Sumit walked slowly down the dark path the tiger-monkey monster had left behind. The path was dark, as the monster had corrupted the path he had travelled. While walking Sumit couldn't stop his happiness and soon found himself smiling, a quiet sense of pride flickering within him as he remembered the cat-man's words:
"You already have. The fact that you can project your aura beyond your own body—that's the sign of a mid-level user." The phrase 'mid-level user' echoed in his mind, a reminder of how far he'd come.
"Mid-level…" he whispered to himself, almost testing out how it felt to say. Now that he thought about it, he'd been able to draw more aura than before, reaching levels of strength and awareness that had once been unimaginable. He could feel the vibrations of aura all around him, as though the forest itself pulsed with energy—through the trees, the roots tangled beneath his feet, the whispering leaves, even the damp, mossy air. His own aura hummed in response, intertwining with the forest's heartbeat.
'Would it be possible for me to directly control the aura from the environment as now I am a mid-level'
But his thoughts were interrupted as the path split, and Sumit came to a sudden halt. His smile faded, replaced by a furrowed brow. Three additional trails joined the one he was on, each path winding out from unknown, foreboding depths. The ground beneath each trail was darker, the leaves withered and scorched. His pulse quickened. Three more paths… Three more monsters?
The tiger-monkey monster he had fought not long ago flashed in his memory, its claws and fangs vicious, its power unrelenting. If there were three more creatures of that kind, all converging on the same point, it could only mean one thing: the dark tree had powerful guardians.
'It doesn't matter if there are three more as I have defeated one I can defeat three more'
He glanced at each shadowed trail, his mind racing. All four paths pointed toward a single destination, a place he had been avoiding yet knew he had to face. The dark tree was waiting for him at the heart of this cursed forest.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Sumit continued forward. The forest had grown eerily silent; not even the faint rustle of leaves or chirp of insects filled the air. As he walked, his surroundings became grimmer, like he was stepping into a graveyard. Just up ahead, he noticed something unnatural in the shadows.
He stopped, feeling a chill crawl up his spine. Plant-wolves. Statues of plant-wolves, to be precise, scattered around the path. Their faces were frozen in expressions of terror—mouths wide, eyes hollow, claws poised mid-strike as if their final moments had been sealed in stone.
Sumit crouched down, running his hand along one of the statues. Its texture was coarse, and brittle, as though the life had been siphoned out, replaced by a cold, petrified shell. His jaw tightened.
"These wolves hadn't died. They were suspended in a state between life and death, their aura drained until they were left in this stone prison." If he could somehow return their aura, he could bring them back, but until then, they were as good as lifeless.
Seeing this, his resolve hardened. "I will burn that damn tree to dust," he muttered under his breath, his voice carrying a low, simmering anger. He pressed forward, but each step only brought him closer to more statues—plant-deer, plant-rhinos, even the occasional plant-monkey—all frozen in the same horrific poses, their last moments captured in stone.
The darkness deepened as he walked, casting the statues in strange, shifting shadows that made them appear alive as if they could spring up at any moment. Sumit could feel his expression darken with every petrified creature he passed, a grim resolve settling over him.
"This dark tree was nothing short of a parasite, sucking the life out of everything it touched."
After an hour of tense, silent marching, he arrived at the edge of the dark tree's territory. His senses prickled as he took in the scene before him, a landscape drenched in shadow and decay. The once-small dark tree he remembered was now towering and massive, its trunk twisted and gnarled, bark blackened like charred flesh. Thick, skeletal branches clawed upward, blotting out what little light had been left.
He blinked, unable to process the monstrous sight. "How… how did it get this huge?"
As his eyes adjusted, he noticed movement near the base of the tree. Three hulking figures stood guard, and Sumit's heart thudded painfully as he took in their forms. Each creature was a grotesque fusion of beasts, twisted together to form perfect monstrosities.
"They…look strong"
The first was a towering blend of elephant and turtle, a creature with thick, plated armor covering its massive body, and a shell that gleamed like polished obsidian. Its legs, as thick as tree trunks, rooted it to the ground with an unyielding force.
Next to it loomed a beast with the frame of a bull, its body laced with scales that shimmered faintly in the shadows. Its snout flared as it snorted, revealing rows of sharp, twisted teeth. Powerful muscles rippled under its lizard-like skin, and Sumit could almost feel the raw strength radiating from it.
The last creature sent a chill through his veins. Its lower body was a long, serpentine tail, coiling restlessly, while its upper half was a muscular, broad-shouldered gorilla with scaled arms and claws that seemed to twitch in anticipation. Its eyes gleamed with a predatory hunger, locking onto the dark tree as if in silent worship.
Sumit's stomach twisted in a knot. These weren't just guards; they were embodiments of the dark tree's twisted, malevolent power.
Then he saw it: each monster slowly lumbered toward the dark tree, pressing a hand to its trunk. Their gems, embedded in their chests, began to dim, the once-bright light fading as the stolen aura within was transferred to the tree. With each pulse, the dark tree grew visibly larger, its branches stretching further, thickening, its bark writhing as if alive.
Sumit's hands went cold, his heart racing as he watched the tree grow before his eyes. This was why the creatures had been stealing aura—they were feeding it directly to the tree, empowering it with each sacrifice. His thoughts raced, and dread gnawed at him from within.
He swallowed, the weight of his reality crashing down. What chance did he have against something so monstrous, so insatiable in its hunger?
"I… I am doomed." The words slipped from his lips before he could stop them, a grim recognition of just how outmatched he truly was. Yet even as fear settled over him, a small ember of determination flickered inside him. There was no turning back now.
Clenching his fists, he took a deep breath, steeling himself for the impossible battle that lay ahead.