From the heart of the stone, fine cracks unfurled like frost tracing the edge of a frozen window, delicate and deliberate. Tiny flakes of dust crumbled away, disturbed for the first time in ages.
Warmth pulsed just beneath the petrified surface. It pressed outward in slow waves, softening the boundaries between flesh and stone. Deep within, one fingertip twitched.
It was a small movement, barely enough to displace the fine layer of moss that had gathered atop the stone. Another finger stirred. Then the hand moved, cracking free. Dust cascaded from Sera's knuckles, curling in the air like ash.
She drew her hand forward. Stone clung to her skin in brittle flakes, falling away as her arm emerged. Her joints creaked faintly, stiff from unnatural stillness, her body remembering movement as if relearning the concept of motion. How long have I slept?
The world beyond the stone felt muted. Her senses stretched outward cautiously, testing the silence. The scent of damp moss filtered into her lungs. Cold air grazed her cheek, carrying with it the feeling of decay, soil, and life.
Stone cracked further along her torso and thighs, fracturing in long lines. One leg shifted, then the other. Her body unfurled from its prison, joints trembling beneath the weight of returning awareness. She pulled free at last, fragments of her stone casing tumbling to the earth in a hushed clatter.
As Sera knelt in the dirt, she tilted her face toward the open sky. Light filtered through the trees above. She blinked once, slowly. It feels as if the world has turned for millennia without me.
Sera pressed a hand to the earth, rising slowly. Her joints cracked in protest. Dizziness swirled at her temples, but she steadied herself as she stepped toward the shimmer of a puddle just beyond a cluster of roots.
Rippling water reflected her image in broken light. I wonder if I have changed?
She regarded herself with narrowed eyes. Long, silver-white hair draped across her shoulders like snow falling over stone. Pale eyes stared back from beneath dark lashes. Her face, sharp and ageless, remained untouched by decay. And above it all, towering black antlers still crowned her brow, their gnarled branches curling skyward. Excellent, I am still intact.
Relief filtered through her mind. At least on the surface, nothing had been taken from her.
She straightened slowly as she lifted her gaze. The world opened before her, quiet and vast.
A stretch of forest lay beneath the veil of misted light, but where once there had been a cacophony of birdsong and rustling leaves, only silence lingered. Even the trees stood farther apart now.
Gnarled roots curled out from the earth like exposed veins, their tips reaching for water that no longer flowed. Branches twisted bare in patches, boughs brittle where they had once dripped with green.
The air itself carried weight. Not heavy in pressure, but hollow in substance. No birds flitted through the trees. No insects buzzed through shafts of sunlight. Only the occasional drop of water fell from a branch overhead. This forest has thinned significantly, what happened in my absence?
The ache settled deep in her chest, quiet and bitter. So much has changed.
But when she turned back, Sera smiled as she looked up. There, the Spirit Tree stood.
It towered above the forest. The Spirit Tree's bark shimmered with a luster like moonlit silver, etched with deep grooves. The trunk rose impossibly high before spiraling into thick, sweeping branches that arched outward like a crown. From those branches hung thousands of colorful leaves, each one appearing if spun from starlight.
The wind stirred faintly, and the canopy shimmered with life. At least you haven't changed.
Yet, suddenly, a low groan rippled through the underbrush. Sera turned swiftly, ears tuned to the vibration of pain.
Her eyes scanned the forest floor until they found him: a boy slumped against the gnarled roots of a tree. His body sagged with exhaustion. Blond hair, soaked with sweat and matted with dirt, clung to his brow in heavy clumps. Blood painted his clothes in irregular stains, the crimson blooming in patches across his thigh, chest, and side. A crude sword rested near his boots, its blade dulled and darkened with grime.
A human? What is he doing here? A flicker of distaste passed through Sera. It was a natural reflex, nothing more. She had no special fondness for humans after all.
But Sera's distaste faded quickly as she looked at the boy's condition. He was young. Injured. Alone. Pitiful creature… What drove you here?
Her body moved before she gave it command. Her presence barely stirred the undergrowth as she approached, eyes fixed on the boy with the cool detachment of a scholar inspecting a curious specimen.
