Chapter 63: Morbius
Yggros was the first to reach the World Tree, a humongous growth in the middle of a vast space. It had countless branches and bright pink leaves that swayed with the wind.
Some of the petals had landed on the floor, forming pink flowerbeds that beautified the endless sea of green grass.
Yggros was small, not dwarf size, but she was a petite creature, brown skinned. Her body was covered in green vines and her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth were adorned in shiny golden jewelry.
Her black knotted hair ran all the way to the floor, pulling slowly behind her as she walked up to the tree.
She placed her hand on the tree bark and closed her eyes, feeling it pulse lightly through her fingers.
"Don’t worry my love, we will save you soon." She spoke in her soothing voice, one that layered perfectly over the calm breeze that blew around the tree.
"Elder! Elder! Elder!" A woman’s voice rang sharp, disrupting the serenity of the environment.
"What is it?" Yggros asked, her voice was unshaken, but her words were sharp.
"Elder!" The small woman gasped for breath, sweat covered her face, she grabbed Yggros’ arm, "T—The village has been attacked, e—everyone... Lila, Strythen..." Tears ran down her cheeks as she spoke her words with abandon. She was unable to finish her sentence before a single crimson arrow pierced through her chest, the woman’s breath was cut short in an instant.
Blood ran down through her eye sockets, replacing her tears. Life was slowly drained from her eyes as she fell to the floor.
Yggros watched in horror as the woman was unalived before her presence.
In the distance, stood a man. Not a man, a demon, with a grotesque appearance.
His skin was dark crimson and he possessed large black horns that protruded out of the sides of his head. He wore red armor all over. A single scar ran across his face, deep and extremely visible.
"Morbius!" Yggros exclaimed, putting her arms out to her side in a battle stance, the vines on her body came alive, stretching out in numbers around her.
"Yggros, my dear. You of all people should know that is useless against me." Morbius spoke, a guttural voice that rang through the entire space.
Even the tall grass cowered in fear of his presence.
He raised a single hand, thick ropes of bright orange lava sprouted out of the ground, restraining Yggros immediately.
Much as she struggled, she was unable to free herself, the demon walked up to her slowly, his gaze intimidating.
He was Morbius, the number one general of the Demon King’s army, Yggros had no idea as to why he was there and why he would attack the Treants.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Yggros said as she struggled to free herself.
Morbius stood before her now, towering over her considerably, she flinched and dodged as he tried to brush her cheek with the back his large hand.
"Still you reject me after all these years. No matter. I have come to do the Demon King’s bidding, this tree will not be saved, my master plans to use this tree to usher in a new era for this world." He said, his arms outstretched, gazing at the massive plant.
"But why? You intend to destroy the entire world to serve a lost cause?!" She yelled as the ropes tightened.
"It is not a lost cause! It is a revolution! You wouldn’t understand, you haven’t not seen the things we’ve seen, you haven’t been detested, treated as a monster your entire life. This... this is the fate of the demon race, to rule over the people who would try to spite us." Morbius snapped back.
"But you would only be proving them right, you would only be showing them that you truly are what they say you are. A monster—"
"SILENCE!" His voice tore through the air. "I did not come here to take lectures from you." He sighed, calming himself.
"Yggros, join me and I will make sure you are spared. Let’s be together again, like we once were." He continued, stretching out his arm.
Yggros looked at his outstretched arm, her expression immediately became one of disgust. She spat on his face. "You and I will never be as we once were, how dare you even suggest something so ridiculous. I will never join you. NEVER!" She screamed as her eyes turned completely white, the bright orange ropes immediately disintegrated as she released her aura.
The vines around he body instantly increased in size as she waved her arms, they shot towards Morbius.
He watched as the large vines dashed towards him but he only sighed. In a flash, he pulled out a small sickle forged from crimson metal. Their blades curved like the fangs of a beast, their edges glowing with molten runes that pulsed like a heartbeat. A weapon he called the Sickle of Pyrus.
He tore through the vines as easily as cutting pieces of paper.
Before Yggros could even see him, a heavy punch landed on her jaw, her entire body slammed furiously against the tree, causing it to pulse violently.
Before she dropped to the ground, Morbius’ hand wrapped around her neck tightly, holding her in place. She struggled to breathe, her arms flailing around helplessly as she bled from her nose and mouth.
"I hate hurting you. I hate it so much, but this is for the greater good, and if you can’t see it, then you must be erased." He spoke, his words were deep, but there was also a hint of remorse.
He held her there and watched her struggle for a few moments.
"D—don’t do t—this." She struggled to speak, slowly running out of breath.
Morbius lowered his gaze. "You’re strong, Yggros, extremely strong, but you and I know that you’ve never been able to handle conflict, you cower in the face of tribulations. That has always been the difference between you and I. You are not welcome in our new world."
Yggros eventually ran out of breath, and before long, her eyes were closed. He let go of her neck and watched as her lifeless body fell to the ground. He squatted and rubbed her cheeks. "You were always so stubborn." He said and left her there, "Now, on to the next objective."
