The centre of the imposing, fleshy tree's crown burst apart, a hole was blown open.
Pieces and fragments were flung at the human survivors, the sticky material clinging to their skin and clothes.
Marquis Gomon grabbed one of them, his face scrounged up as he touched the cold, wet surface.
He pulled it off with great difficulty, as it stretched before finally letting go.
The slimy texture made him gag; he frantically shook his hand to get it off.
His eyes wandered up the amalgamation, the shaking of his hand became slower, until he stopped and stared at the gaping hole.
The eyes around the opening had closed, the flesh was squirming, moving like a living creature… it was regenerating.
Sharp whistling tore through the air, an illusory shape escaped the meaty wall and left behind a narrow trail.
Explosions followed the path it took, space detonated randomly, demolishing the tree from within.
Then after a short delay, the sound of bursting flesh finally blared in their ears.
Daren was on his knees, his fist gripped the fine dust that the walls, floor, and ceiling had become, "…Am I dreaming?"
His nose felt stuffy, and his eyes turned red.
But the construct Plamus had turned into was tenacious, it didn't just withstand the bombing, its recovery process was speeding up.
The flesh reached out; lone tissues accepted its invitation.
It was reproducing and reconnecting itself at a terrifying rate, faster than any healing magic those present had ever seen.
"Out of my way." the echo of a voice reached them from the other side of the fleshy tree.
A blueish, white orb, the size of a fist, was launched at the regenerating tissues, then several more.
Each of them blew up as they met the flesh, covering them in a frosty sheen, and not just slowing their repair, but freezing all progress as they turned to ice.
Everyone held their breath, but soon the flesh wriggled beneath, it continued growing, then broke through to free itself.
The air trembled, a large spot of flesh near the centre of the tree was contracting, space looked to be contorting.
"Master!" tears welled up in Daren's eyes as he shouted the word.
It was hard to believe that this was real… but this was her signature spell!
Her prized possession, that she only reluctantly taught to him.
The one and only-
"Finally found you… my good for nothing disciple!" Duchess Vivienne Debora closed her fist with a smile.
She was levitating in the opening that she had created, while the distorted air continued twisting, until the ripping of flesh became audible.
Reinforcements from Astafor had arrived, they were able to successfully open a new planar portal!
But how come they knew where to find them?
The plane isn't exactly small enough to scour within a couple of days.
Flesh coiled in place, then shot out like the tongue of a chameleon, wrapping around Vivienne's ankle, and using its sticky surface to hold tight.
Vivienne's smile faded instantly, she twisted her hand, and the appendage bended itself, it was forming knots, until it snapped.
Her mouth opened and closed several times, she couldn't think of any combination of words to accurately express her disgust, but her face showed it clearly.
"Master! Watch out!" Daren cupped his hands around his mouth.
Vivienne looked at him, then down; flame-like fumes came rising towards her.
They were as black as the night, and they were already covering Daren and the other humans she spotted.
Vivienne raised her hand, preparing to defend herself, when she found herself unable to move!
A rigid cold seeped into her bones, she became encased in ice as clear as glass.
The flames covered her from head to toe, but she remained unharmed.
Snowflakes appeared out of thin air, all around Vivienne.
They clashed with the black flames, and when detonated, set off to paint the world white.
Snowstorms raged, mercilessly targeting everything around.
Purple flesh froze, then shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces.
Vivienne watched with bated breath, she wasn't sure if she would come out unscathed, even with protection magic, especially being this close to danger, and yet she didn't feel any worry.
Whether it was instinct or trust, she had a strange amount of confidence.
The tree was getting decimated, but the production of dark flames never ceased.
Black and white were at odds, destroying each other relentlessly, neither side was backing down from the conflict, but as time went on, the severity lessened.
They were no longer cancelling out one another, they appeared to be assimilating, fusing into one.
The storms' intensity plummeted; the flesh was starting to heal.
Vivienne felt a push, the ice she was encased in fell forwards.
