"Dad... MY DAD?"
Oliver's face dropped in total shock. This place might be magical, but bringing people back to life? That wasn't possible. Unless he never really...
"You just gonna stare at me or are you gonna come give your old man a hug?"
The voice was identical... The accent perfect... It was him!
Oliver started running straight at him, and he did something he had never done in his entire life. He hugged his father.
"I'm sorry, Dad! I... I failed! I messed up everything you taught me! I should've followed your orders and joined the army. Instead... I chased the stupid dream of being a world champion in some video game! Forgive me, Dad!"
Oliver broke down. He hadn't felt his father's powerful presence in nearly a year. It might not sound like much, but for someone who always lived under the safe rule of his guardian, it felt like centuries had passed.
Tears streamed down his bloody face, and for several seconds, he felt like the safest child in the world. The nightmare was over. His dad was here. He always fixed everything and did it perfectly. A powerful army officer. He'd know how to save everyone. Oliver could finally rest...
"HMMMMMMM!"
A muffled scream hit his ears, and Oliver saw Aline waking up, tangled in the vines that bound her. Her face twisted in panic, thrashing wildly like she was trying to say something.
"Dad, why are my friends tied up?" Oliver asked, already terrified of the answer.
"Oh... They're not your friends, my little flame," his voice was strong, but carried a warmth and affection Oliver had never received from his real father.
"What do you mean? I know they are, Dad... They're my... my team!" Oliver had to gather every ounce of strength to say it out loud. And for a few seconds, he saw David's eyes, just waking up, filled with shock.
"Here, I'll show you..."
His father moved his hands, and the branches of the trees began shifting on their own. A few rays of sunlight broke through the now open canopy and what came next made Oliver's mind explode in understanding.
The sunlight started revealing their true forms. A mist peeled away from around them, and their appearance changed. They all wore dark clothes, and their faces were hidden in shadow. They looked exactly like the four men who had attacked Oliver the day before.
"The darkness... This whole time, some kind of magic's been altering how we looked inside the forest... Not just looks, but our gestures, our voices. All this time, we were killing each other... I'm a murderer..."
Oliver's world collapsed again. He couldn't even count how many times everything had flipped upside down. He'd failed his father again.
The man who taught him to be strong and protect his own. Not to be a hero, but just to protect those who deserve it. Like a lion guarding his pride.
"Don't worry. They'll be eliminated just by being there. We don't need to get our hands dirty or cause more trauma, my son."
Those words... They sounded just like his father's. But they were filled with so much love... A kind of affection Oliver had never felt. A level of protection he'd never known. He always trusted his dad, but now... now it felt like he wanted to worship him.
"But Dad... I killed those creatures in the forest... That means I was killing my friends. I took innocent lives... I didn't want to..." Oliver's voice cracked under more tears. It hurt, realizing it his team had been killed by his own hands.
"You couldn't have known, my son. I'm sure you did your best. None of your friends would blame you for this. Your mom's waiting for us, isn't she? It was all for our return. And I'm so proud of the man you've become. From a failed nerd... to a true warrior. You make me proud, Oliver."
"Proud?..." Oliver's hyper-alert mind processed that word slowly, almost like it was caught in fog.
His father placed a hand on his shoulder, as Oliver kept his head bowed. His eyes rose toward the sky and a huge smile grew on his face.
"Now, let's go home. I've missed your mother so much. She must've missed me and you. I'm sure we'll—"
Cough–Cough
His words caught mid-sentence. Oliver didn't need to look to know the pure shock in the eyes of his tied-up friends. His expression turned cold and his mind was clearer than ever.
A pompous throne. A trap obviously laid in the grove.
The coordinated attack of four men.
Their bodies vanishing.
They didn't vanish... They became roots and branches. Or better, they went back to what they always were.
Not a drop of blood was spilled in that fight, except Oliver's.
All the pieces clicked into place and his thoughts went even further. When Miguel collapsed in that earlier fight, they were in the roots' shadow. And the "monster"? It stood in the sunlight.
When Oliver fought in the grove, the magic dust was filled with floating light. When he faced the four men, it was in the middle of a sunlit clearing and still within the forest. When he woke up, the sun was about to rise.
They were never ambushed by humanoid creatures at night. It was always peaceful. Oliver dared to think even the snakes never attacked them...
IT'S ALL BEEN A FUCKING MANIPULATION!
His father's hand dropped from his shoulder. When Oliver raised his eyes, he saw it.
The bloodstained fang, stabbed right into the man's chest.
He had stabbed his father in the heart, but not a single drop of blood spilled.
"Hugs, sweet words, and in the end... If I had really failed, my dad would never let it slide without beating the crap out of me.
A beating I'd remember for the rest of my life. He would never... never... say he was proud of me," Oliver's voice was harsh and hoarse. Pure rage poured from every word.
"YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER!"