Strange grey fire envelops me and the girls, coating us and lifting me up into the air. It coalesces behind me, and I hear gasps from both Elyra and Vespera when they look at me. Linking with their senses, I can see why they are surprised. Not only am I not dead, which is surely a good thing, but the roaring grey flames are forming two sets of wings behind my back, the grey streaked with red and black smoky streaks, and radiant yellow lines and circles.
That's not all. There are horns on my head, a halo right above it, a tail whipping at the air behind me, and other features that look too blurry to discern. My eyes glow.
"He is…" Elyra says, transfixed. She tries to speak, but words fail to leave her mouth.
Vespera is equally stunned, staring at me with longing and desire and awe and a whirl of emotions I can barely decode.
I don't it distract me, because I know that whatever this strange state is, it's only temporary. The skill that granted me this is gone, which means I won't get another chance. I'll reflect later on the fact that I am about to use the System to mess with its own source; for now, I simply grab the root still jutting from my body and squeeze.
The grey fire crawls up the root towards the others, quickly spreading until all of the room is engulfed in flames that burn without heat.
Calyx screams, clutching his head in pain and falling to his knees. His eyes turn from emerald to blood red, and all the roots in the room begin to flail around, writhing like a mass of oversized worms. Some of them take notice of us, even as the ground shudders and shakes because of the tree's agony.
They shoot towards us, seeking to end the source of the threat and pain, but the girls shield me. Vespera is surrounded with black fire, and behind her back are two fiery wings the color of blood. Elyra is burning with righteous yellow and azure flames empowering her own wings with the perfect lines of her magic.
They intercept the first wave of roots with ease, then the second. They smile in unison, turning towards me and blowing me a kiss before holding hands and entwining their fingers. Their flames join and fuse where they touch, and then they take off towards the roots, plunging their hands into the biggest one they can see.
The grey fire already burning the tree intensifies, and Calyx writhes on the ground in pain. The girls don't remove their hands, and neither do I let go of the root I'm infecting with the fire, not even when I start to feel the effect of the skill lessen.
"We need to join," Vespera says. "Or the fire is going to die and then we die."
I run towards them, pulling them close while they still attack the tree. It's a strange sight, like a group hug of strange tree-huggers placing their palms on a tree's roots. But the intention is anything but pacific. The fire redoubles in strength, and we push it outwards to burn the roots—
"Wait!" Calyx screams. "The tree surrenders!"
I turn around, burning with rage. "Too late, fucker," I say.
"NO!" the dryad pleads, speaking quickly. "It submits to your will, completely. May the System be witness, it acknowledges you as its master and submits to be your slave! Under no condition save for death will it ever be free again, not even should you choose to free it, may its very existence burn up in the very flames of your rage!"
You have gained a new slave.
We grit our teeth. We almost don't want to stop. But we all feel the new connection snap into place. From us, from our bond, it branches outwards like a line that veers off into the distance and that's very different from what connects us together. It touches the tree, and by extension Calyx. It's true they are under our control. Not just mine, but ours.
"Stand down," Elyra orders, and the roots obey. She looks at Vespera. "The tree is not a threat anymore."
The demon's jaw is so tight her teeth almost crack. "It attacked Sol. Were it not for the skill, he would be dead now!"
"Yes," the angel says. "It did, but we had the skill and now the tree is completely at our mercy. I think we should keep it alive; we need it. But it is a decision we need to take together."
The demon looks at her then at me. "Sol?"
"Elyra is right and you know it," I say. "I want to burn this fucker as much as you do but…"
I look at Calyx and then at the tunnel leading back to the demonic core room where Zery is waiting for us, still bound to her chains and connected to the circuits like a battery.
"…we have other priorities."
There's no need for words when we can read each other's minds. Vespera lets go with a snarl, and we follow suit. The fire enveloping the roots disappears in a fraction of a second, plunging the room in darkness and silence.
The burning of our magic lights up the room, casting long shadows. Calyx's eyes are back to their dull green, and his mouth is slightly open. Tear trails shine with reflected light.
"Thank you," he quivers. "We thank you, Sol and Elyra and Vespera Nightguard, for choosing to spare us."
"This is not over," the demon snaps.
I echo her. "That's right. This is far from over. For now," I say. "We need to protect the room and free Zery. Can the tree do that?"
"It can do the first thing, but not the second," the dryad says.
"Can it not draw power from the dragon?" Elyra asks. The magic around us is waning.
Calyx grimaces. "It… cannot. You need to free her if you want to be sure. However, as long as the demonic core has charge, it will be the primary power input and the girl will not be harmed."
Vespera punches a wall, borrowing my Strength and shattering the concrete. Her flames lick at it, leaving singe and scorch marks. "What good does it even do to drain her? She's so weak she barely even has magic anymore."
"The tree feels nothing but sorrow for her. The System that has been built and imposed upon it—"
"Fuck you," I roar. "You and your excuses. Your programming is dead now, you do what we say."