She noticed herself thawing out, and crashed against the floor, leaving the black flames and the fleshy-webbing behind.
The ice melted fully, Vivienne moved her fingers, then her arms; she was in perfect condition, surprisingly so.
She looked up to where the water was gushing in from… this wasn't the same ice mage she had met on Aventia's mountainous border.
'Can someone really improve this fast?' Vivienne asked herself.
Entering rank three didn't equate absolute control over their spells, but as she turned around, she got her confirmation.
"Master!" Daren ran up to her, wiping away tears of joy.
She shook her head, 'Ah.'
Vivienne wanted to embrace him, and ruffle through his hair, after all, how dare he worry her?
But a second glance reminded her of the fire that covered most of his body, that he warned her about only moments ago.
"Huh?" Daren stopped abruptly as he bumped into an invisible wall.
"Let's leave the celebrations for later." Vivienne spoke, "What is that thing?" she pointed behind herself, "And what is that covering you?"
"That-" Daren took a step back, remembering that they weren't in the clear yet, "That is Plamus Starhelm."
Vivienne's brows furrowed, "Starhelm?"
"Is my boy there?!" another, deeper, voice cut through the cave.
Vivienne gave the survivors another couple glances, "Not here." she conveyed the grim news.
The man closed his eyes, his shaking hands formed into fists, the corners of his mouth quivered.
Blood dripped down his fingers as his nails pierced his skin.
He inhaled, then pressed his knuckles against his forehead.
His lips parted, revealing gnashed teeth, "Ha… Marv…" his voice trembled, blood ran down his face.
His arms fell down his sides, hanging lifelessly, his twitching eyelids revealed his bloodshot eyes.
Baron Stephan Beckett, Marv's father, was deliberating his next move.
His mind was far from calm, or clear… his only child… gone.
All because he decided to have him participate in that stupid competition.
'Marv…' he was fighting, holding back his tears, 'I'd give up our territory in a heartbeat, if I could trade it for your life…'
"What an idiot… I am such an idiot…" he laughed, he couldn't help himself, his tears started flowing freely.
"Baron…" another rank three mage reached out to him, but his hand was swatted away.
"I don't need your consolation." Baron Beckett hissed at the man, "Don't try to stop me either."
"Baron Beckett! You were permitted to join the operation as a rank two mage solely thanks to His Majesty's kindness! You are to keep back and stay out of our way!" the rank three mage shouted a reminder, as a pink cube formed in his hand.
He was preparing for the event of the Baron lashing out.
Baron Beckett had contemplated charging at the flesh-webbing, to vent some of his anger, but it was true, he was in no position to act recklessly.
He could potentially endanger the remaining survivors with a thoughtless attack.
They didn't even know yet what they were up against.
He sighed and moved to the back, he and the rest were floating, all thanks to Duchess Debora's magic.
The rank three mage turned to the final person in their midst, a newcomer he had only heard rumours about, but her actions thus far had surprised him, especially the artefact in her hand, "Everything alright?" he asked.
Agnes, the white-haired ice mage, and right hand of Aventia's ruler, stared at her palm, the black flame was shrinking, until it had fully disappeared, "All good." she answered without looking up.
"Let's head over to the survivors." the rank three mage suggested.
The flesh-tree was preoccupied with regenerating itself, allowing them to pass while avoiding the flames.
"Duchess!" Gomon walked up to her.
"Marquis." Vivienne nodded at him.
"Is this everyone?!" he was shocked, three rank three mages, and a rank two.
Vivienne shrugged her shoulders, "His Majesty wanted to recall people from the planar frontiers, but seeing how long it would take them to get back, I chose to commence the rescue with what we had available."
Meanwhile Frey examined his legs… the tendrils that had ensnared him, and tried to pull him down, they were gone?
Did he hallucinate that?
Then… was any of this real?
Were they really getting rescued?
He looked up, the face he was seeing unleashed so many emotions within him.
