There were no further attacks that night, rather strange crow like creatures cawing as they circled overhead, picking at the bodies laying a bit away from the walls, the various plants doing what they could to get themselves back to their peak, the spike clusters and bushes even using the crow creatures to have the bits of flesh cleaned off them. As the sun slowly began to peak over the horizon the little world tree told him how the core was settling down and growing silent.
Chris just nodded slowly, allowing the root to sliding off his wrist and retreating into the dirt as he stood up. "For now, it's quiet but we need to deal with it before tonight" he said softly. "It'll start again tonight if we don't, possibly worse." The medical grass couldn't help but make a snide remark, clearly having heard him and telling him how even an idiot cell tell that, how it was unlikely either would stop till they got what they wanted.
He didn't have an answer for that. He was well aware of that fact but still wasn't sure if returning the core would be a solution or lead to their doom. So instead, he stretched the stiffness from his shoulders, and began to walk around to inspect the damage, making a mental note to grow some plants that could generate light to illuminate the village at night, a desperate attempt to distract himself.
The gate was still broken but it was clear the bamboo had been doing what they could to fix it, new sprouts already steadily pushing through the ground behind the old poles well the broken ones began to slowly continue growing fresh shoots inside there broken stems, he didn't need to hear them to know they were planning to create a gate consisting of multiple layers rather than the single one it was before. He stared at the splintered bamboo bits still scattered across the ground where the Minotaur had breached before looking back across the rest of the village, noting how it looked almost peaceful in the morning light, surprised by the lack of damage.
Sera soon made her way over, her gaze somewhat distant as she stood next to him. "There trying to ensure something like last night doesn't happen again," Chris said softly earning a nod in response. "Your plants are faster at rebuilding than even the most skilled craftsmen."
Her remark caused a weak smile to form on Chris's face as he watched the shoots slowly climb, remembering how the monstrous bronze bamboo had bent and squashed the bug rather than having the Ancient Ent use it like it had constantly been wanting, being told how it wanted a long fight and not wasted on something like that, speaking of which the way the Ancient Ent had conducted the battle like a symphony and beautiful. "It's because they're learning."
"No, it's more than that, they're adapting." Sera's voice was flat, but there was something underneath it. A measure of respect mixed with concern. "There's a big difference between the two. Adaptation implies choice. Learning implies intent. Your plants are making decisions, Chris rather than just listening to orders or copying actions, last night they proved that."
He didn't know what to say to that. The little world tree had told him the plants were trying to protect him and where learning and doing what they could, that they'd do anything to keep him safe. But hearing it from Sera and it fully settled in what that meant. Choice rather than instinct, would they have been so inclined to protect him if he wasn't the one who grew them? What if he made them mad or whatever the core or what wanted got to them? That thought made something cold settle in his chest.
"You're thinking about the core again," she said.
Chris let out a sigh. "I'm thinking about what happens if we keep it here and it starts effecting my plants, or if what its calling to does something to them. I also spent a lot of time thinking about what could happen if we try to destroy it, along with what could happen if we take it back." He looked at her. "Honestly? I don't know which option is worse, and I want the choice made before tonight, I don't want another attack like what we just dealt with, or something worse."
They spent the rest of the morning repairing what they could, trading ideas back and forth on how to handle the core without really settling on any solid idea. The world tree whispered to him how the sad girl was scared, how she was trying to put on a brave face.
He glanced at Sera, who was now currently stripping chitin from one of the spider-thing's leg's that had broken off from the blow, something left behind that the strangle vines hadn't taken. If she really was scared, she was hiding it damn well.
"She can hear you, you know," he murmured softly from his spot, working some soil to try and smother a blood stain. "Or at least feel what you're putting out. Your intent?" It just replied that it knew, and that was why it was telling him, that little remark almost made him smile.
It was midday when the cloud tree's mist thickened without warning, they had yet to fully agree on what to do regarding the core. Looking up from the hybrid patch he was working, once more disappointed at no new growth as he heard the world tree tell him about someone coming from the south.
Sera was already at the gate when he got there, her sword drawn already drawn and body tense. "Something's coming." She said simply. "I know. It's why I came over." He replied, his own grip on his staff tightening ever so slightly.
They stood together and watched as the mist slowly began to part. The strangle vines had risen from their hut, their needle-flowers tracking the same direction with interest. The bamboo shoots had stopped growing for a brief moment, their stalks humming with a low, metallic tension as they bristled, they weren't properly grown just yet but where more than willing to do what they could.
The figure that emerged from the mist wasn't what he expected.
They walked slowly, deliberately, each step clearly measured. They were tall, taller than any one Chris had ever seen with shoulders that seemed to fill the space between the Ents wearing black armor that covered it from neck to foot, scarred with gouges and cuts that had seemed to show signs of repair. A sword hung at its hip, longer than Chris's staff, just as black as the armor. Its hilt wrapped in leather so dark it looked wet.
He wasn't young but also wasn't old. Somehow seemingly being something in between, the kind of face that had seen too much to be anything but what it was. His skin was pale, almost gray and stretched over sharp cheekbones and a jaw that looked like it had been broken and set more than once. His dark hair was cropped short and streaked with white at the temples. His eyes a deep red seemingly examining them both. A demon. Or something close enough Chris realized.
The figure stopped at the gate, its gaze moving off them and across the village. Taking in the Ent wall. The bamboo shoots and even the strangle vines with their needle-flowers raised and visible in the air.
Then those red eyes found Chris once more and didn't look away. For a brief moment, Chris felt like he was being weighed on scales he didn't understand making him tense up.
"So," the figure said. Its voice was low, rough, scraped raw by years of use. "You're the one."
Before he could ask what, he meant Sera stepped forward, her sword coming up. As she growled the name "Korr."