-Anyway… We are here - interrupted the silence that suddenly fell on the group Vendi.

It would seem so. While this piece of forest was not that different from any other one, the blinding mana that was now in front of me was unmistakable. We were at the edge of the barrier.

-Well at least we know that you did not lie and the barrier is still intact over here…

-Pff. Why would I waste time circling the whole place if just making a hole was enough to pass.

-I never said that you did. Okay, let’s move.

-Move? What, we are going outside?

-Of course. I am not taking any risks.

-Isn’t that just an elaborate way of getting me out of your sight? - I asked, slightly suspicious. - You realize that if you leave me outside I WILL break the barrier again?

-Sadly, I do.

-Well, let’s go then. Do I need a charm or some shit?

-Yeah. Here.

He gave me a small piece of wood, eerily similar to the charm Vendi sold me long ago, but this one had actual mana imbued within it. There was no visible script, although with my other sight, I was able to see a faint outline of letters.

Carefully, so I would not drain it by accident, I took it and tried reading the words, but the aura, from what I assume was another large boulder keeping the barrier together, was making it hard to recognize the words. I took a mental note to inspect it closer after I’ll be clear of interference.

With the charm, I passed through the barrier without an issue. I still was absolutely blinded by light, and absorbed a little bit of the mana from the spell, brightening my body a little bit, but that was all the side effects.

My companions also noticed my sudden change and tensed up, but I just shrugged it off, not caring about the hostile looks.

Not long later we arrived at a small… I wouldn’t even call it a clearing. It was just a patch of forest where trees were a little bit less together. And in one of those free spots there was a row of bodies laid neatly next to each other.

As soon as he saw them again, Kon turned pale once more.

-Ah, right - said Vendi, apparently remembering something.

And, I shit you not, from his pocket, he pulled out a large piece of material, long enough for him to cover the whole row and then a little bit more.

It was not exactly cloth, it looked closer to the membrane I’ve seen on the windows, combined with something that looked like moss.

-Thanks… - said quietly Kon and approached the row.

I stepped back, not wanting to accidentally get caught in his magic again. On the other hand, Vendi and Jack got closer and were now standing next to him.

-Ready?

-Yeah.

-Sure.

-Douquwe wowu, siwipo omop em wowu fi wisfe visu.

I couldn’t help but to be both amazed and disappointed at the same time. Disappointed, because it was not even an hour after my warning, yet they were again casually using life magic like that’s just normal.

Amazed, because it actually looked pretty.

The material that he covered the bodies with instantly sprung to life. First I got startled a tiny bit, because it sort of looked like one of those weird green creatures - especially when it started sprouting branches.

But instead of standing on two legs and trying to grab me, it grew more and more limbs to the point where it looked more like a large bramble or some other bush without leaves.

Just as I thought that, it started sprouting a bunch of small buds that almost immediately turned to leaves. At the same time, the branches started thickening and started turning into a large, thick trunk, or rather a root, that dug itself into the ground while also shooting up, creating a whole tree right in front of my eyes in a span of maybe ten seconds.

Mesmerized by this feat of magic noticed that the spell was not done yet.

At first I thought nothing, but seeing that more and more mana was getting drained from the three people in front, I realized that it was good that I stepped back. If I was closer to them, the drain would’ve definitely affected me as well.

Hard to tell which way though.

But that was not the issue here. I could tell that the three of them were already getting weaker, and the spell was not ending.

The tree stopped growing though and I thought I was worried for nothing, but that’s when the weirdness kicked in.

All the growing was happening exactly where the bodies were laid down, turning themselves into the roots or whatnot. Until, suddenly, another tree sprouted at the edge of where the material used to be, just next to the three.

I immediately realized that something was not okay. The reaction of Vendi and Jack was enough of an indicator - both of them immediately jumped back, startled and backed up a step.

That was what sealed the deal.

Up till then, they steadily were pouring their own mana into Kon, who, as a main caster, was controlling the spell and the flow of mana. I don’t know how exactly they managed to do it, but in my eyes, as soon as the spell started, the three mana flames turned into one singular large one. It was hard to look at, sort of like I was seeing two different things at once.