How long had it been?
"Are you… real? Agnes?" Frey reached his hand out.
Agnes grabbed his, a tender touch pulled him close, then her arms, and her staff, flung around him, capturing him with a bear-hug.
No words were necessary, the warmth of her body melted his heart, all his apprehension along with it.
Even if he was hallucinating, he wanted this to be true.
Frey shivered, the noises he made got muffled by Agnes' clothes, tears stained his cheeks.
When was the last time he allowed himself to be this vulnerable?
"Let's get you home, Frey." her words buzzed in his ears.
Vivienne cleared her throat, she didn't mean to ruin their touching moment, but she couldn't consider this mission over.
Not before everyone had returned through the boundary that separated the planes, "The church is securing the portal's surroundings as we speak, let's get you all out of here."
Frey shook off Agnes' embrace, "We can't leave yet!"
"Hmpf! Speak for yourself. The rest of us certainly want to get out." Winny chimed in.
"Why not?" Vivienne looked at the boy, usually she wouldn't heed the words of lesser mages, but this was Cykrus' only disciple.
"If we leave this thing here, what will happen to the locals?!" Frey pointed at the web of flesh, that had ceased its efforts to regenerate.
"And what about the black fire?" he added, but as he tried to locate it on himself, he noticed that it had vanished.
"You mean the things that systematically reduced our numbers during our stay? Yeah, no, they're not getting a speck of empathy from me." Marquis Gomon frowned.
"I think I can help with the fire." Agnes walked over to Gomon.
His eyes glimmered with hope, "You can?!"
Agnes gripped her staff tightly, her other hand touched the flames, as if to grab a handful, and sure enough, they were leaving the Marquis!
His body was returning to normalcy, and at the same time, nothing changed for Agnes.
The fire soon disappeared altogether, eliciting surprised gasps.
"How?" Marquis Gomon conjured a miniature mote of water, testing his control.
The flames disrupting effects were truly gone!
"I'm not sure, but it's the same as how I knew where to find you all… some sort of… connection?" Agnes spoke while observing her staff.
It was the source of their confusion.
"And also, that." she returned her attention to the flesh-tree.
The aura it was giving off acted like a beacon, a signal, that her staff picked up on, and for some reason, resonates with…
"The locals aren't our concern; we are here to get our human survivors out." Vivienne closed her eyes, "Whether we return or give up on the plane is for His Majesty to decide."
"Thank you for coming to our rescue." Kassan drew closer.
"Kassan Horun?" Vivienne called his name, "His Majesty mentioned your name, you were in charge of this plane. What happened to you?"
Kassan lowered his head, "I am ashamed to admit that I lost my sight to the locals on the day they ambushed our camp and closed the portal."
"And even more so that this is as many of our kind as I've managed to keep alive… I pray the gods punish me for my failure." he added.
Vivienne caressed her chin, "You've done well to hold out, despite the circumstances. I can't tell whether punishment or reward awaits you back in Astafor."
Kassan bowed, hearing the Duchess' words lifted his mood, but his forehead wrinkled anyway.
Something was off.
His honed instincts, after years of service in dangerous lands, were ringing all sorts of bells.
And suddenly his mind was flooded with pictures, blood was rushing in droves, forming rivers of pain and suffering.
Skulls piled high, dwarfing even mountains.
The stench of death poisoned the air, rotting corpses spanned the roads.
Nature had wilted, and the living were either subjugated, or exterminated.
Far above, just below the smoke of destruction that loomed overhead, in the form of clouds, there was a human, a man, a king… nay… a god.
Plamus was judging his world, his kingdom, he was wearing a smile, for this was everything he had ever envisioned.
Anything opposing him had been eradicated.
He lifted both of his hands above his head, adjusting the golden crown that adorned his scalp.
Kassan fell to his knees, he was coughing, frothing at his mouth.
The others fared no better.
Meanwhile the tree of flesh was receding, shrinking back into the iris from which it spawned.
