The memory and images of the man with body runes and a great war axe faded at that point. Then another centered around a spherical standing mirror took it's place. The mirror which was situated in the room of a young female of a bi - pedal specie was ordinary in every sense of the word, serving only for fashion related purposes. The room was situated on the highest parts of the castle and had one window without any cover, save for a curtain made from a certain silk like material.
Suddenly everything in the vision grew dark as thick, obsidian-black storm clouds covered the once bright green skies. Lightning bolts so thick that they would put an oak tree's stem to shame rumbled in the dark clouds. Then, instead of a downpour of rain, the first bolt of lightning made landfall accompanied by a terrible thunder. Then another lightning bolt struck which was followed immediately by another, and another and another and another until thousands of lightning bolts and more were making landfall per second. The number of lightning bolts making landfall each second continued to increase along with the sounds of thunder. At one the thunder grew to a point that Mike could no longer hear them anymore. Even then, the lightning bolts making landfall per second continued to increase. Mike could tell as the light from them grew by the second until it filled everything he could see. When the light faded, it was ruin everywhere. The castle, as well as everything in and around it had been reduced to rubble and ruin. All the occupants of the castle, as well as every living thing that drew breath which was in the lightning storm's area of influence lay dead, the only evidence of their existence being their scattered , charred remains which was strewn everywhere by the force of the lightning bolts that killed them.
Only the standing spherical mirror remained unscathed, untouched by the violence of the storm as though protected by a potent, unseen force. It stood atop the ruins of the castle as though declaring it's 'survival' for all to see. The legend of the mirror that survived the cursed storm grew. It spread far and wide drawing a lot of people to it. Mike watched as all who looked at it's polished surface never remained the same, their mind taken over by some unseen influence.
Then the memory faded.....
Mike in his state of semi consciousness, bordering true death, watched on as the flashes of memories not his own registered in his mind with him being powerless to do anything to stop it.
.....Another memory rose in it's place.
A seed from it's parent tree, ripe and ready fell onto the forest floor. However, before it landed, it's very nature became twisted? Malevolent? After landing, it spent it's time waiting for the right moment to grow. Creatures that subsisted on matter found on the forest floor fled in fright, forever losing their sanity when they came too close to the seed. The seed sprouted the moment it's parent tree died. From that moment, the forest knew no peace. Creatures that looked to it lost their sanity, those who stayed near it, or gazed on it long enough where turned to trees. The trees of the forest were not spared at, as though by an unseen, malevolent force, it twisted their very nature until they became like it. Far below ground level, the root network of the sapling continued to spread, dwarfing that of even the mightiest trees in the forest in terms of area covered. The roots of the trees who were touched by it's vile influence were forced to join its root network and one by one, the trees of the forest succumbed to the malevolent influence of the sprout. The sprout grew in height and in size, conquering more of the forest with it's vile influence as it did. When it finally conquered all of the forest, it continued it's spread beyond the borders of the forest. Where there was no tree to convert, it's invading root network formed nodes from which 'Pioneer trees' grew. In such places, the trees rapidly replicated themselves until those places where filled with them. Eventually, the influence of the tree blanketed the whole planet.
But that was not the end.
By some unknown methods it viral influence appeared on another planet, then another and another. Many civilizations recognized the threat it posed to their home world and tried to stop it's advance, all to no avail. They tried to cut down any tree or any forest touched by it's vile influence. Unluckily for them, for every tree that was cut down, ten more instantly grew to replace it. Fires did not work on the forests and trees under it's vile influence either. Disembodied beings, formless beings, who were more of forces of nature, concepts and Influences than individual creatures were called to the case, only to end up as prey to the tree's vile influence, with it absorbing them into itself . Even worse was the fact that it acquired the powers of the beings unlucky enough to be absorbed by it. By the time most civilizations realized it's inevitability, it was already too late.
But it was not the end of the trees growth and expansion.
It continued to expand, claiming worlds, solar systems, star systems, galaxies and even whole universes. Beings at the peak of power could only watch helplessly as the Proliferating forest- as they had come to call it – threatened to consume everything.
Then a discovery was made by accident; any creature born under the vile influence of the Proliferating forest was immune to it's influence and would be actively protected by it. The mothers of these creatures were not spared as they were immediately turned in to trees. This discovery helped in the gradual reclamation of the areas under the influence of the Proliferating forest and with the passage of time, civilizations grew under it's forests. But it was still a threat to the rest of the universe who were not born under it's influence.
What ended it's tyranny was...….. nothing.
A certain event ripped through all reality, robbing all creatures of their memories, power and even life in some cases. The tree itself had enough weight and importance that it was allowed to keep it's life as long as it entered eternal slumber. In that state, it's in that state it's influence would neither grow nor recede and it's powers would remain dormant. The tree having gained the semblance of sapience agreed knowing it did not have a choice as it was either that or annihilation.
The tyrant had been brought to it's knees and it's spread brought to a halt by a one sided deal.
...…That was what ended it's tyranny.