One pale hand extended, brushing his shoulder. He had best thank me properly once he can stand.
The boy lay curled in pain. His skin had grown pallid, lips tinged with the grey of blood loss.
Sera’s eyes traced the pattern of his wounds. Deep gashes split across his thigh and lower ribs. Blood had already seeped into the soil beneath him, soaking it into a dark, glistening patch. His right arm hung at an unnatural angle, perhaps broken, or worse. Too much blood. He does not have long.
She lowered herself slowly. Her pale fingers hovered above his chest, outstretched but not touching. Her gaze flicked to the dark smear spreading over his tunic.
Sera inhaled and reached inward, calling to the old power buried in her soul. The flow of energy rose at her summons, cool and verdant, like sap stirring beneath bark.
But then—
[Spell Unknown]
Her brow furrowed. A pale flicker of green light sparked between her hands, then guttered into nothing. That is not right.
Sera tried to focus again. She shaped the old pattern in her mind, drawn from memory more than thought. Her hands glowed faintly once more.
[Spell Unknown]
The words etched themselves in her vision. Impossible.
She drew back, rising to her feet in one fluid motion. Her gaze drifted toward the sky, obscured by the Spirit Tree’s radiant canopy. What has changed? What was taken from me?
She turned her attention inward and whispered under her breath, “Status.”
The air shifted around her. Invisible lines shimmered into place, words tracing themselves before her eyes with emotionless clarity.
[Displaying status]
Name: Sera
Species: Elder Dryad
Class: Nature's Avatar
Level: 1
Magic: 100
Defense: 100
Strength: 100
Speed: 100
Vitality: 100
Unique Perks:
- Elder Dryad: You are ageless, untouched by the passage of time. As long as your head remains whole, your body will regenerate from even the gravest wounds. You possess an innate communion with all natural life, instinctively understanding animals, monsters, and plants alike.
- Avatar of the Nature Goddess: You bear the divine mantle of the Nature Goddess. All nature-based magic you cast is vastly amplified, and you suffer no strain or penalty when wielding such powers.
- Transcendent Being: You learn spells and skills with uncanny ease. What mortals struggle to master over years, you can absorb in days, guided by an instinctive connection to magic and life.
She studied the information in silence. Level one? Time must have stripped me down to roots and bare bark.
But at least her perks remained. The divine link still tethered her to nature. The long slumber has dulled much of my strength, and left certain memories fragmented. At the very least, it seems that I have retained some of my original power.
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Her gaze fell back on the boy. His breathing had grown more ragged, the rasp louder now, chest fluttering with effort. He will not last. I cannot afford to let him die.
Sera knelt once more, this time slower. She knew that there wasn't much time to waste, and so she decided to try an experimental solution. If I can still command magic, it means I only need to awaken the memory of how a healing spell functioned. In theory, after I re-learn its intricacies, I should be able to wield healing magic once again.
She pressed her palms together, fingers poised delicately. No light emerged this time. Just thought, just memory. There was a pattern I needed to recall.
Sera inhaled slowly through her nose, allowing the stillness of the forest to seep into her thoughts. Her hands hovered once again above the boy’s chest.
To recall how to use healing magic, Sera decided to start with remembering the basics of all magic first. Nature magic is the first and oldest form of magic of the world. There is no chant required, only willpower and exchange.
She closed her eyes, drawing her thoughts inward. Nature does not give freely. For every blossom, a branch must wither. For every wound mended, something else must break. It is not mercy. It is balance.
She tightened her fingers slightly, drawing her hand closer to the boy’s chest. If I wish to heal him… I must offer him a part of myself. My energy, my very essence.
The thought did not frighten her. Loss was a familiar price, one she had paid for centuries. But what eluded her still was the how.
Her eyes flicked to the canopy above. Light filtered down through the Spirit Tree’s leaves, casting long slashes of silver across the forest floor. Light… Yes. Light is the perfect vessel. It carries warmth, life, and clarity. But most importantly of all, it moves fast.
She reached again into the depths of her power and shaped the spell, not through memory but through logic, intuition, and the rhythm of the forest. A small thread of her life wove itself into the light, blooming in her palm.
