A hushed groan broke the silence of the hut as Chris began to stir; his body ached and his head was pounding for reasons other than the plants talking. It was then that he noticed the small root that had wrapped itself around his hand and heard the sound of the world tree in his mind, its innocent voice sounding heavy and somber as it asked if he was feeling any better.
"I'm really annoyed, but physically? I think I'm okay." He said with some mild irritation and confusion as he looked around. "That sleeping property of the shadow vines really is something, but the aftereffect is rather unpleasant; the old man really has a lot of explaining to do for pulling something like that." He continued, getting up with mild difficulty before lightly patting the world tree's root as it unwound from his hand.
It was then that he noticed how dark the room seemed, only a few beams of light shining through vines covering the window, along with the strange fact that the world tree was the only plant that spoke to him.
Memories of what happened slowly began to trickle back: the strange way the sky turned black, the old man's reaction to it, and the dust cloud that had been slowly forming and moving towards them. It caused worry to slowly build inside him.
"Damn it." He muttered softly before turning to the small tree. "What the hell happened!" He demanded with hints of panic, only for it to go silent, its leaves bristling in nervousness but it remained silent.
Seeing its refusal to answer, he huffed in a mix of anger and growing worry before making his way to the door, all but ripping it open only to find a wall of vines similar to the window. It showed he was entirely closed in and locked inside the hut by thick vines and only made his dread grow.
"Move it! Open the hell up." He ordered the vines; their voices, usually smooth and velvety, came out slightly harsher and more jaded than normal with an edge that worried him as they warned him about 'horrid red and bits' being outside. What was worse was that not a single time did they mention being hungry, not even a soft whisper expressing their desire for food or commenting on 'the taste' of the various beasts they had no doubt devoured already.
Slowly they began to pull back, slithering ever so slightly and shifting until the entrance was once more open, allowing him to see the red-stained ground, the various bits of meat scattered around, and the smashed head of what he could barely make out as that of a minotaur, its features frozen in pain and fear, held tightly by one of the vines. He found himself forced to watch as it seemed to lift it with extreme care before slamming it onto the ground. He wanted to look away but couldn't do so easily. He could hear the faint whisper of the vines saying 'die' as the head impacted upon the ground before doing so again.
He finally managed to turn away from the sight, trying to find something else to focus on, only to fully see the destruction and carnage around him. The vast amounts of blood spattered across the ground along with the numerous wolf and dog bodies littered across the area, torn bits of meat and various parts of what he could barely make out as minotaurs and birds spoke of a hard-fought battle.
He felt his stomach turn but managed to keep his composure, if barely, as his gaze landed on the pair of cacti. They stood proudly but with slight scratches across their forms, and upon feeling his gaze on them they seemed to stand slightly taller, trying to puff themselves up and show their 'scars' as marks of pride.
Realization of who was missing sat like a weight in his gut, feeding his steadily growing dread. "No, no, no, no, this can't be happening. Old man, this isn't funny!" He shouted as he fell into a sprint towards where they planted the shadow vine berry bush. Doing his best to ignore the gore around him.
He noticed the spike bushes huddled together into a thorny dome, having pressed tightly together as a means of defense, but it caused his heart to sink and his blood to go cold as ice from dread.
Slowly he watched the spike bush part for him as he approached, allowing him to see the old man's bloodied and broken body. He couldn't stop the tears from falling as he fell to his knees next to him.
"It's a joke; just some sick joke or illusion or something." He said softly in denial. "You can't be dead. You're just injured or, or in a death-like state! You're just hurt and passed out or something, that's all! Shadow vines, I need your help here; the old man needs some sap and leaves to heal him up and pull whatever poison caused this out of him." He said desperately, trying to deny the reality in front of him.
The spike bushes spoke first, giving a stream of apologies, soon followed by the shadow berries, who told him they can't bring back the dead. That they can only heal, and that even if they tried, they can't cross the boundaries.
He didn't say anything after that; he wasn't even sure how much time had passed as he knelt next to the old man's body. The various plants tried what they could to snap him out of it, but nothing seemed to work. Not until the spike bushes began to speak of the old man's last words, his hopes, and what he hoped Chris would accomplish.
Without a word, Chris slowly went over to the body and picked up the sword lying at his side, noting how smooth and clean it looked before trying to use it to dig, only for it to shatter as he pressed it into the ground. His gaze lingered on it for a few brief moments in silence. Mentally comparing it to the old man and how it too was now at rest.