Vespera looks at me with bright, wet eyes. I feel her love and admiration, and her relief? I follow the feeling and realize that she's been scared for a while. Why? Of what? I dig deeper and realize that she was scared her reaction was out of line, that she was messing things up.
I thought we had sorted this out already.
I think loudly, knowing that she can hear me. I make sure she understands that I accept her! For who she is. The good and the bad. I love her!
She almost breaks down in tears, but now is not the moment.
"It is not a matter of programming, is it?" Elyra asks. She too is emotional right now, having shared the moment with us and knowing that she's not an observer but part of this. Still, she manages to control her breathing.
"It is not," Calyx says somberly. He is forcing himself to be stoic because of the tree, but his mask is cracking. "The tree has no control over it."
"Wait, SOL!" Vespera yells as her eyes widen. "We are still burning. You are still surrounded by grey fire! You are still in Nephilim mode or whatever!"
The moment she says it, it's as if my control over it slips. Urgency fills me, and I barrel down the tunnel. The girls follow quickly, Elyra using her wings and burning through crazy amounts of magic to accelerate herself to my speed, Vespera doing the same with her temporary wings of black fire.
When we arrive, Zery is crying. Her eyes widen at the sight of us, confused and not understanding what is going on. We ignore her, and I rush to the chains and summon my sword. I strike as hard as I can, throwing caution to the wind. The grey flames jump onto the blade, licking at the chains, and the collision releases an enormous shockwave that reverberates through the room and sends most of the stuff tumbling and flying.
The computers and screens shatter on the ground or against the walls, throwing fits of sparks. As the shockwave clears, I look up. The chains are still there, still holding her in place.
I scream in rage and frustration, feeling two sets of hands gently touching my back. The grey fire has retreated, and I am back to being my normal, fucking useless self. Even with the fire—
"She has been disconnected," Calyx's voice comes from the corridor. He is panting, out of breath.
I look at Zery. The chains binding her in place are still there. "Really?"
"From the mana circuits, yes. You damaged them beyond their ability to self-repair," the dryad tells me.
"She's still stuck though," I counter.
Right then, someone bangs on the outside door. That's when we realize that the sound of skitterpedes has been replaced by muffled voices. The banging continue, then silence, and then a much louder crash.
"They are trying to tear down the door," Elyra says in alarm.
"Calyx, tell the tree to surround the room with its shield," I say.
"How wide?" he asks.
"Can it go beyond the bend in the tunnel?"
"Yes, but it will cost a lot of energy."
"How much does the core have?"
"Enough for a few hours. The shield was never intended—"
"What will happen to the people inside?"
"Usually, I would be compelled to ask them the riddle. Now that I am your slave together with the tree, I do not know. However, the riddle is part of the System's defenses. I doubt it will have gone away."
"So they will die. Well, fuck…" I trail off. The banging continues, and the door actually starts to bend. They are using magic against it, and it's holding for now. If anything, it's a testament to how sturdy it is, but it also means it won't last for long.
I need to make a decision. I am struggling, so I turn to the girls for help. Unlike me, they don't even see the moral dilemma.
Just kill them all, they both say with the equivalent of a mental shrug.
Sometimes I forget we come from very different backgrounds, different lives. But then again, I have no allegiance to these people. They are all monsters and slavers and fucking rapists anyway. If everyone beyond the bend of the tunnel dies, and a shield springs up with a dryad and his riddles…
"Just beyond the door," I say. "Don't kill them yet."
"If they attack the shield, the draw will increase," Calyx warns me.
"I know. Can you take monster cores to replenish the demonic core?" I ask.
Calyx nods.
"Then do as I say."
He closes his eyes, and the banging stops. Not even a minute passes before one of the adventurers—er, workers—tries to pierce the shield. He attacks, and the demonic core dims a little, and the Green in the tubes bubbles.
Then, Calyx's eyes widen. "He touched the shield. It counts as if he's inside."
"I guess now we'll know what happens," Vespera says. "Do you feel compulsions, plant guy?"
"Yes, but," he begins, frowning. "The slave bond is more powerful. You can order me to not go, and I will not. How strange. Even the tree is stumped."
Vespera laughs and even Zery giggles. "Did you just make a joke?" the demon asks.
Calyx is wearing the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face. "Yes! I think I did. I do not even know why. I was just feeling so ecstatic. Both I and the tree might be… free!"
There's an explosion outside, and the demonic core dims some more.
"Well, not free for much longer if this keeps up," I say. "I might have spared them for now, but we can't let them come in this room. There's no telling what they might do to it. Next idiot who touches the shield, riddle him."
The dryad deflates a little, but nods. "I understand."
"I wish there was another way, man," I say. "But even with feeding cores, if we just keep the shield on passive mode they will simply keep attacking it. Eventually, its power is going to run out."
"Guys!" Elyra interrupts us. "Where is Zery?"
"What do you mean?" Vespera asks. "She was here two seconds… ago…"
She is gone. The chains dangle from the ceiling, but she's gone.