When they broke the contact, the mana they were supplying was also gone and in a split second I saw the large flame persist, just to split again, but this time, only two flames remained.

As soon as they separated, the growth also stopped. Kon for a split second was standing there, motionless, just to collapse on the ground.

-Kon!

Both Vendi and Jack looked worried.

-What the fuck was that magic?! I thought I told you to not mess with life any more!

I was almost yelling, stomping towards them angrily.

-Who cares! Kon! What happened?!

Vendi of course was not realizing what they had just done.

-What happened? Oh, I can tell you what happened. He’s dead.

Both of them looked at me like I was insane, but before he started insulting me, he first checked the kid's pulse.

-What are you talking about? He still has a pulse… it’s strange though… it’s slowing down…

-What?

I took another look at the kid, and sure enough I was not imagining it. There was absolutely no life in that body. It was as dead as a piece of rock. More even, because sometimes even rocks have some mana to them.

-What… How…? It’s… Is he…

-Dying? Probably.

Vendi sounded shaken. No wonder. Just frozen in place, looking absolutely stunned.

-Do something then! - suddenly blurted out Jack. - Aren’t you a so-called expert in life magic?

-I am not. I just used to clean up messes after such spells…

-This DEFINITELY COUNTS!

-Okay, man - I raised my hands in a defensive gesture. - What I mean by that is I DESTROY the things that awaken after fucked attempts at life magic, not the other way around. To be honest, I have never been present DURING such an event…

That was obviously a lie.

-...but I can try something…

All the boundaries and the lack of trust went out the window. None of them protested when I approached and touched the kid and focused, waiting in anticipation.

As noticed before, there was absolutely no mana remaining in his body. Carefully unwrapping my hand I touched his forehead with the tip of a finger, but there was no reaction - meaning even the crystal could not get anything. It was just an empty vessel. Or a corpse if you want to be blunt. My eyes were definitely not mistaken.

-What was the spell exactly?

-The words were “Douquwe wo..” - Jack started, but I immediately silenced him.

-Shut the fuck up, do you want an encore?

-I did not put any mana into it!

-So what? And who are you to know if the spell won’t get it from somewhere else?

-Wha…?

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-Okay, it’s not really the time for the lecture, but just for you know, even if YOU don’t put any mana into an incantation that doesn’t mean shit. Now, I heard the spell, that’s not what I am asking. I know the words, I know the meaning of them, but I don’t know the intent. I can guess from the effects, but I need to be sure.

-Intent…?

-You pulled it out from that book, right? I am sure there is a description of some kind in there!

-It’s not from the journal, no. It’s been a part of our rituals since… I don’t even know how long.

-Great. Then what were you thinking about when you were casting it? Both of you.

-I thought you said it’s not time for a lecture - muttered Vendi.

-Oh, no I mean literally. I need to know.

-Ehm… what? - asked Jack, confused.

He started mumbling something but I could not understand him.

-Come on spit it out! It’s important!

-I was… thanking nature… for taking them…

-Ambiguous. Just great. Vendi! You?

-Eh… I… nothing in particular…

-There had to be something.

-I was thankful for turning them into something new, I guess… - he finally said after a moment of thought.

-Just great… eh… let me think. So we have three things… - I started mumbling to myself. - First, the spell… “almighty life, return them to life of green earth”... then a wish to take them… then to turn them into something new…

-I was not wishing… - Vendi started protesting. - Anyway, you understand that language?

-Thanking, wishing, whatever, the effect is the same. Also, that’s not a language. Or not only a language, but whatever. Man, why didn’t I get more interested about your customs after seeing this for the first time, could’ve prevented that…

-First time?

-Okay, but can you do something? - asked Jack, definitely less interested than Vendi in the exact meaning of my words.

-I am thinking. It’s just…

-Speak up, maybe I can explain something!

-Now you’re the one wanting to talk. Hah.

-It’s Kon’s life on the line! Like hell I will!

-Yeah, sure, but speeding up won’t help us. What happened, happened, it’s not some cracked bottle that you need to fix before the contents leak out.

-Don’t compare Kon to a bottle of booze! - said Jack, suddenly offended.

-I never said booze.

-STOP LECTURING!

