I’d heard that when a forceful hit connected with a person’s skull, their vision became clouded and they could see little stars swirling in their peripheral vision.

  I didn’t believe it. Sounded made up - like something straight out of a children’s tale - but right now, I had the pleasure of experiencing this visual anomaly firsthand.

  Can’t say I’m a fan.

  That wasn’t the worst of it, either. I was sore all over.

  Ah, but ‘sore’ might be underselling it.

  My body hurt so badly that even Malrik’s torture seemed blissful, in hindsight.

  …Just why on earth did I fight so recklessly?

  It was a rhetorical question, as I knew the answer already; having given Voracity the go-ahead to wreak havoc, my thoughts were replaced with an endless hunger.

  And with it came the joy of filling my stomach, more than thrilling enough to ignore any pain I must’ve felt in the moment.

  Still, not all was bad - I was able to think straight again, despite behaving like a complete lunatic only moments earlier.

  Suddenly, a whole bunch of memories surfaced on my mind.

  Those damned, cringeworthy memories:

  “Heh. Of course it’s all mine. Who would dare stop me, after all? Hehe. Heh… Ahahahaha!!!”

  The only saving grace, if it could even be called such, was that the warriors who’d witnessed my comically villainous monologue were currently six feet under.

  And, most importantly, Kaela didn’t see it.

  If she had, I’d never hear the end of it.

  Just imagining the relentless teasing made my face heat up in embarrassment; though, the heat might’ve also come from the painfully bright, fire clad man looking down on me with a pissed expression.

  Right, about him - he’s obviously the reason I’m lying here like a beaten dog.

  The King of Nether in all his glory. Just as terrifying in person as his crushing essence suggested. Or perhaps even more so.

  I, however, felt no resentment towards him. After all, if not for the skull shattering smack he’d given me, I’d still be running around in a craze while spouting edgy bullshit.

  ”…”

  He stared silently, waiting for me to speak first. That patience of his didn’t fool me in the slightest.

  I could tell from his eyes alone - once he’d obtained whatever information he needed from me, I would be tuned into a charred corpse on the spot.

  Let’s see… How long can I drag this conversation out for, I wonder?

  Hopefully long for Kaela to show up and save my ass.

  A crooked smile formed on my burnt lips, revealing a row of bloodied, but otherwise impeccably intact teeth:

  “The King of Nether, huh? To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting your esteemed self?”

  My voice, laced with sarcasm, came out with ease.

  During the minute of respite he gave me, I furiously scrambled to patch my fire torn throat up. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fix my body at the same time.

  Why?

  Well, because the guy’s a monster.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  He’d sense my essence usage, no doubt. And then, it’s off with my head. So, this was the best I could do.

  The king’s brows furrowed at my laid back tone.

  I hope Kaela’s doing well, on her side. And, as for me, I'll be stalling for time using my favorite method - lying through my teeth.

  ***

  Kaela ran across the volcanic mountains surrounding the entirety of Nether with all her might, eventually stepping into the dreaded Red Zone forest.

  Jeez, can’t believe I’m actually going along with his request.

  The air grew thick with vile demonic energy - the same kind currently muddying the air from within her pockets.

  Still, she didn’t heed it any mind; not with the chaos unfolding only a few kilometers behind her.

  *Rumble*

  *Boom*

  Earth trembled and trees creaked from sheer wind pressure emitted by the outrageously powerful blasts of flames.

  It didn’t take a genius to gather what caused it all.

  The king of Nether… Just how strong is he, really?

  Even more incomprehensible, though, was her friend’s might.

  Ori did say that he had a trump card up his sleeve, but to hold his own against one of the strongest men on the continent… More to him than meets the eye, he said? Couldn’t have underplayed it any less.

  Eventually, a few notable landmarks - ones pinpointed by Ori - came into view.

  She slowed down to catch her breath, while at the same time frantically scanning the surrounding in search of her target.

  ”Hmm? Oh, that’s it!”

