No turning back
Sylvan turned his head and stared at the cracks in the wooden roof. Stars glimmered above. The night had barely begun. He sighed and rubbed his face.
Cinder shifted in her sleep and muttered something incomprehensible.
Sylvan couldn't sleep. Not after... that. It felt weird. It felt right but somehow wrong.
He knew Cinder was manipulating him for some reason. He couldn't be angry at her. Anger, hatred, disgust —he already felt them before she arrived. They had decided to attack the following night.
The night wind blew through the gaps in the roof. The cold air was refreshing. He breathed in deeply and stood up.
He grabbed some pants made out of leaves and put them on. He didn't make any sound.
He stepped outside, glancing at the village. The stone structures were mostly repaired. There were fewer corpses laying around, and the survivors had finally found rest.
A lone figure stood atop a hill, overlooking the village.
With each level Sylvan felt his sense enhance, he could see it was Grok.
Grok smiled when he saw him approach.
"It's a beautiful night," he said, "The stars are bright."
Sylvan stared at the creature made out of stone and trees. He was still humanoid but so different.
"How can you say that? After everything that happened?"
Grok paused and smiled sadly, looking down at the graves.
Instead of crosses they were marked with rock piles. The biggest at the bottom and a small one on top.
"I'm sad they died. But life ends eventually."
Sylvan's brow furrowed as he turned to Grok.
"You're not angry? Don't you feel hatred?"
Grok shook his head.
"We are simple creatures Sylvan. We eat. We sleep. Sometimes we reproduce. And eventually we die. It's just how it is."
Sylvan gritted his teeth. His silence was an answer by itself.
"Why are you angry?" Grok asked.
Sylvan looked at him.
"They killed my brother," Sylvan said.
Grok's eyes seemed distant as he stared up at the sky.
"What was he like?"
Sylvan paused. He expected him to oppose him. Maybe say that he's stupid for wanting revenge.
"Honestly, he was an annoying idiot. I loved him but he was always so damn annoying," Sylvan said and a smile appeared on his face, "When we were kids, he would always steal my toys and pretend he didn't know where they went, but then a couple of days later he would return them all."
"I would get angry and we'd fight. It was fun."
His smile faded. He wondered if Grok could tell what kind of world he was from.
"A few days ago he died, killed by adventurers, by humans. It was... unfair."
Sylvan's hands were balled into fists.
"I wanted to kill the adventurers. And I almost tried but... Nyx stopped me."
"Your shadow-siren friend?" Grok asked. He remembered seeing her briefly before the fight began.
"Yeah, she went home." Sylvan muttered.
"She says it's pointless to fight the humans. That it will just end up with us all dead. Cinder... she shares my anger."
Grok nodded, "I see."
Sylvan was silent for a bit before deciding to change the topic.
"Do you want to visit her village?" Grok asked.
"Yeah, I'd like to see it."
'Before I put them all in danger,' he thought.
They moved in comfortable silence, with Grok leading the way. The forest was silent, the night creatures hidden as the two walked under the canopy of leaves and branches.
A wolf followed them. A small wolf with fur black as night. Grok saw it first.
"A wolf is behind us," He whispered, "Should I kill it?"
Sylvan glanced behind. The face of Luna came back into his mind, her eyes like two golden moons, her fangs bared.
"No," Sylvan responded.
The wolf kept its distance as they walked, a shadow among the darkness.
A night stalker screeched at them. Grok readied his rock fist ability.
"Let me handle it," Sylvan said. He wanted to try out his new skill: Rot Thorns.
The night stalker manipulated Sylvan's shadow, intending to suffocate him in darkness.
Sylvan had seen this magic twice already. It was too predictable. The black tentacles grew from his shadow, but before they could get him Sylvan dashed at it.
He could have cast Rot Thorn from afar but he wanted to see the effects up-close. A single thorn appeared from thin air. He grabbed it and plunged it into the Night Stalker's body. The effect was instantaneous. It shrieked in pain. Its skin fell off, its flesh turned rotten and black, and the creature dropped to the ground, dead.
The experience was barely noticeable, but it was still something.
A small smile appeared on his face; he could actually kill things more reliably now. Rot was a terrifying power, he felt it as the thorns sucked out the life-force of that monster, leaving behind a corpse so rotten it was unrecognizable.
He used treeify on the corpse. A tree sprouted from the dead flesh, its leaves black and its bark brown.
Sylvan finally confirmed that his skill had different effects depending on the monster, and if its alive or not.
They kept walking. Perhaps the death of one of its kind was enough to ward off any other monsters, since nothing else bothered them.
A giant lake appeared ahead of them. It was like an ocean trapped in a bowl. The moon reflected off its surface. The night sky glimmered with countless stars.
"We're here," Grok said.
Sylvan couldn't see the village; it was deep in the lake. He could however see someone on the edge.
"Nyx," he said her name softly.
She was sitting on the edge, her feet in the water. Sylvan couldn't see her face but he imagined her staring at the reflection of the stars. Guilt and doubt started to creep up in his mind as he stood there, looking at her.
He didn't move closer. Instead, he turned around and went back into the forest. His body moved on its own.
"Are we not going to her?" Grok asked.
"No," Sylvan said.
A fallen tree lay on the floor, moss growing from it.
The dryad sat on it, looking up at the stars.
"What do you want to do?" Grok asked.
Sylvan stared at his hands. He could still feel the mage's skin as he punched it again and again. The way her bones cracked as she broke under him. It was intoxicating. It was righteous. It was... right.
"Would you follow me, if I decide to fight?"
"Yes."
Grok said it with certainty.
"Why?"
"You saved my life."
"But they're going to kill everyone," Sylvan said.
Grok smiled.
"You remind me of an old story we have. It's a story my people tell their young ones, about a golem called the titan."
Sylvan stayed silent and listened. He liked stories.
"He was tasked with guarding the graves of elders that died long ago. Whoever held that job was praised and respected by everyone. The titan did it for centuries. Day in, day out. He guarded. He didn't know why. But it was his task, so he did it without questions. Centuries passed as he watched everyone live their lives around him. They had children, they laughed, they played, they fought, they died."
"It is said that to this day he is still standing in front of a cemetery overlooking countless rock piles. Alone and with no purpose, the graves now empty."
Sylvan looked at him, waiting for more. But there was nothing. No grand moral, no lesson. Just an empty ending.
"So… what?" he asked, voice tight. "What does that have to do with me?"
Grok chuckled as if he read Sylvan's mind, "Do what you want. Don't be like the titan."
Sylvan looked down again and closed his eyes. What did he want? He wanted to spend more time with Nyx and Cinder. He wanted to explore this entire new world. He wanted to meet interesting creatures and learn more skills.
He suddenly burst out in laughter. The sound echoed through the dark forest and the lake. The small black wolf watched them curiously.
"What's funny?" Grok asked.
Sylvan wiped away a tear, "Nothing, I just finally opened my eyes."
The God of Nature reincarnated him, and he also reincarnated Erian. He gave Sylvan skills yet Erian only had one. He also gave them a task: spread nature no matter what.
He grinned and stretched before getting up. His mind felt clearer than ever. His path was set.
"I'm going to kill them all," he said, "Every last adventurer. And when I'm done, I'll go to the Empire. And I'll burn it to the ground."
Sylvan looked up at the stars. He could almost feel the God of Nature smiling.
Grok nodded, "I'll follow you."
Sylvan grinned up at the stars, his expression twisting into something unrecognizable. Almost… inhuman.
"And when I'm done... I'll kill that God, too."