"Master, something feels... off about you compared to how we remember you the last time you had visited, before we became more, I can feel it a lot clearer now." Elena observed, her voice imbued with a rare hint of concern. Behind her Dave, still ensnared in her vine's was dragged along as they navigated toward the exit. Elena's connection to her tree now manifested as a thick root snaking across the ground rather than the green vine she once had while Greeny was once more pulled close to John's side. "It reminds us of when you were emotionally hurt but also a bit physical. What has truly happened?"
Dave, who had been in deep thought at Johns words glanced at him feeling entirely lost and unsure what the plant women was talking about before turning to look at the fairy, carefully observing her as he began to ty and plan his next move and a possible way to escape. Alice though seemed to be bouncing with renewed energy, almost back to her old self yet, a closer look would reveal fleeting shadows of worry whenever her gaze settled on John, clearly Elena's words reminded her of his current injuries and how he was currently only able to move due to the chains.
"It's a soul injury, according to the fairy," John explained slowly, a wince subtly contorting his features as he decided to not bother hiding it anymore from the tree woman. "It requires special measures to heal consisting of unique plants or a long period of rest according to her. Right now, these chains you see wrapped around me are forcing my body to move and it's rather unpleasant. The best way I can describe it to you is if you were slowly being uprooted, while your roots themselves were simultaneously being pulled in every direction at the same time." He explained with a sigh, no longer trying to project a confidence he didn't fully feel. "But I'll be okay, but uhm if possible, could I get some fresh Passion flower and some Kava root? Those might offer some relief from the current pain if I use them right for some remedies."
Elena absorbed his words with a thoughtful nod. As they reached the exit, two of the childlike sprites materialized next to her before presenting him with exactly what he had requested. At the same moment, one of John's own spectral chains snaked out, wrapping around Dave well allowing Elena to reabsorb her roots as they took there place.
"So, you're going to work special plant magic to make yourself feel better? I want to watch!" Alice practically vibrated with excitement, her questions tumbling out. "Are you just going to eat the flower and root, or blend them together? Ooooh, are you going to pull out all the mystical magical mumbo jumbo stuff from them before making them wither into dust that will float into you that helps you recover?"
"I doubt it would even work," Greeny couldn't help but mutter, her voice laced with disdain. "He'll probably just taint those plants and make his soul worse. Humans always do stupid and horrible things like that."
John's jaw tightened. "And I could always give you to Alice to play with, maybe let her continue the 'game' you two where playing earlier?" he said, a sharp edge to his tone as he fixed Greeny with a stern look. "Since you don't seem to have anything important or nice to say and maybe this time I won't stop her from doing as she wants with you, like I did earlier."
"No! Please no!" Greeny yelped, shrinking back as a wicked grin spread across Alice's face.
"You know, threatening people isn't a good look; it only creates more enemies, also fairies are often good allies so it would probably be better to be on good terms rather than bad." Dave interjected, still dragged along in chains like Greeny well masking his anger as worry. "Also what do you mean a soul injury? That shouldn't even be possible for people for at least a few months from now! How long has it been since the end of the world started for plants to have already changed and soul injuries to be possible?" He demanded, a desperate hope in his tone that he hadn't landed to far in the ahead of the worlds end in this timeline.
"You don't get to demand things or answers and I don't need your opinion on how I handle things," John snapped, irritation and annoyance bubbling up that he figured was just a side effect from the persistent headache. "Besides, she deserves it. She's just as bad as those fake gods regarding her attitude toward humans. Also, it's the third day right now since the world changed, if you're counting the night things began. As for my injury, I honestly don't see why I should even bother telling you anything about it unless you have some advice on how to fix it. I mean, what's it to you? You know what? Alice, can you pass Mr. Stabby Stick to me please, I think testing it on him could help me feel a bit better?" He winced, a sudden strain across his muscles, the pain intensifying and a headache started to make his vision swim slightly and hos condition far more clear to everyone, Alice had even become far more worried and far more subdued from concern slowly handed the scythe to him without question only for her concern to deepen as she watched him lean on it before using it to steady his faltering steps as a walking stick.
"John, I really don't think you're okay," Alice finally said, her voice unusually lucid and laced with deep worry. "I think you need to rest for a bit. Maybe we should risk having Greeny try to find some kind of spirit herb or those remedy things to help you recover faster? Compared to this morning, you're looking a lot worse." He couldn't help but faintly smile, this was another side of Alice that he hadn't seen yet but caused him to feel warm inside at her concern.
"Sorry but there's no chance in hell I'll be doing that," John said with a grunt, failing completely to hide the sheer amount of pain he was in this time as his face scrunched up well taking a few moments to breathe deeply and steady himself. "The flying rat girl would probably just pull a runner or poison me, maybe even do something worse if she can. Normally I would say I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her, but I'm pretty sure I could throw her decently far, so no, just no. I'm not going to trust her and I promise you I'll be fine Alice; I just need some painkillers for the headache and two remedies from these herbs to help my muscles feel a little less painful." He said as he wobbled, a grunt of pain escaping him on occasion as they entered the kitchen where he practically collapsed onto a chair, leaning forward on the scythe for support.