-OKAY, OKAY. From what I understand you also included your beloved Kon in the spell. Or at least you should. Normally, I’d say that you just used his life energy to cast the spell and he straight ran out and died. That’s how life magic usually works.

-Wouldn’t that mean that the spell would also consider him dead and turn into a tree as well? - asked Vendi, terrified. - I mean, there is another tree… but…

-Exactly. That’s where the weirdness happens. First off he’s not exactly dead. Second, the tree has to grow out of something, or in this case, out of someone, am I correct?

-That’s how the ritual works. Yes. We turn our dead ones into something that we can remember and will survive for longer…

-Yes, yes… beautiful and all… but… I think I might have a hunch…

I focused again, this time not on the dead body of Kon, instead on all the trees that just appeared and the ones that were surrounding us before.

Similarly to all other ones, they had their distinct mana signatures, as I keep seeing all around the place. Some were more powerful, some less. The newest one was, strangely, stronger than the other, larger one, that grew out from the whole pile of corpses. As a matter of fact, the youngest tree was the strongest one by far. And the signature, while still definitely full of green mana, was somewhat… familiar and had also a hint of something else.

I approached the two trees and first briefly touched the large one.

One little swipe was enough for me to get a good feel and confirm that indeed, that was just a regular tree. It was a bit more infused than what I was used to - and I drained quite an amount of wood on my way here - but besides that, there was nothing strange about it. My finger started glowing green, as expected, turning a small piece of bark into ash.

-What are you doing?

-Shut up and watch.

I wanted to be extra careful with the other one. If my hunch was correct, I could not afford to make any mistakes.

With the gentlest touch I could muster, using my other hand, I just barely made contact with the bark, but that was enough.

The tree bark decayed similarly to the other one, but what I felt flowing into me was not exactly the green mana. Sure, there was plenty of it in the tree, but it was not only that - the plant was absolutely full of life mana, that was mixed with the green one. But that was not what was important. Important was that, during the brief contact I had with it, a stream of emotions poured into me. An absolute overwhelming amount of fear.

Reflexively, I jumped back and stumbled down, falling right down on my ass. It was not the first time I was experiencing someone else’s feelings, but the sheer volume of them was not something I was expecting. It almost felt like I just had a heart attack.

Breathing heavily, I realized that both Jack and Vendi were looking at me, scared as well.

-What happened? Why are you screaming? - Vendi looked unsure what emotion he should display right now.

-I did? I did…

Yeah, I involuntarily did… Man, if just a brief touch was enough for me to feel that, I did not want to even imagine what he felt…

Right. He.

-Okay… I think I have a good idea what happened.

-So…? - Jack started hurrying me.

-I have some good news. Your Kon is not exactly dead.

They both immediately gazed at the body that was still lying in Jack’s arms, but it was as cold and unmoving as it was before.

-So what is he then?

-That’s the bad news. This body is definitely empty though.

-What?

-Yeah. From what I gathered, somehow, during your ritual, when you started creating the trees and all, the spell transferred his consciousness into the tree. My best guess is that, when you broke the physical contact when the tree was forming, he ran out of mana briefly, meaning the spell started treating him as yet another target. But before yet another tree started emerging from him, his consciousness, or “soul” started being drained as energy needed to support the spell. The spell then fizzled, because it essentially lost the source of mana and a caster. Kon, in this strange limbo, was apparently sucked into the one free vessel that was close - the tree he just made.

-What in the hell…?

-But that does not make sense! - protested Vendi, still suspicious. - Didn’t you say that the spells can just continue even without the caster’s will? Why then didn’t it just consume his whole soul?

-Magic is unpredictable. But, I think I know. When I touched this tree I just felt an unimaginable amount of fear. I guess when he felt that the spell started consuming him he attempted to break it, out of sheer panic, and succeeded. But it was a split second too late. His “soul” was already on its way out, in the process of being burned as a fuel for the spell, but not yet fully destroyed. When he stopped it, he just got left exactly where he was - in the tree.

-How can we even believe that… - said Jack, absolutely stunned. - This is absurd.

-You can check yourself. Touch the tree. See what happens.

I could see he was hesitating.

-Come on. It should be safe. I only had to be careful so I wouldn’t destroy it, as… you know - I pointed to my crystal hand, still slightly glowing.