Then, without sound, a line of text shimmered across her vision:
[Spell Restored: Heal]
A rare smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She lowered her hands once more. Let us see if I still remember how to do this properly.
Warm, golden light spilled from her fingers and traced across the boy’s chest. Wounds knitted themselves closed with a faint shimmer, the torn flesh rejoining, blood fading to clean, unmarked skin. The boy’s breathing slowed, and then steadied. Good, he will live.
A moment later, his eyelids opened. He stirred, blinked at the sky, then turned his head, eyes widening the instant they locked onto her.
Sera watched him with an expression of mild curiosity as he jolted upright with a gasp, scrabbling backwards until his back struck the tree behind him. His hand flew to his side, grasping the hilt of his sword. “Wh-What the hell are you?!”
She rose to her full height, brushing off her knees with an elegant, almost indifferent motion. “Greetings, human, I am the one who just spared you from death.”
“You look like some kinda monster!”
“I was the one who healed you, boy. You might consider a thank you before pointing that crude toothpick in my direction.”
The boy’s eyes darted down. He looked at his now-intact body. His shoulders slumped. “Oh. Crap. I, uh, sorry. I thought you were gonna eat me or something.”
“Typical. Your kind always was the type to enter my forest uninvited and assume the worst of me.” Sera said.
He lowered the sword fully now, scratching at the back of his head. “ Yeah, my bad. I only came here because I heard an Elder Dryad lived here. I just… wanted to see if the legends were true, Lady Dryad.”
“Then you’re a fool. This forest is not a place for idle curiosity. It is called the Forest of Death for a reason.”
“What? This is one of the only places I’ve been where the Sea of Death hasn’t spread.”
“What are you talking about? The Sea of Death? Are you delirious?”
“I’m not, I swear. Look, I need your help, because—”
A thunderous roar ripped through the trees, rattling the leaves, deep and guttural enough to make the ground quiver.
Both their heads snapped toward the sound. Sera’s eyes narrowed “That was no creature of this forest.”
The boy gripped his sword again. “Yeah, and I think it heard us.”
The roar split the trees like thunder cracking through stone. Birds scattered in frightened bursts, and the leaves of the Spirit Tree shivered under the force of the sound.
From between the ancient trunks, a beast emerged. It was towering, grotesque, and wholly wrong. Its entire body was cloaked in gnarled black flesh, matte and twisted like burned bark soaked in tar. Wicked horns jutted out in chaotic arcs from its head, some curved downward like blades, others pointing to the sky. Each breath exhaled steam, tainted with the stench of decay. Its eyes glowed a deep, viscous red.
The boy stumbled backward in alarm, then sprinted toward Sera, placing himself just behind her. “Uh, Lady Dryad, I—"
“Quiet, I will handle this.”
Sera stepped forward to face the beast. “You tread within my forest, monster. This is my domain, and I am its ruler. Sit.”
The beast did not hesitate. Another guttural roar erupted from its throat, louder than the last. Its hooves crushed the underbrush as it surged toward her. Why does it not yield?
Immediately, Sera shoved the boy aside just before the beast’s charge slammed into the earth where he stood. Dirt exploded around her feet as she dodged sideways. The beast wheeled its massive head around, swinging one of its horns dangerously close.
She pivoted low beneath the strike, slipping across the moss like wind over still water. The creature lunged again, snapping jaws missing her by inches. This is no ordinary creature. If it were native, it would have obeyed.
She flicked her fingers. “Analyze.”
[Displaying enemy status]
Name: ???
Species: ???
Level: 12
Magic: ???
Defense: ???
Strength: ???
Speed: ???
Vitality: ???
Nothing… except the level. Curious. Then this beast must not be a native to this forest.
The boy’s voice cut through the air behind her. “Watch out!”
Sera turned her head. “I told you to stay—”
Pain tore through her left side. Her arm detached in an instant, ripped free in a blur of claws and shredded air.
Black tendrils snapped apart with a wet crackle, writhing briefly in the open before falling limp. Glossy strands scattered across the soil, twitching like severed roots. A hiss rose as viscous ichor splattered in an arc across the moss, steaming where it struck the earth.
The boy’s gasp followed a heartbeat later. “Your arm—!”
