Hal watched as the massive figure of Ontrul crumbled at the stab of his blade. Several vines sank deep into the creature's soul, and not only did they grip his flesh, but his soul as well.
He and the creature fell to the ground with Hal conjuring a sea of branches that shielded both of them from death, but this was not out of the goodness of his heart; this was all so that he could see that face of utter despair he promised himself.
And like he imagined, it was priceless,
Ontrul gritted its teeth and laughed menacingly. Was defeat finally driving the helpless creature mad or something?
Hal wondered as he prepared to finally depart; he felt the power of the vine begin to fade from his sword as the bright flame he had ignited quickly burned itself to ash.
"To be defeated by a human who has not even gone through his first awakening, I am truly worthless, aren't I?"
Hal turned his head to the wounded creature's form and saw its lips slowly twist into a smile once again.
He saw the shadow attempt to leave the vessel, but the vines holding it simply could not allow it. It chuckled again before turning its sinister gaze to Hal.
"Dear scholar, I see the path you intend to walk, and that path will bring you the attention of many beings that are beyond the concept of reason. Are you really willing to encounter them?"
The question left Hal stunned but not speechless; he had an answer waiting at the tip of his tongue as if it was waiting for just this one moment.
"Of course I am, it was a choice I made long ago, though I may have forfeited the reason why I have this ambition, I still feel it, scorching my soul and begging me to continue"
Ontrul sighed as he lay on the bed forged from shattered crystal, reflecting a fleeting light onto his quickly deteriorating body as if a sea of stars acted as his final resting place.
"Well, let me give you a word of advice: don't take this victory over me as much of an accomplishment. I am but a shell of my former self, and even so, I hardly managed to devour the beings of this cave. If you must face them, then you must become like them"
Hal had been told the same thing by the Lord of Stars, so he already had such an idea in his mind; hence, he saw no reason to really give this creature's words much meaning.
"The indifference in your eyes tells me that someone else has already told you these words, so you regard it as pointless to listen to me. Maybe some forces in this world require a new concept to maintain itself against the endless conquest against it by the outer beings, such as my lord"
There was a bit of silence in which the creature's eyes lit with a sense of realisation that caused its grin to grow ever so profound.
"They haven't told you, have they?"
Its voice grew sinister, yet it was filled with some sort of elation at whatever thought ran through its mind.
"What are you talking about, spawn of fear? If you are not going to tell me, then please say it so that I may leave here immediately"
Ontrul shook its head.
"Do not worry, I will tell you, for even I find myself craving knowledge, and I would like to know the outcome of these words I will tell you"
Hal scratched his head
"But you will soon perish so sadly that curiosity will remain unquenched"
Ontrul shook his head as vines grew to cover its right eye
"You don't understand how the world of higher beings operates. Always throw reason out the window when it comes to them, for even when the Lord of Stars did not exist, knowledge and space time still did, and yet he is their concept"
Hal found the creatures words intriguing; in fact, they opened too many question in Hal's mind, if what the spawn of fear was saying was true then what is the use of higher beings anyway but also it gave insight to what he was trying to say, that even if he is not physically able to interact with anything, it doesn't mean he will not be there watching
Ontrul did not allow Hal to ask any questions as he quickly returned to their original topic
"Now, for the words that I wish to share with you are not just words but a warning of a price that must be paid to break the chains that bind you to reason and ascend as a higher being"
That was to be predicted; this world seemed to ask for a price for each time one used power; it was easy to ignore, but it was there
Simple requirements that one needed to fulfil to get access to the power they have to use, so most likely conclusion was that as you went up the ladder of ascension and got closer to that edge of divinity, so did the price you had to pay, but what could be the price to pay in this scenario
"Your mind is grinding serious gears, I can hear it from here, but I will give you the answer you seek. To be a concept means not just to embody but to become its very nature, determine what does and what does not happen and what is and what is not"
"The entire world's laws and all it is depend on the raise of these beings but the human heart no the concept of humanity simply cannot bear this role, for it is clouded with useless emotions that determine their action and the human mind is too frail hence to step into such a role you must leave that humanity at the door step and become something that is not human"
Ontrul smiled at Hal's reaction to his words, and as he did, more vines began to erupt from his body as they slowly made their way to the centre.
"You lie, I have met the Lord of Stars and his apprentice, and they looked pretty human to me, plus look at yourself, you were brimming with emotion even up to now and yet you claimed to be a spectre of one such being, plus they too have desires, don't they, and aren't desires caused by emotion?"
"You surely misunderstand, emotion has nothing to do with it, for even concepts have emotion, but their emotion is not the emotion of man, it does not even come close, the emotions, thoughts and intentions of these beings aren't as shallow as you may believe, but work to promote their nature, but there is truth in some of your words"
Ontrul reached into his fur and extracted a necklace that sparkled with silver light upon extraction.
"Huh, its light is fading, so I am really destined for death, either let's continue with our talk, though your human nature is gone, your memories persist, hence these beings remain with the ability to mimic human emotion, but do not be swayed, for it is nothing but a façade made to trick the minds of mortals like you"
Ontrul strained as the vines grew more rapidly and converged at the centre to form a tree that began to grow upwards.
"All I have to say as I draw my last breath is ask you, are you willing to make the same sacrifice?"
And with those words, Ontrul was devoured by the vines and the necklace he held absorbed as the tree grew upwards, losing its glow as it went.
The tree penetrated through the cave and came under the embrace of the sun that shone down at Hal.
He basked in its grace, before turning to head for the door, he picked up part of the bear's leathery tail and proceeded to the next door with a few words, leaving his lips.
"My fate is already set in stone. As long as this desire burns in my soul, I am forced to be its slave and pay any price it requires