not responding to me!"

"What? Are you sure you have enough power to talk to her?"

"Yes, I can see through her eyes, but for some reason she’s ignoring me."

Silas turned back to Cink and told him to retreat with the rest of the soldiers while he was going to intercept Emily.

As most soldiers managed to pull away from the roots, Emily was the only one getting closer to the servant. The core was guarded by a shield of roots and plants, slowly regenerating.

She took ten steps before the roots tried to attack, but before they could eat her flesh, they stopped. This was the proof she needed. "I knew it. You can’t attack me, because I’m half Bors."

She walked among the hungry mouths. They just floated around without touching her body. Silas was in the back. Even with his invisibility, he would be detected by the roots.

"Emily, what are you doing? We have to retreat! It’s too late!"

"No, it is not too late. There is a chance to win."

"We can’t defeat it now; we have to get stronger. Maybe in the future, but not now!"

"That’s the problem. We have been fighting many times to survive. We forgot there are other ways to defeat an opponent." She kept walking closer to the servant.

Silas could only watch; he had no way to get closer. In the worst-case scenario, Emily was going to be devoured or smashed. Why aren’t the roots attacking? Is it because she's part plant? But that is not enough to defeat it. If he’s unable to kill Emily for some reason we don’t know, then he only has to retreat. It could still kill everyone else, but it would be a stalemate.

She was worried that any word she said could trigger the monster and seal her fate. Yet she could hear the faint crying coming from the core of the servant. It was a cry and a sob hidden behind some words. She finally understood what he was saying when she stood in front of him.

"Pain. Must complete the mission. Punishment." His words were full of sorrow and were accompanied by a soft cry.

"What kind of punishment? What is your mission?" She didn't come to fight, but to understand and look for another solution. A way that didn’t involve killing each other.

"Mission. So long. No forgiveness." He shook his giant body as he recalled the memories. He couldn’t speak well; he had been alone for so long that he could barely communicate properly.

Emily looked at her orb; it was glowing. She pointed it out to the servant, and their minds connected. A strange scene came into her mind.

She was watching from a first-person view, in the place of the servant. It was a jungle, full of lush green and trees. She was working with care, listening to her master.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Until one day, a shadow appeared and ravaged the jungle. Dozens of servants lay dead, burned, or cut by the powerful shadow. She didn’t understand how it happened; it was too strange, but she did her best to fight and protect the jungle. In the end, she failed, and the worst part was that it was her fault.

The shadow was repelled by her master; it ran away into the river and hid in the Old Land.

"It was your fault. All of you, let it in!" The words of her master were full of disappointment. "Go find it. Don’t return until you find it and kill it. That is the only way to amend your mistake!"

With those words, she started her journey, crossing the river and looking for the shadow. For thousands of years, she didn’t make any progress. This was her punishment, to look for it and kill it, for allowing so much life and plants to be destroyed by another plague of the System.

She was prepared to accept any order and spend the rest of her life looking to fix her mistake. After all, this was the duty of all servants. And yet, why? Why, after so many years alone, did she begin to cry?

No matter how hard she looked, the shadow wasn’t anywhere. Her duty would never end, and she would be alone and a failure for the rest of her life. She could never gain the forgiveness of her master.

"Aaaahhhhhh!" Emily was back in her body. Back to the present time. "I see... you were so lonely and desperate. You did everything you could to find it. Your spirit was unwavering, and your body was just another tool."

She examined the strange roots, flesh, and mouths. "You sacrificed your own body trying to get stronger, all to earn back a place at your master's side."

She extended her hand and touched a single root. The sadness was palpable; years upon years of regret and shame were eating away at the servant’s spirit.

"You gained power, but you can’t keep going like this. Your body is going to give up and you’re going to die."

"Must complete mission. Punishment. Forgiveness."

"What if I forgive you?" All the roots stopped moving and turned to face her. "I’m a Bors too, right? That’s why you can’t attack me. You have been working for so long, you can stop now. I relieve you of your duty."

"Still. Master. Can’t return to him." Even if she relieved him of his mission, he had no place in the jungle anymore. He was still a failure. There was no point in continuing to live without a master.

"Come with me. I’ll make sure to use you. I'll give you a ton of jobs and missions. If you still think yourself a failure, then work with me. Work and work until you tell yourself that you did enough to mend your mistake. How does that sound?"

She wasn’t lying or trying to gain favor; those were the words she would tell anyone in the same position, including herself. The servant believed it; it had already linked his mind to her memories. The two of them were very similar. They both made mistakes they could never take back.

The roots changed shape and grabbed her inside the shield with the core.

Emily panicked for a bit before realizing she was fine. She looked at the core and could feel the warmth of life. It was a beating heart, full of power from the forest. She had to seal the deal, make the agreement a reality by connecting their souls and minds as one.

She used the orb, and with that, they made the contract. She made him open the shield and stop attacking.

"The fight is over!" she yelled as loudly as she could from the cradle of roots to reach everyone.

"The hell!" Silas said to himself. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was hallucinating, but it was real. Emily tamed the monster.

***

After the battle ended, they focused on healing all the soldiers that were still alive. Rebecca was leading the medic squad. Her priority was to put Franco out of mortal danger by reconstructing half of his body. The rest of the squad moved across the battlefield, giving healing potions and elixirs to the soldiers.

As a precaution, Emily agreed to stay outside the village with the servant, while Silas, Jacob, and Cink talked with the council and informed them of the result.

"Are you crazy? How can we keep this monster around? It destroyed half of our forces!"

"Emily tamed it. I know it doesn’t sound too reassuring, but it is the best chance we have. If we attack, it could kill us all anyway."

"Shut up! Your kind has been talking and taking all these risks because you wanted to form an empire. You guys are the same as the Valein!"

"Calm down. It's not like I feel comfortable with this development either, but if we can use the servant, we’ll rule the Old Land. Most beasts would flee after sensing his presence. If one is brave enough to fight it, there is almost no chance it could kill it."

Cink made a good point: it was better to have it and use it as a sacrificial pawn in case another strong creature appeared to take down two birds with one stone. Under that excuse, he managed to keep the council from starting a revolt right there. The other factor was the proof that it could be useful.

Emily made the servant collect all the herbs and medicinal plants they found on the journey back to the tribe. The servant didn’t have to stop as his roots picked up the dozens of plants as he walked. Boxes full of medicine for the whole army and more.

Nonetheless, among the soldiers who fought it, there was a sense of shame and betrayal. Over 200 soldiers were killed by the monster, and now it was part of their side. Asking them to just accept that was a hard pill to swallow.

Cink asked Valks to reassure the soldiers and help keep morale high. After making a speech, Silas went to his side.

"Thanks for the help, Valks. I know it is hard to accept, but Emily won’t let that thing get out of control or harm another pix. You have my word."

"I would never have done this on my own." His face had an expression of resignation. "I only did it because Chief Cink asked me to. He can see beyond petty feelings and do what is best for our people."

"Don’t beat yourself over it."

"No, Silas. I’m not jealous anymore. I’m glad you’re here. I don’t have to pretend to be okay with this. I don’t have to swallow my feelings for the future and put on a brave face. I can’t accept this logic, but I know it is for the best. So, at the very least, I want to complain about you two to the other soldiers and my friends."

Valks walked away, accepting that he would never be on their level. Was it because he wasn’t chosen by the System, or maybe another thing made them different?

Days passed, then weeks. For a long time, the Pix-Dawn alliance could show the people the fruits of their labor and bring peace.