He was still unsure, but he did put down the lifeless body in the grass and approached the tree, with Vendi following suit.

Both, at once, put their hands on the tree, just to scream and jump back immediately.

-What you just felt were his emotions. I think I don’t need to say that’s not a normal reaction from the tree right?

They did not reply.

-What can we do? - finally asked Jack.

-With what?

-With Kon of course! You can’t just leave him like that! - he sounded a bit panicky.

-Of course I can - I said, but before he was able to say anything added - but yea, I do not intend to. That’s not the main problem though. To be honest, I am a bit lost as well. Right now I can’t do anything.

-But we have to do something! We can just… - started Vendi, joined by Jack.

-There has to be something! Tell me! You are a creature that is a remnant of a soul! Isn’t that similar to this? At least somewhat?

-Okay, first of all, I am not a remnant, or whatever that thing is called. I am just a man with a very strange body. Second of all, I said I can't do anything. Never said that someone else won’t be able to.

-Who!?

-That’s where the problem is. The one person I know has the information about merging and swapping souls around is currently in an “unapproachable” state. But that’s a long time goal. For now, we, or rather you have something you can do.

-What? Can you be faster about that? - Jack was getting impatient.

-Calm down, I am talking. First of all, we should actually calm him down a bit - I pointed to the tree.

-And how the hell do you calm down a tree? - groaned Vendi. - Want us to water it or something.

-Pfft. I mean, it won’t hurt, but no. I mean talk to him. While he looks like a tree, he is still a person. Somewhat.

-Talk…? Just… talk?

-Well, sure. You just touched him, didn’t you? That’s what he’s feeling right now. From what I tell, he is conscious inside there - I said, looking at the aura of the tree. - I am not sure if he can hear us directly, but if you touch the bark, he should definitely feel your presence, and if he’s calmer, maybe even reply. If you are lucky, he might even hear you without touching, that is if you are “compatible” enough.

-Compatible?

-I… well, how do I put it? I think it has to do more with you being connected on some level, be it biological or, in this case, psychological. Biological is out of the question now, since he’s a tree and all. Jack, you would have an advantage as a father, probably. You actually still might have it. Being a father and son is not only just a blood bond after all.

-How do you even know that…?

-I can see things. Besides that, I already had my experience in talking to inanimate objects.

-Wha… I am not going to even ask…

-Good.

-And who’s that expert of yours that we need? I hope they are not that hard to reach?

-Hm… well, that’s the main problem, but I’ll tell you later, after we are inside of the barrier. First try calming him down.

-Why? - asked Vendi. - What’s going on with him?

-Imagine that you just have your soul pulled out of you, almost died and got turned to tree. I don’t know about you, but a kid definitely would need to have nerves of steel to not panic. And replying to the question: nothing’s going on. I am just trying to be helpful.

-Hm.

But it was easier said than done. For the next half an hour they tried communicating with him, but every time they just got assaulted by massive amounts of fear that started pouring into them as soon as they touched the bark.

-This is not working - groaned Vendi, annoyed. - Are you sure you’re not just pulling this all out of your ass?

-I am, some of it at least - I admitted openly - but If you have a better idea, be my guest.

-How the hell can we trust this then? To boot, it’s also your fault that they attacked in the first place!

-Not exactly true but whatever. I think you already rebuilt your barrier and the enemy was dealt with. And I am trying to help you with this new problem, is that not enough for you?

-All you’ve done is just give us some half-assed explanations that we don’t have any proof are even remotely correct, as you admitted yourself.

-He is right - agreed Jack. He seemed a lot less angry, but a lot more sad and hesitant. - I see some of what you say is indeed true, but I can’t just ignore all this… - he gestured in my direction.

-Ah. We are still about the crystal and shit.

-Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful that you protected them… but I cannot in my good mind just let you do as you please without properly explaining yourself first.

-Yeah - nodded Vendi. - And since this “emotional connection” crap is not working, we have some time.

-I really, really don’t want to talk about myself with people I don’t really think I should trust - I said, looking straight at Vendi - or those who lied to me in the past, but I guess it’s time I’ve shown some of good will, since our knowledge is not enough…

-Our?

-Let’s start from the beginning.