The mound closed, the eye shut itself, then detached from the ground.
A ribcage formed with the large eye at its centre, below grew an abdomen, followed by a waist, and legs, while above grew a neck, and the shape of a head.
Arms popped out from either side, they reached up, to adjust the crown made of flesh.
Eyes opened all over the purple human-like body, but also on the crown, acting as shiny jewels.
"Is that Plamus?!" Kassan spat, there was nothing to recognise him by, especially so for someone lacking vision.
Vivienne pointed her index finger at the new arrival, air compressed just beyond her nail, then launched at nearly unobservable speed.
Her shoulders flinched as the wall nearby was struck instead!
Vivienne took a step back; her spell got pinged off when it was about to land.
Was there some sort of invisible force-field in play?
Plamus lifted his foot, his sole left a dark print behind, that appeared to be eating into the ground, like acid, dissolving the material with ease.
Then he set his foot down, and the cave was shaking!
"The ceiling won't hold out! We need to leave!" Marquis Gomon shouted.
Vivienne turned to the rank three mage she brought along, an attendant of the king.
A pink cube was slowly spinning on his open palm.
"Ready when you are, Duchess." he said.
Vivienne gave him a court nod, then spread her arms, as if to take off.
The human survivors felt gravity's hold over them reducing, and their feet detached from the surface below.
With just a leap, they soared towards the ceiling, towards the chasm that led to the surface.
Plamus' many eyes followed their movements, his hands twitched in response, but before he could unleash any more chaos, a pink cube trapped him within its walls.
The eyes stared into all sorts of directions, some crossing, some overlapping.
Plamus stretched his arm out, his hand pressing against the pink surface.
The rank three mage was staring to where they came from, water rushed down along the walls, a torrential downpour that might drag anyone back into the depths, should they fly too close to it.
He was covering his mouth and nose with his hand, his complexion turned pale, then blood shot out of his orifices.
"-you alright?" Baron Beckett looked to the man.
He was coughing out the rest of the clots, "Not… one bit… What is that… monster?" he felt his spell getting shredded as if it were his real body.
"I wish we knew." Marquis Gomon grumbled, "Or better yet… never found out at all."
"Is he following us?" Kassan threw this vital question into the group.
They looked at each other, grim faces all around.
Who could claim to be sure about anything at this point?
His question remained unanswered, as Vivienne hurried to bring the survivors far, far away.
They were hurling towards the surface, but all the rank three mages perceived the same foreboding sensation.
A chill running down their spines.
Agnes and Marquis Gomon flipped to face the chasm, then the majestic waterfalls started behaving abnormally.
As if they were drawn in by a whirlpool, both were pulling towards the centre of the massive hole.
Agnes snapped her fingers, and the large body of water was freezing over.
Chunk after chunk of ice was created to block the path behind them.
Even if Plamus were to follow, he would need to spend at least some time breaking free!
The group's upward-momentum slowed, until it made a full stop.
On the horizon was an even surface, not a speck of fog in sight, and at the outer edges resumed the line of trees.
However, everything that had been within the blast radius of what must have been Plamus' spell was gone.
A lifeless zone, and upon a closer look, even the trees in the distance weren't looking as luscious and full of life as they once did.
The heart below had been destroyed, nature in its vicinity was being undone.
"Which way is the portal?" Winny spoke up first.
"This way-" Vivienne gestured, but the rumbling of the earth beneath them caused abrupt silence.
Gomon would tap his feet if he were standing on the ground, the anticipation was killing him.
According to their estimations, Plamus should have been long dead… so why does he keep coming back to haunt them?!
A deafening explosion resounded in the air.
Ice and earth were turned into splinters and dust, as physically manifested dread hovered over them.
The newly crowned prince, the fleshy horror, was gazing down on them, and though he had no facial expressions, haughty arrogance was engraved in his demeanour.
Vivienne squinted her eyes, "I doubt we can run from this."