The Seed of Vengeance grows

The stone golem elder was walking in front of them, his steps shaking the cave. The light was getting brighter and brighter as they were coming out of another set of vines.

"We're almost there."

Sylvan felt like throwing up, the adrenaline left his body. He insulted those powerful creatures and now he might be dead.

They exited the cave and were now standing in a valley. It was a vast area, surrounded by cliffs on all sides, and dotted with stone structures that looked like cabins. Several stone golems were gathered in a group in the middle, their hands tied as adventurers picked up the corpses of the others and put them in a cart.

The stone golem elder took in the scene before running forward and picking up one of the smaller corpses and hugging it.

"My son," he whispered and fell to his knees.

Sylvan's blood boiled at the massacre. His mind flashed to Erian and he gritted his teeth. Was he strong enough now? Was he finally going to avenge his brother?

A small movement broke Sylvan's thoughts,

A stone golem broke out of the group and ran at one of the female adventurers.

It was the mage that was part of Zack's adventurer party.

She was holding a rifle. An old-fashioned weapon with a wooden stock and a long steel barrel. It had two magical crystals attached to it: one red and one blue.

The stone golem didn't hesitate. He picked up a rock and threw it at the mage. The mage raised an eyebrow as the stone flew towards her but she didn't even move. The rock burned up instantly. The ashes blocked her view and the golem managed to close the distance.

He threw a punch at the woman who easily side-stepped. Her rifle turned as black as night and aimed its barrel toward the golem's face.

The golem glanced at the weapon and scoffed. His rocky skin turned from light grey to dark grey. He was ready to get shot. But the bullet never came.

Sylvan dashed in.

Vine punch connected with the mage's face. The force sent her flying into one of the cabins.

The woman's voice echoed in his brain. He could hear it clearly, "Let me kill it." His brother was a human being, a person, but she still called him an 'it.'

Sylvan felt an anger come over him like never before. His vision blurred and everything seemed slower than usual. The woman got back on her feet and wiped blood off her mouth. She frowned.

"Another dryad?" she spat.

Sylvan's body reacted faster than ever. He was already running towards her but this time she had plenty of time to aim her rifle at him. The golem who attacked her charged her at the same time.

The mage holstered her rifle away and snapped her fingers; a wall of fire erupted between them.

Sylvan stopped abruptly, the heat making him sweat.

A fireball formed in her hand. She hurled it at the golem, striking him in the chest. His rocky skin turned red and cracked. But the golem didn't stop, he kept running through the flames. She cursed and pulled out her rifle again but before she could shoot, vines wrapped around her arm.

"Get your hand off me, filthy creature," she said, "I can burn you up in seconds."

The other adventurers stopped gathering dead golems and rushed towards the group.

Cinder grinned, a fire in her eyes.

"I'll take care of those guys, Sylvan."

Limbs were burning. The smell of flesh filled the air. Adventurers dropped to the floor and screamed. The phoenix was angry. Too angry. Her flames were hotter than ever, melting rock and flesh alike.

Sylvan's gaze didn't stray from the mage. She kept shooting fireballs but they weren't connecting anymore. Even she was shocked at Cinder's carnage. The golem finally reached them and grabbed hold of the rifle—the wrong end.

"You fool," The mage smirked before a bullet shot through the golem's chest, leaving behind a gaping hole.

Sylvan didn't hesitate, he tackled the mage, his vines wrapped themselves around her arms. The woman screamed in pain, the sound echoing around the area. Sylvan's fists slammed into her face—again and again and again. His breath was ragged. His arms burned. The mage had stopped resisting, her body limp beneath him. And yet, he couldn't stop. Didn't want to. Blood spattered his vision, his hands. His heart pounded. His chest ached. But it still wasn't enough.

Cinder approached one of the few remaining limbless adventurers, still barely alive. She grinned madly, and pure fire wrapped around her hands. At the same time, Sylvan hands wrapped around the mage's throat. Both were ready to kill.

But a voice stopped them.

"Cinder, enough!"

Nyx's hands were wrapped in shadow magic as she held Cinder's arm back. Her skin burned but she didn't flinch.

Sylvan paused, his grip loosening around the mage's neck.

Nyx continued, "What's going on with you?"

Cinder's fire grew higher as she turned to face Nyx.

"I'm not a coward," she spat.

