Zu Mari flew toward Ozyri Tori, who floated in the sky awaiting him.

“Stop, Zu, turn back!” Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death screamed suddenly. “This foe is beyond you.”

Zu did not stop. He raised his sword, readied his spirit, and unfolded his family’s secret technique. Time slowed as his perceptions raced forward, letting him take in every nuance of Ozyri Tori’s reaction.

“Zu, it is too soon, you are not ready—“

Zu cut Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death's protests short by slashing the blade down on Ozyri’s arm in a clean arc. Ozyri’s skin resisted the blow, but Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death was a greater blade than any the Tori scion had ever faced. Before Ozyri could react, the blade sheared through his arm entirely. A geyser of blood fountained forth as Ozyri screamed in shock and pain.

“Your wing is avenged,” Zu whispered to Death Shadow.

Then Zu faltered as the rage of his foe was given force and weight, the roar of pain slamming into him so forcefully that he lost focus on his connection with Death Shadow for a moment, the phoenix spirit faltering, and they fell.

“You will pay for this insult!” Ozyri screamed. “You will pay for this a thousand times! Mark my words, Zu Mari, you will never in your life regret a thing so much as you will regret this!”

Then, Ozyri spoke a word which Zu didn’t catch.

Zu stumbled forward, back on the hill at the beginning of Chartreuse Cougar territory, the world behind him frozen like a painting in amber.

Zu’s blood ran hot with rage. “How? What did he do?” He’d been trying to save himself and Death Shadow from plunging to their deaths. He hadn’t even seen the technique which killed him.

“I don’t think it was you,” said the sword. “I think… he killed himself.”

Zu’s fury cooled in sudden shock. “Then… he also knows about the loop. He retains his memory in his essence. He truly means to hunt me down and kill me a thousand times.” Zu clenched a fist, then lashed out just in time to obliterate the spear flying toward him. “Come, Death Shadow. We must retrieve your body and deal with the Prune Tree.”

“What about Xashu?” Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death wondered.

“I do not have time for Xashu today,” Zu answered coldly. “I’ll deal with him when we get back.”

He found Death Shadow’s body easily enough. Wing of Night sat sleeping on the same branch, and when Death Shadow’s spirit self slipped into it the advancement sequence happened just as it had before, transforming the dull and ugly owl into a beautiful hunter of obsidian black twice his former size.

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The Demonic Prune Tree, on the other hand, seemed to have been on the move. When Zu arrived at its old location, it hadn’t yet arrived.

“I don’t have time for that either,” Zu decided. He’d only intended to deal with it since it was so close to Death Shadow’s body, but if the Prune Tree were elsewhere—

“Look out!”

An explosive prune flew by, narrowly missing Death Shadow as the owl swooped to shove Zu out of the way.

The tree had snuck up behind them.

Zu spun to face it, but its branches were too quick. This time, it had the drop on them. A steady barrage of explosive demonic fruits flew toward them and it was all Zu could manage to block or evade without being blown up.

“You should retreat,” urged Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death. “If Xashu comes upon us here—“

“No, I will not flee like a coward!” Zu overrode his sword, activated Striding Wind Sustaining, and sprang up higher into the air. The tree continued its assault, but Zu climbed until he had enough distance to see the fruits coming and easily evade them.

“Master!” Death Shadow hooted in alarm, then a spear slammed into the owl.

“Not again,” Zu growled, abandoning his own defenses as he threw his full strength into Death Shadow’s body and defenses. A handful of Death Shadow’s chest feathers were severed as the spear bounced off his suddenly super-tough body, drifting slowly down in the wake of the falling spear.

Zu lost concentration on Striding Wind Sustaining and dropped from the sky, weary. It was only that which saved him from the continued barrage of demonic prunes.

“You were right, I cannot face both enemies at once, not without sacrificing Death Shadow,” Zu conceded as he regained control of his technique and came to a stop. “But I will not flee. It is time to face the demon properly.”

He sheathed his sword and called his familiar down from the sky. Death Shadow swooped to land on his shoulder, offering praise and thanks to Zu for saving his life yet again.

“It is nothing. We are bonded, united. It would be as foolish to abandon you to die as it would be to cut off my own elbows.”

But then there was no more time for conversation. Zu ran toward the prune tree, dodging its continuing attacks, though he couldn’t help but notice that they were decreasing in quantity. The tree was running low on ammunition.

“STOP IT!” Zu demanded as he ran down the sky toward the tree, and to his surprise, the tree did. The last few prunes fell from its suddenly limp branches and exploded harmlessly on the ground.

“Who are you?” The voice was breathy and deep, with an unfamiliar cadence. It took Zu a moment to understand it was the Demonic Prune Tree’s own voice.

“I? I am Zu Mari!”

Zu came up right next to the withered trunk, and no branches lashed out at him. It seemed to be holding its breath, as much as a demon tree could, watching him sightlessly

“You invaded my home,” the tree groaned. “Why do you want to kill me?”

“You tried to kill me first,” Zu pointed out reasonably.

“Only because you intruded in my lands. But now…” The tree slid forward, something in the sway of its branches suggestive of a feminine form, its voice sultry. “Now I changed my mind. I think I want you alive.”

It reached out its branches for him, and Zu hastily stepped back. “No thank you, I should be going.”

“NO! You will be mine!” The branches grew out rapidly, growing thinner and taut like vines instead of wood, whipping and snapping as they coiled around his limbs and dragged him out of the air. “Mine forever!”

Zu reached for Heart of Fire and Spirit of Twilight Death, but too late. The demonic branches snagged his wrist and pulled him away, the sword hanging uselessly at his hip as he was drawn into the heart of the tree.

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