  She jumped in excitement as her gaze landed on a particular section of the forest, overgrown with purple tingled roots.

  I shouldn’t touch those, right?

  With agile step, she traversed the roots, careful not to make direct skin contact with any of them, until finally…

  “This is the one, I think..? Sure looks like it.”

  According to Ori, whom she believed wasn’t mistaken, many such corrupted patches littered the forest, some larger the others.

  This one in particular was rather small, while also being located in close proximity to Nether.

  At the center of each stood a deformed tree - one that had been turned into a semi-sentient beast under the demonic energy’s influence.

  It fed on flesh and blood, paralyzing any creature unfortunate enough to touch it before slowly digesting them.

  And here she was, willingly traversing into the depths of its roots.

  ”What a day… I’d love to give Ori a smack on the head for making me do this, but oh well; he’s already getting enough of a beating from Nether’s king.”

  The demonic tree had a hole punctured through its center, lined with spikes suspiciously reminiscent of a beast’s maw.

  It’s just as he said, but what does a tree need a mouth for, anyways?

  Shoving those thoughts aside, Kaela rummaged through her pocket before pulling out a… Well, a ‘thing’.

  Her expression turned sour for a second, hesitation evident, but was quickly wiped clean off of her face after another rumble quaked through the forest.

  Kaela unwrapped a cloth, tightly woven around the indiscernible object, and gave it one last disgusted look.

  What she now held in her hand was a heart. A living, beating heart.

  Ori’s own.

  ***

  A little earlier, during his explanation of the plan, one detail stumped her:

  He clearly told her that they needed to supply the tree with a very saturated source of demonic energy. When when she asked where they’d get their hands on something like that-

  *Squelch*

  “?!!”

  -Ori punched a hole in his chest, tearing his heart straight out without hesitation... And then spoke with a smile, as if he hadn’t just done something absolutely insane.

  “Heh, almost forgot. Anyways, here ya go; should have enough essence in it to feed the tree, and then some.”

  With those words, he carelessly tossed the bloodied heart into Kaela’s hands.

  After scrambling to catch it, she slowly shifted her gaze from the hole in Ori’s chest, and then back to the heart.

  Her eyes begged for an explanation.

  Suddenly, Ori planted a fist into his palm, as if struck by a realization.

  ”Ah, of course you’d be confused. But don’t worry, I’m, uhh, already two steps ahead - I wove a closed loop of veins and arteries around it, so the hearts shouldn’t die for at least a few hours.”

  Though Kaela wished for nothing more than to shower her freak of a friend with insults, she was too taken aback to come up with any proper retaliation.

  And so, after letting out an exasperated sign, she accepted the situation for what it was and dashed off.

  ***

  Recalling that fiasco of an exchange made her want to run a hand down her face, but time, as always, was tight.

  *Hoooh*

  Here goes nothing. Actually, no - something better happen.

  After taking deep breath to steel her nerves, Kaela forcefully shoved the pulsating heart straight into the tree’s ’mouth’ and swiftly leapt backward right after.

  The tree gently trembled, as if excited to be given such a delectable gift, before suddenly snapping its teeth shut.

  Kaela’s hearth thumped.

  This is rather nerve wracking, I will say…

  A few seconds passed in silence.

  ”Uhh… Huh? Is-is that it? Did I do something wrong?”

  Right as panic started setting in-

  *Creeeeak*

  -Every root suddenly writhed to life, and with it came an overwhelming flood of demonic essence.

  The energy rapidly encompassed the surroundings, before spreading further still.

  Shortly after, a cacophony of howls echoed from every direction.

  Kaela lightly nodded, a contemplative look on her face:

  ”Okay, great. The plan worked even better than expected, but, uhh… How exactly do I go about surviving the assault of, like, a thousand demons?”

  Didn’t think that one through, now did I?

  She tapped on her chin in thought a few times, before letting out a defeated shrug.

  Hmm… I believe I’m fucked.

  It was truly a unique predicament.