Stream had been having quite a lot of fun. Teaching Arson had been a joy, as simple as sitting within a breeze even, but that had quickly ended.

Stream was still a far more talented overall archer than Arson, but the more they fought the PantherFlies, the less Stream’s ability with the bow stood out. Any shot Stream took, Arson seemed to mentally catalogue in an ever-growing database of techniques to use later.

At one point, Stream pushed himself to show just how impressive his skills truly were, firing four arrows simultaneously, and killed two of the insectoid panthers at the same time. Great distances held between each creature.

Arson took this to be the new minimum requirement for shots taken, and a new contest began. The two young men fired so many shots, killing so many creatures, that in the end Arson had to create more arrows for Stream to shoot with.

Stream never wanted to shoot another of his own handmade arrows again, designating Arson as his new fletcher. Arson agreed gladly feeling useful, both by allowing Stream to hunt without end, as well as being able to cull more of the monsters that Stream had informed him were a massive problem; the creatures like a rat infestation back in the City of Palaces.

“So are we going to start collecting apples or no…”

Stream looked back down the path the pair had taken through the overgrown palace they trekked through; his eyes widening at the abundance of dead PantherFlies, and the seeming banquet of apples that had been left behind.

“Sparks, we should have long collected those, come on and help me grab some, we may have to call for help to gather all this food before a larger predator comes to eat all the PantherFly bodies we left unprocessed behind us,” Stream said alarmed.

Did we seriously do all this so quickly?

Stream hadn’t ever gone this far into this palace, but was curious how far away from a nest they currently were. His father spoke about special apples left to grow within the palace that were protected by the PantherFlies. The golden apples able to restore the minds of people who ate them for a period of time.

His father had once eaten one, and killed an entire invasion that had stormed toward the City of Palaces, using only the lifetime of knowledge he’d lost by entering the land Stream had been born in.

I wonder what Arson would be like if he ate one of those apples.

Before Stream could even turn back around a noise unlike anything he’d ever heard rumbled through the Palace of Vines and vegetation all around him.

“What in the—“

Stream was cut off, Arson yanking him out of the path where he stood, darting toward the tree line to one side of the path they were on. Arson turned after stumbling into the trees, lifting a silencing finger to his lips and pointing toward the growing noise.

Stream was glad that they’d cleared out the area they now stood in, knowing that they’d have been attacked instantly the moment they stepped into the PantherFlies natural habitat. When he saw the new predator that rushed toward the feast of dead creatures they’d left behind however, all fear for the smaller enemies they’d been facing left his mind, replaced by a new foe.

Stream had never seen anything like the beast. A panther the size of a large carriage for the giants that lived within the City of Palaces rushed down the path. Unlike the PantherFlies that had four paws and an additional four insectile limbs, this monster seemed to have dozens if not more vines sprawling free of its spine. All the limbs in constant motion.

The monstrous creature was at time a blur, only trackable when it paused to eat. Less than a blink was held between each vine snapping out to grab another of the left behind PantherFlies that the new beast now flung into its mouth.

“We have to go now…!”

Stream tried to pull Arson along, only for the young man not to budge a single inch. Stream felt as if he’d just tried to pull his mountainous father along, falling over in the attempt. After shaking his head to try and clear his mind from the rush of blood that flooded his brain when he’d fallen, he looked at Arson, almost stunned by what he saw.

Arson’s eyes spun slowly with lights that felt like a vortex of stars. His gaze in the new monster’s direction was filled with a predatory hunger that made Stream’s skin prickle. In that moment he didn’t know what he should run from more, the new beast in the Palace of Vines, or Arson himself.

Arson crouched, and a new arrow spawned to life between his fingertips as he drew back on his bowstring. A pulse of mana ran through the bow’s length and Stream watched while a pair of rotating energies appeared to either end of Arson’s bow, almost as if Arson’s bow was forming its own pulley system to increase the strength of his shot. A sound like falling trees emanated from Arson’s weapon just before he spoke, loosing his next shot without a drop of apprehension in his visage.

“You may go. I’m not going to let anything steal all of our hard work.”

…

The family of gods sat watching their new favorite Cultivator, once more sharing a meal. Michael chuckled at Arson’s words, only to be shushed by Matron and Zara.

“What, don’t act like that wasn’t funny, he doesn’t even have his memories and he wants to fight a god’s pet as if it will be easy,” Michael said still laughing. Zara rolled her eyes and her mother sighed.

“Only someone like you finds being far in over your head while your life is at risk funny, dad, now shut up and let’s see what he does, it would be a shame if he died here.”

