"So do you want to talk too?"
"..."
"Yes."
She formed in front of them. Her body was translucent, but the veil that hung over her face was blocking their perception of her face by darkness. Walking in the air, but it was more of floating to them. Stopping beside Lesser, a small smile formed. Knowingly that this may be the only time she can be seen by him.
Lesser felt her gaze on him, it was small but he felt her emotion. Happy, sad and longing.
"Good to see you again, still falling for statues."
"No, and how are you even here?"
"Why do you even ask, did you not read the memory description?"
Lesser's face turned away, out of her playful tone she was speaking with. Meanwhile the memory of Avenli's tears looking at them, her face looking like she was enjoying this. Annalee spoke again now more seriously.
"Okay, now is the time to be serious. What do you mean when you said "Kill me"?"
"It is just as I said, For you to escape this dream, I must die. But that is the easy part, the hard part is that my true form is trapped in that tree."
Lesser look at her. So all he had to do was to kill her, but she was trapped in that tree. Kill her True form. True form.
"True form?"
She took some steps back. Now she could look at both of them at the same time, smiling.
"Yes, what you see now is only the appearance of how my true body looks like. I on the other hand is just a shard. So to kill me, you must find the shard. That is trapped in the tree."
Lesser turned to Annalee, his face was compilated. And she looked back, with the same face.
Annalee was about to speak, but Lesser spoke first.
"Is my cohort also stuck in this dream realm?"
Avenli looked at them, her face had dropped the smile that was on it. She stood there, her eyes empty. After a second. she spoke.
"Yes… and they are already much better than you are."
"Damn."
"But they have not got the answer yet."
"..."
"To kill you."
Lesser eyes look at her, not moving. A smile appeared on her face. Annalee floating there. Lesser's body began to move and stopped before the [Undaying Flame], now having broken eye contact with Avenli. His voice was calm and steady, when he turned around.
"Then what is the plan then?"
***
Lesser was looking out of his chest, the Souldream Tree was getting closer to him. He leaped out of the chest and began to swim. He swam to the closest mess of trees. Floating behind him was [Undaying Flame]. Getting closer to land he turned his head and saw that the Souldream Tree was still some distance away.
Tacking his first step on land, in his hands was the [Undaying Flame], a small smile creeped up. He then threw it at the trees and ran away to the right. The Souldream Tree was getting closer to land. The Spell whispered its melody.
[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Tree Spawn of Corruption.]
[You have received a Memory: Corrupt Seed.]
[You have slain an Awakened Beast: Tree Spawn of Madness.]
[You have received a Memory: Mind Seed]
[You have slain an …]
[You have received a Memory]
[You have slain an …]
[You have received a Memory]
[You have slain an …]
[You have received a Memory]
[You have slain an …]
[You have received a Memory]
He heard madness speak. Her voice sounded happy.
"Finally, go and kill. FIGHT, MURDER!"
He ran. and then jumped into the lake again. Swimming to the [Tears of Home], that was slowly swimming to him. He turned to look around and saw the Souldream Tree was hunting him again. Now faster. Tacking a deep breath and diving down. He didn't open his eyes, not wanting to trigger what was down in the lake. Avenli had told him about a Fallen Devil that was sleeping in the lake. Fachter down he got the easily it was him to decade down. But the more he got down in the lake the more tired he felt. The first thing to touch him was the roots of the Souldream Tree. But they did not pierce him. It only cut his hand, but it was enough to attract the Fallen Devil to the Souldream Tree.
"GAAAAAAAR!!!!!"
A strong current sends Lesser flying up to the surfest. Bubbles formed from the fallen devil, and the Souldream Tree notices. Its roots withdrew fast, but it was too late for that. As a giant turtle flies at the Souldream Tree. Its shell was red in color and was spiky all over. Its face looked like a crown, three horns were striking out and were black in color. But it was what Lesser saw that gave him fear. Now in its mouth of the fallen devil was the Souldream Tree. He swam faster to the land.
[You have slain an …]
[You have received a Memory]
[You have slain an …]
[You have received a Memory]
When Lesser got to land he was exhausted. He fell to the ground, water was dripping down from his heir. His breach was heavy, his lungs were on fire. And his body was feeling the corruption slowly spreading. Cold on the outside, burning on the insides and corruption slowly changing him.
[You have slain an …]
[You have received a Memory]
Now standing, he looks back. There was no hill with a tree on it and no fallen devil fighting. But a stump moved on land on its way to kill him, and in the lake the turtle was moving to him faster. Around the lake were many pieces of the Souldream tree floating. Lesser felt fear from this, but on his face was a smile. The spell never stops whispering.
[You have slain an …]
[You have received a Memory]
[You have slain an …]
[You have received a Memory]
The flames were spreading on the trees. Lesser was standing looking. It was a race between the fallen devil and the Souldream tree on who could kill him first. And the fallen devil was faster. Flying out of the lake and landing on leaves. Its mouth opened to crush Lesser, but it only dropped dead. And a smile did not falter.
[Your Memory had been destroyed.]