Sera barely reacted.She glanced at the place where her arm had once been, bloodless and clean despite the violence of its removal. I have grown careless.
The beast lunged again, claws carving through air. Sera dropped low and slipped beneath the arc of its strike and weaving between its legs.
The beast’s massive jaws clamped shut behind her, crunching wetly. She looked back. Her severed limb vanished between its teeth, swallowed whole. Very well, then.
She exhaled, letting her focus slide inward. I recalled healing through memory of function. There is no reason that my other spells can't be remembered in a similar way.
Foam pooled at the corners of the beast’s mouth. It snarled and charged again, its hooves carving deep trenches into the forest floor. Trees shuddered under the force of its movement.
Sera sidestepped with weightless precision. My body isn't truly physical. It is magic given shape. Every thread of my body, every drop of ichor… it is lifeforce sculpted by divine will.
The beast swung wide, shattering a tree in a single blow. It devoured part of me. My arm, my essence. That piece still exists, within it.
She landed softly behind the beast once more. If I can cast through light, then my own arm should be a much more potent medium.
Her eyes fell to the earth beside her, a single flower nestled at the base of a tree. Small and vivid, its star-shaped petals gleamed a brilliant violet beneath the forest light.
Sera stared for a heartbeat, then allowed herself the faintest smile. Yes, that will do.
The beast roared, jaws snapping through empty air. Rage poured off it in waves as it twisted to face her. It charged once more, horned head lowered.
Meanwhile, Sera extended her remaining hand. Then, she curled her fingers into a fist.
[Spell Restored: Eulalia’s Bloom]
The beast convulsed violently, a tremor rippling through its hulking form. Its hooves scraped deep trenches into the earth as it staggered sideways. Saliva frothed at the corners of its gaping maw. Muscles bunched and twitched beneath its blackened hide.
Then came the first crack. A subtle rupture formed just beneath its ribcage, like a wound forced open from within.
Thick, knotted bark forced its way through the tear, splitting flesh with a sickening squelch. A black tendril wriggled into the open air, glistening with ichor, before unfurling with deliberate grace. Bark darkened, hardening into the twisted form of a root. More followed.
From its spine, from its gut, from behind the shoulders and out through the base of its throat, roots burst forth like jagged spears, forcing the beast to its knees. They tore through sinew and muscle, cracking ribs and splitting bones. The scent of rot mingled with fresh earth as sap and blood mixed into a slurry beneath the creature's feet.
Each root writhed for a heartbeat before erupting into bloom. Massive flowers unfurled along the lengths of the roots. Their colours shifted in hues of deep crimson, violet, and pale silver, each bloom stretching open with unnatural speed. Stamens glittered with golden dust. Soft, luminous petals curled outward, swallowing the monster’s shape with their beauty.
Sera watched in silence, her remaining hand lowered now. May you return to Mother's embrace, whatever you were.
The wind passed through the clearing, rustling the petals with a gentle hush. Sera tilted her head slightly, turning her gaze to the stunned boy behind her. “Now, where were we?”
The boy took a shaky step forward, eyes still wide from the spectacle of the now-silent clearing. “Your arm… doesn’t it hurt?”
Sera turned her head slowly, following his line of sight to the severed stump just below her shoulder. “I suppose it should, but no, not particularly. In fact, it should be regenerating by now.”
As if on cue, black tendrils writhed from the stump, thin at first, before thickening and twisting together. They wove around one another, curling and knotting, forming the structure of muscle and sinew. Then, layer by layer, pale skin crept across the new form, smooth and unblemished.
Within moments, her hand had returned. Sera flexed her fingers, inspecting the result. Each joint responded flawlessly. “This will do."
The boy stared, slack-jawed. “You… you really are the real deal. I mean, I’d heard the stories, but, I just watched you grow an arm back. That’s… that’s insane.”
“Must you speak with such awe? It’s only flesh. Easily replaced.”
“Right. Sorry Lady Dryad, I—”
“Stop calling me that. I have a name. Use it.”
The boy straightened a little, nodding quickly. “Right, yeah. Of course. Sorry again. What… What's your name?”
She paused for a breath, as if tasting the weight of it after so long. “I am Sera.”