“Seconded. I thought he was going to die in that dragon’s nest dozens of times, and then again to the roaming giant tribe, and then again to—“

“We get it, mom, you have no faith in him. Now will you two shut up—“

Arson released a shot from his bow that sounded like the top of an icy mountain shattering. The arrow gleamed with mana lightning, distorting light as it left a discordant hum through the air as it flew.

“Oow…” said all three of the gods. The arrow moved fast enough to appear as if it had teleported toward its target. Arson was already charging his next shot when the first collided with the large beast, firing the second shot in the same moment his first shot struck true.

The first arrow knocked the creature off the path as if it had been struck by a battering ram, not puncturing the monster, but sending it smashing into the opposing tree line, making every tree it collided with explode with the concussive force.

Before the creature could get up, Arson’s second arrow was fired. The creature rose, and even before it could truly gather its wits, the second arrow struck it in the side of the head.

“What are you doing idiot, keep shooting!”

Michael and Matron looked at their daughter, the young god’s face reddening at her outburst. She’d been playing her concern for Arson off for nearly as long as the family had collectively watched him, but her parents no longer believed she had no interest. She’d asked Michael almost daily to watch the young man, and with the difference in time, Arson’s days long adventures were as short as television episodes to the family.

The creature rose and Arson yelled for the young man named Stream to go and get his father as quickly as possible, realizing that his arrows didn’t seem to puncture the beast at all. An explosion of the PantherFlies burst free of the destroyed areas around the larger monster.

Arson cursed, and another arrow Zara had never seen before begun to form between his fingertips. The regular arrow formed, but 3 additional arrows with an ethereal quality spun through the air around their physical counterpart.

Stream yelled a confirmation that he would be back as fast as possible, Arson’s only response a slight nod as he fired the new arrow.

“Hurry up,” Arson yelled; the arrow he fired exploding with energy that seemed to distort gravity briefly.

“Has he ever done that before,” Matron asked through a mouth full of food.

“Nope,” responded father and daughter at the same time.

The gravity fluctuation yanked the extra arrows that had formed and spun around the original projectile, pulling them through the air rapidly, and three secondary explosions occurred, further stirring up the swarm of PantherFlies once the extra shots came within range.

“Move, that thing isn’t going to stay unaware forever,” mumbled Zara. As if she manifested the occurrence, the giant monster retracted all its vines, moving the mass of limbs underneath itself as it jumped high into the air above the trees.

Arson took aim, but was unable to fire another shot before the giant panther dropped down and an eruption of dirt, debris, and even entire trees were flung into the air, completely obscuring the line of sight that Arson had on his target.

“Bloody embers,” roared Arson, forced to dive to one side when the creature started to bat falling trees and giant rocks that fell through the air in his direction. Zara and Matron screamed when an incredibly sharp stone cut through Arson’s side, both knowing that his once unrivaled regeneration wasn’t currently accessible to the young Cultivator.

Though he was slow to rise, Arson got to his feet and darted through the forest; the creature charging toward him, crushing trees like they were simple twigs in its path.

“This is getting ugly quick, he’s not staying aware of his surroundings. I think he’s about to run into a PantherFly nest.” The three gods went silent and Arson turned to try and fire, tripping on the edge of a tree and immediately plummeting into a hole.

“Come on, you idiot, you can’t seriously be about to die after something so stupid…” Zara said timidly, both her parents looking at their saddened daughter in that moment.

The giant Panther dove after Arson, its giant upper half plunging into the nest. Zara gasped as they watched the creature thrash about wildly trying to slice Arson open with its giant claws, even as its vines scrambled into the hole to grab the young man.

Arson barely dodged the swipes that came his way, his ankle wrapped up by a vine in an instant. The PantherFlies biting into his body tore at his flesh wildly after their environment was raided, Arson scrambled to escape the countless enemies.

“Anastasia Flare!”

A brilliant white light flooded the cave, and Zara began to cry. The young god didn’t know why she was so worked up over a young man she’d never met, but as she was forced to watch Arson’s golden blood being spilled, she knew that if it were in her power to save him, she would have.

You can’t die here, not before we meet, I’ll never forgive myself if you disappear and I’m powerless to help you.

Zara looked back to see the sad faces of her parents. Michael's discouraged smile still comforted his daughter, even as he reached out to wipe her tears and rested his hand on her shoulder, she knew her worries could be felt by her family as a whole in that moment.

“Have faith my daughter, this will not end here.”