[You have slain an …]
[You have received a Memory]
[Your Memory had been destroyed.]
[Your Memory had been destroyed.]
[You have slain an …]
[You have received a Memory]
[Your Memory had been destroyed.]
[Your Memory had been destroyed.]
[...]
[...]
[...]
Lesser had summoned all the [Mind Seed] and [Soul Seed] memories that were being collected by him. He had placed them on the ground before the fallen devil and landed, and now he would get the prize.
[You have slain an Fallen Devil: Dreed Lunar Howler.]
[Your existence grows stronger.]
[You have slain an …]
[You have received a Memory]
"What?"
The Spell had never spoken like that before. And so Lesser's mind felt shocked, but he did not have time to absorb that info as the Souldream tree was now on him. It was attacked with its roots. He moved to the right. Awarding the first attack and then the second, then the third. On the fourth the roots stopped mid attack. Stopping right in front of Lesser's face. The Souldream tree was standing there. Like it had lost its target, and it had.
Lesser was standing there with one of the Soudream trees roots mid between his eyes. His breath was not leaving. Eyes unfocus. He had stopped thinking. Standing there for how long. The Souldream tree had stopped because it had lost the soul core it was targeting, it couldn't see him. It could only follow his soul core and the shaking of the ground. and Lesser did not know any of this. Avenli of Tears did not know this either.
They stood there unmoving, unfocused and then it move. Not fast, like it did not want to be noticed. In the background the Sun was rising up on the horizon. And Lesser felt warmth, but cold at the same time. His mind began to think. 'Why is the sun coming up?' Avenli had told him that it was only night time here in the dream. But Lesser did not miss the timing. Launching himself forward, and stabbing the Souldream tree stump in the midden.
The [Stalwart Chisel] were flames. Because Lesser was on fire. When Lesser had launched himself on the stump, his body had inflamed itself. Pain of burning was running in him, but the attack on the Souldream tree had succeeded. But he was burning faster than the tree.
Standing over him was Avenli. She was smiling, but tears were falling.
"Thank you."
Lesser wanted to speak.
"Don't try speaking. I know how it felt to talk like that."
"I must tell you. You trust people too easily. But thanks to that, I… I can now take back the power of this dream."
She walked to the stump that was on flames. Her smile was not leaving, and her tears didn't either.
"I needed this and that fallen devil weakened for my power to shine, literally. The Fallen devil spawned the moons blocking the sun from rising. Hahahah!"
Standing there, she moved her essence ready to attack. But she stopped and turned back to the burned body of Lesser.
"What did you–"
She began coughing heavily. And by Lesser body sparks began to appear. Slowly they formed into a Jar. Lesser's arm moved up and tinted the jar on its side, letting all the liquid fall on him. And clouds had formed.
"How– chgu. How are you still alive?"
Lesser's body began to stand. Turning to look at her. A Smile was her first thought.
"Aa… Did I not tell you what my flaw did?"
"What does that matter?"
"Easly. It made me realize you were lying to me. About being trapped by the tree and about your true form."
She looked at him with a shock face.
"Oh my, If you know that i was lying, then why did you follow the plan then?"
Lesser smiled back at her, his body was healed. His heir was gone, but his body was fully healed. He resumed his memories, which were dismissed when he was set on fire. And the voice of the spell whispered, sounding amused.
[You have slain an Awakened Tyrant: Souldream Tree.]
[Your existence grows stronger.]
[You have received a Memory: Heartful Dream]
[Your Memory had been destroyed.]
[Your Memory had been destroyed.]
[Your Memory had been destroyed.]
[Your Memory had been destroyed.]
She looked at him, feeling that the Souldream tree was dead. And anger burned in her face.
"Fuck you. You just ruined everything."
Lesser smiled, he felt sad about all the [Corrupt Seed] that was being destroyed after the Soudream tree was killed. But it felt so good to trick the liar.
She tried to move at him, but her body fell to the ground instead. Her coughing was becoming more and more deadly. As blood was coming out now too. He walked up to her and smiled.
"You really thought that I did not prepare a trap for you."
"It was easy. You are not corrupted yet, so what happens if you inhale the smoke from the [Corrupt Seed] that was burning everywhere."
It was a gamble. So when lesser body was beginning to take on fire, he had dismissed his memories that were not needed, [Annalee Wish] and [Magic Leaf], and summoned all of [Corrupt Seed], which began to burn when they landed on the ground. And she was lying over them now. She couldn't speak, her eyes were pleading. But he had no time as the corruption was hitting him too. Lifting up the [Blessing of Avenli], he drops it on her.
Even if she was a Transcendent, she was poisoned by the smoke made from corruption and then being hit by it at the same time. She couldn't move and she would never again. Lesser fell to the ground. The damage that the Dreed Lunar Howler had done to him when it sent him flying up from the lake, and the burning that should have killed him. The Spell whispered one last time.
[You have slain a Transcendent Beast : Avenli Memory of Tears.]
[Your existence grows stronger.]
[You have received a Memory: Tears of Sun and Moon]
[You have acquired a new Attribute.]