Slowly the first sprouts began to break through the soil, faint green buds unrolling into faint green leaves, soon followed by a mass of spreading vines that ran across the ground with reckless abandon. Three new voices of excitement and happiness rang out within his mind, each one seemingly competing with the other two.
Their spread only slowed under the urging of the other plants, their joy growing even further upon hearing the others but listening to them as their growth slowed to a crawl. Their spread-out vines pulled in and created a large round patch of green and black, their vines having a faint red streak through them.
"Well, you clearly messed something up again." The old man began after giving them a look over. "I already figured they would grow fast and steadily like the other plants you grew, but this is something else entirely. That red streak isn't normal, and the black should be only on the bottom, not running around the top edges." The old man continued calmly with clear calculation as he looked them over with a critical eye.
Each of them seemed to rise slightly as he examined them, taking every word and touch as a form of praise. Even rapidly forming a few round berries at his request.
Before Chris could stop him, the old man popped one into his mouth and began to slowly chew. "It's far sweeter than those I had the fortune of trying once before in my youth. My muscles and bones have also lost some of the ache they once had."
"Do you think we could try using some of its leaves on your leg? It could be a practical test, so I know how to properly use its various parts without poisoning myself and see how they match up to the regular ones." Chris said, causing the old man to huff.
"You did this just to try and heal my leg, didn't you, lad?" The old man asked, annoyed but without any real heat in his tone. "Fine, but we will be testing it on your hand first. It's been steadily healing, but this will be the test of its potency. It's also far more at risk of infection than my leg, and it'll let me show you how to use them properly." The old man ordered, clearly having seen the guilt that had been eating at him but wanted to set him straight.
Without words of protest, Chris slowly unwrapped his hand. The ugly, scabbed-over cut had faint black bits along its edge with some pus, making the old man frown and mention how it was starting to become infected. He took a few leaves, gently pressing the black side of some across Chris's palm before having him hold it closed in a tight fist.
Chris couldn't hold back the hiss of pain as he felt a pulling sensation mix with a painful sting. "Is it supposed to sting and have a pulling sensation?"
"It means it's working, lad, drawing out the infections from the wound. Tell me when the pulling stops, and we will go to the next step." The old man told him, rubbing the few leaves he still had between his hands, pleasantly surprised by the fact they became a paste with little effort.
When the pulling sensation finally stopped, the old man had him open his hand; the leaves had turned a deep red with horrid yellow spots. "Another oddity, it took the infection into itself." He said softly while peeling each one off the wound. Chris noticed the wound had become a faint pink line. No scabbing, pus, or black spots. The old man then rubbed the paste across the wound, a cold feeling seeping through the wound, slowly being absorbed.
Before he could question the old man about what had happened, he felt himself being pulled down roughly. A vine had wrapped around his wrist. Before he could question it, the newly grown plant began to leak a clear liquid just under its leaves across his wound.
"A few words said under my breath and your plant not only heard it but did it without question. Its effects also seem far stronger than normal, and I didn't even need to cut it to get sap out of it." He commented softly, looking at the plant with faint excitement as he examined the disfigured leaf. "It also seemed to pull the infection out far more aggressively than records state and seemed to do it quicker than I thought possible. And now I see the wound is visibly stitching itself closed from the sap. Lad, you screwed up again big time, but this time in a good way. Instead of an aggressive attacker, you have an aggressive healer." The old man said to him happily.
"Well then, it's your turn, old man." Chris said with a cocky grin, doing what he could to ignore the way his head buzzed and his legs felt weak. The various voices of the plants became slightly too much before almost all of them suddenly went silent so fast it made him dizzy, all except the world tree who started to whimper.
With a huff the old man smiled, reaching down to undo the bandage on his leg. "Fine, fine, lad. I'll let it heal my le—" was as far as he got before a pressure seemed to fall over them and a mix of howls and screeches rang out from the distance, cutting the old man off and making them both freeze. The look of fear that seemed to grip the old man caused alarm bells to sound in his mind, clearing away the dizziness and feeding into worry and concern.
"Old man?" He whispered. "What's going on?" He quietly demanded, feeling his blood run as cold as ice. The plants still silent, only the world tree's whimpers filling his mind, but clearly noticing their reactions, how they were actively preparing for something he could now feel in the air.
The spike bushes bristled, their thorns extending while the vines began to act erratically, twisting and knotting over themselves with flowers raised. The newly grown shadow berry vines had let go of his wrist and seemed to be coiling tighter into themselves, becoming a large, solid mass of green and black. Even the cloud tree had begun to let out a faint mist as it shook its large leaves, the mist falling like snow and spreading out across the ground, slowly growing thicker and higher.
"Shadow berry vine." The old man ordered, his voice firm as he looked at them. "I need you to jab the lad with a black-tipped root and pump enough 'sleep aid' into him to knock him out. You!" He shouted as he turned to the side. "Hungering vines! Grab him and put him inside, then seal that damn hut! The window, the door, and everything! Ensure you tangle it up so tightly that not even light can get in!" The old man barked before limping towards the side and picking up a rusted sword with bits of dirt clinging to it.
"Old man!" Chris shouted in panic. "What the f—" That was as far as he got before a root wrapped around his leg and jabbed its tip into him, causing a hiss of pain to escape his lips. His vision blurring as he began to wobble and fall to his hands and knees, the world around him spinning. "Wha, old man… Why?" were the last words to escape him as consciousness left him.
The strangle vines stretched out and wrapped around him before gently dragging him to the hut and laying him on the bed before doing as the old man instructed them, tightly wrapping themselves around the hut. If Chris was conscious, he would hear their voices calling for the feast to come, their dual voices giving the impression of watering mouths.
At his side a small root broke through the surface of the ground, rising steadily before lightly wrapping around his hand, the small world tree's voice apologizing through crying sobs even while knowing he couldn't hear it.
Outside, the old man watched as a blackness seemed to spread across from the direction of the dungeon, consuming the blue sky as a massive dust cloud approached, visible even from such a distance.
"Sorry, lad. It seems you will need to replace me far sooner than expected." He whispered with clear regret. "As much of a mess as you have created, you also gave this old man hope that he hasn't felt in so many years." He continued, a few tears pricking at the edges of his eyes. "A hope that this ruined land will one day become green and fertile, becoming a safe haven rather than a place of exile." He said softly as the pressure in the air continued to grow, his wounded leg giving out and forcing him to take a knee as the blackness crept closer. Yet the determination in his eyes burned fiercely as he tried to force himself back up.