The mage took the opportunity and kicked Sylvan off her.

"I am not a coward," Cinder repeated and tried to burn away Nyx's hand.

Nyx's grip tightened. Her shadows grew more intense, protecting her hand.

"I won't let you."

The mage's incantation interrupted them. All of the adventurers burst into flames and vanished, including her.

Sylvan's knees buckled. Red blood covered his hands. Human blood. He stared at it, breathing fast. Nyx and Cinder continued arguing in the background.

A voice broke his trance.

"Thank you," Grok said.

Sylvan turned around. The golem was laying on the floor with a huge hole in his chest.

"Didn't mean to cause you trouble."

Sylvan's heart tightened. He didn't say anything, he just went and knelt next to the dying golem. The hole in grok's chest was too large, too deep: he wouldn't survive. And yet, he smiled.

"I owe you my life," Grok continued, "But it's not a long life."

He smiled weakly, "Take my power."

A saying that a dying creature says to its kin, offering them their last essence of life and giving them their power, their skills, their experiences.

He took in a deep breath and touched the golems chest.

A brief moment of silence passed before he activated Treeify.

The golem froze. Sylvan felt the connection grow.

─ BONDED CREATURE ADJUSTMENT!

He felt mana flow from the golem into his body and vice versa.

─NEW LEVEL: 15!

─BONDED CREATURE: GROK (TREE GOLEM) (Lvl. 15)

─SKILL LEVEL UP: VINE PUNCH (Lvl 8), ROCK PUNCH (Lvl 5), TREEIFY (Lvl 5).

─TREEIFY ADJUSTMENT!

The golem's body morphed, turning into an ent like creature. Its skin became bark and branches grew out of his head. The wound in its chest healed and Grok's eyes opened. His eyes were green now.

─NAME: GROK

─RACE: TREE GOLEM

─RACE: EARTH AFFINITY, NATURE AFFINITY

─LEVEL: 15

─UNIQUE SKILL: TREE MIMICRY (Lvl 5)

─BONDED TO: SYLVAN

Sylvan smiled weakly at the confused Grok and turned around. Cinder and Nyx were still fighting but he didn't want to know what they were arguing about.

"I'm leaving Sylvan," Nyx said abruptly.

Cinder scoffed, "Good."

The two looked like they were ready to kill each other.

"I'm going home," she said, her eyes lingering on Sylvan.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He wanted to go but... he looked behind him. Golems were picking up their dead. They didn't look too different from humans, maybe their skin was rockier and their height a little bigger but the emotions on their faces were the same. Sorrow.

They were already rebuilding their houses. The elders walked over to him and shook his hand.

"Thank you," he said again.

Sylvan smiled weakly again. He looked back at Nyx, but she was already gone. He felt something in his stomach, regret perhaps.

That night Sylvan lay in bed in a wooden cabin he made. He learned another way to use nature magic, simply create logs and vines and put them together.

He sighed.

The roof wasn't perfectly closed, stars shone through the cracks, illuminating the room with an eerie silver light.

The makeshift door creaked open and he heard soft footsteps.

Cinder was wearing her usual orange dress that complimented her fiery hair.

She didn't say anything, she just sat down next to Sylvan.

Her hand slowly reached his face, caressing his cheek. He didn't stop her, he just watched. It felt weird, her touch was warm and gentle, yet it felt so wrong. But he still couldn't say anything; no he didn't want to say anything. Her fingers traced his jawline and chin before finally reaching his lips.

She leaned in, her breath hot against his skin.

"Do you hate humans?"

A simple question without a simple answer.

"They killed my brother..."

He paused, but it was too late.

She already kissed him. Her tongue danced with his, her hands wrapped around his neck, demanding his attention.

Her voice was low and dangerous when she broke away.

"Get angry," she said, "Hate them. Make them suffer."

Their lips touched again. This time more passionately. They kissed until they both ran out of breath.

"You know what they deserve. Avenge your brother."

Sylvan closed his eyes as she pulled his head towards her chest.

"I'll help you kill them," she said, stroking his hair.

He didn't move, just breathed in and out.

"Kill them all," she whispered.

He drifted into an uneasy sleep but just before falling asleep he heard another voice in his head. It wasn't Cinder's. It spoke incomprehensibly but he understood it's meaning.

─NEW SKILL: ROT THORNS (Lvl 1), everything will decay.