…

Arson screamed in pain as chunks of flesh was ripped from his body. The swarm of PantherFlies ravaged him from top to bottom, and in a moment of panic he screamed for his watch to help him as his vision blurred.

“Anastasia Flare!”

The light filled the space and the creatures all around him were disoriented for but a breath. The smell of his blood enough to draw the creatures directly back toward him.

Arson could barely concentrate on fleeing, and his situation grew even worse as the light that Anastasia emanated, began to be sucked in by the vines that twisted veraciously throughout the nest. Darkness returned, and all that could be seen was the vines, now empowered by the energy the creature had drawn into its limbs.

A pulse of power boomed through the nest, and Arson found himself with nowhere else to run, his back pressing firmly up against a wall of the depths he’d fallen into.

In the next instant the massive creature managed to enter the nest entirely, and from the ends of the vines that lined its back came all of the energy taken from his watch. Each vine fired a laser like beam from their tips killing any and all PantherFlies that bit into the creature's body.

“Arson, run!” Anastasia yelled, but Arson merely chuckled, accepting that it was his time.

“Thank you for all the help, Anastasia. It's been a blast.”

The creature charged and a sound like a volcanic eruption touched Arson’s ears. He’d thought he’d imagined it, until a series of spears as round as his own arm pierced through the dirt above. Each spear obliterating every nearby PantherFly in an instant.

The massive panther was pinned into the floor of the cave like a skewered pig to be roasted, the entire length of its body riddled with spears the size of the trees above.

A massive hole was left in the ceiling of the underground nest, and not a moment after the massive creature stopped flailing in its death throws, a large man dropped into the hole, landing on the creatures head.

River stood atop the dead panther and took in the area with a whistle. He turned to look at Arson, who still had a PantherFly gnawing on his shoulder. The young man blinked up toward the man slowly, still chuckling as he tried to cling to consciousness.

“What took you so long, any longer and I would have killed it myself…”

…

River chuckled. He stepped down from the dead creature he’d just slain and strode over to Arson, the young Cultivator passing out not a breath after speaking to him.

“Is that right?” River mumbled to himself, stepping on the PantherFly that still merrily had its fill, squashing the creature like the bug that it was under his large foot.

River bent down, and lifted Arson over his shoulder, pausing as an odd light filled the corner of his vision. Turning his head, River caught sight of not one but three golden apples dangling from roots. The invaluable fruit tucked in a small area just beside the young man he picked up.

Well, I guess we don’t have to wonder how we are going to heal, you runt…

“What are you doing, father?”

River looked back over his shoulder as he set down Arson to see his son drop into the cave. River smiled at his son, gesturing toward the light of the apples.

“Your new friend here is luckier than a Godling,” River said reaching into the small area that held the fruit, plucking one of the three apples.

“He’s not my friend. I’ve only just met him recently,” grunted Stream.

“Oh yeah, I don’t know any royal you would have rushed back for to have me save like this. If he’s not a friend, then what is he?”

“Whatever, old man. Are you going to help him or not, he looks dead already. If his chest wasn’t rising and falling, I’d say we lost him already?”

River pulled free a knife from his belt and sliced the apple, still laughing even as he crouched to press a piece of the apple into Arson’s lips.

“Not a friend huh, we shall see about that,” River muttered under his breath. He rose to look back at his son, but before he could speak, a pulse of mana lightning rippled through Arson’s body, causing River to take a step back.

The apple is a grand treasure but it shouldn’t be working that quickly. What was that strange energy just now?

River watched as every inch of Arson’s body went through a ravenous infusion of energy. All of the PantherFly bodies in a short range turning to dust. Visible lines of mana sucked through the air in a flash of swirling power that formed a vortex around Arson’s solar plexus.

“What in the sparks is happening, da—“

Stream was cut off as Arson lurched upright. An explosion of golden white mana booming throughout the nest, accompanied by a simmering growl that grew in Arson’s chest.

In the next instant Arson’s eyes snapped open and a roar even more mighty than the creature River had just killed, ripped through the air as if the sky itself was falling from the heavens.

The entire plane shook. The roar could be heard through every distortion inside the Trial of Infallible Memories. Many sleeping entities waking, including a dragon larger than mountains.

River and his son’s ears began to bleed. His cry for his son to run going completely unheard. Echoed roars from unfathomably powerful beings echoing Arson’s own roar like the howl of wolves speaking across immeasurable distances.

Arson once more passed out, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. Father and son shared a look, and before a word could pass between the pair, more rumbling could be felt shaking the land itself as a whole, inspiring River to immediately bend to grab Arson’s unmoving figure once more.

‘Run, child, we must leave!”