"How bad is it?" Dave offered, his voice overly friendly and laced with fake concern. "I've had my fair share of soul attacks so I know a bit about them. Let me see if I can maybe help you and prove myself as an ally. Let me show you that you can trust me." Instead of the acceptance he expected the chains around him tightened slightly instead.
"You, be quiet," John ground out through gritted teeth, his breath ragged. "I will get through this myself, besides the only fucken person here I can trust is Alice, unlike you two she's shown absolutely no hostility to me."
"He pushed himself further," Greeny blurted out with wide eyes. "His soul, from what I could see when he was waking up this morning had small cuts all over it and his left arm was almost completely gone from above the elbow and just below the shoulder. Now, after pushing himself instead of recovering and resting it looks like it's slowly fraying apart from those various cuts. To put it in a way you humans would understand, it looks shredded and is still being torn apart into smaller pieces. But there's something else, some kind of red and black and other things seems to be mixing into the cuts and rips, they look like the—" Before Greeny could finish, the chains around her constricted violently, slamming her to the ground.
"I told you," John rasped, his voice taking on a dark, chilling tone that sent shivers down everyone's spine, "if you can't say anything good or helpful, keep that damn mouth shut! We don't need you fucken commentary." His head lolled forward now with only the scythe preventing him from toppling off the chair as Alice rushed to his side, trying to help prop him up. His chains, meanwhile, seemed to slither around him, acting with a malevolent will of their own as they shook and struck the ground, yet even so they didn't seem to reject Alice's touch, instead lightly touching or avoiding her. The ones binding Greeny and Dave, however, pinned them both to the ground, increasing in number as they seemed to try and press them into the floor.
"John! Come on, you can't just die on me like this!" Alice cried desperately trying to rouse him. "We have too much fun stuff we need to do! What about all the fights to come? What about your plant babies? They'd be lost without you! Oh and what about making the god people pay? Wasn't that your goal or whatever? I also need to know what you're doing to me! What various kinks have you awakened me to? What others are there still to explore! I need you even though I only recently met you idiot!"
"Well, that's an interesting remark, girly," a slick, oily voice purred, carrying an amused, condescending tone. "I'm sure they're laughing their asses off or their equivalent of one, at all of that well whooping in excitement and amusement."
Turning toward the voice, Alice drew her knife before her eyes widened at the strange sight that greeted her. By the door stood a tall, humanoid figure. His skin was a deep crimson, his eyes like shattered mirrors of black obsidian. His sleek, combed-back hair resembled grey ash but streaked with flecks of red and orange. Two large, curled horns adorned his head and a cheeky smile tugged at his lips. He was impeccably dressed in a clean white suit, a deep red tie and a black handkerchief neatly tucked into his pocket.
"And now the Devil himself has come! God damn it John, I knew you were interesting and would draw all kinds of attention but this is something else entirely!" Alice exclaimed, her wide eyes darting between John and the crimson figure. Her madness, both a coping mechanism and a part of her class chose that moment to re-emerge as it made her blurt out the first thing that came to mind. "How did you even manage this? You're somehow dying and the devil himself came to try and claim you."
"Not the devil; his too red," John barely managed to groan out as his breathing grew more ragged. "And he or Lucifer would have tried to kill me on sight or strangle me at the very least. Story for another time though, but he's not demonic. No brimstone smell and no demonic aura; he's something else." With immense difficulty, he lifted his head for a brief glimpse of the newcomer before letting it fall well clenching his eyes shut, his headache seemed to multiply tenfold just from that simple action.
"He's right little girl," the red figure asserted, his voice a low thrum that seemed to vibrate through the very air. He stepped fully into the room, his presence filling the space with an unsettling weight. "I'm not some kind of demonic entity. Though," his eyes, burning embers within his shifting form, briefly flickered, "I certainly can be, especially to those who manage to cross me. Which, as it happens, is precisely why I am here."
His gaze, a molten river of crimson, swept across the confined space, taking in the tableau of despair. Greeny and Dave lay shackled, pulled tight to the cold floor, their forms slumped in defeat as they shivered, fearing their own death and destruction was soon to come due to John and Alice. John was hunched and haggard, his face etched with a silent torment. Only Alice stood apart, remarkably intact like a serene island amidst a sea of wreckage. The red figure's focus slowly tightened on her with an undeniable clarity in his intent.
As his attention settled, the subtle and constant cracks in his appearance seemed to deepen, flowing like molten veins beneath his surface before resolving into stark lines within his eyes. White pinpricks of light ignited within the centre of each eye that burnt with an almost surgical intensity as he watched her.
"Now, tell me, "He demanded slowly, his voice dropping to a frosty whisper that seemed to steal the warmth from the room itself. A palpable anger, thick and potent dripped from every syllable. "Were you one of the people responsible for the destruction of the Giga Tanteract last night?" He held her gaze with an unyielding, hard stare as he waited for her answer.