The tree to his left suddenly moved, a massive branch whipping toward his head with deadly speed.
Arthur teleported ten meters back instantly, the branch crashing into empty space where he'd stood a split-second earlier.
The "tree" was moving, pulling itself from the ground. Roots tore free from soil, forming crude leg-like appendages. More branches contorted into limbs, while the trunk split near the top, revealing a hollow filled with amber sap and sharp, thorn-like teeth.
The tree-creature lurched toward them, its movements jerky but surprisingly fast. Two more trees nearby began the same transformation, bark cracking as they pulled themselves free.
"They're protecting the bud plant," Arthur realized, eyes narrowing at the animated trees.
[Controlled Tree Guardian (Epic-Boss)]
Details: These ancient forest sentinels have existed for decades as dormant defenders, awakened only in times of great threat towards them. Their Root Network ability allows them to communicate and coordinate attacks across vast distances. Unfortunately, a mysterious entity had taken control of those peaceful but powerful species. They are now under control, and no longer peaceful.
'Level 23. That's quite high,' Arthur thought, assessing the three massive wooden behemoths that now surrounded them. Each stood nearly twenty feet tall, with gnarled limbs ending in thorn-like claws and hollow trunks that oozed amber sap.
"Well. Let's finish this quickly." Arthur backed up a step, spatial energy gathering around his hands. "Aether. Kill them. All."
Aether nodded, a single powerful beat of his wings launching him skyward. The void dragon hovered above the battlefield, his massive body silhouetted against the ground.
The usually dormant dragon's scales began to ripple with dark energy, void-black power swirling around him in increasingly dense patterns. The air itself seemed to bend and distort in his presence.
Most alarming was the expression that formed on the dragon's face—what Arthur could only describe as a smirk. The predatory glee in those eyes was something Arthur had never witnessed before.
'Why is he smirking?' Arthur thought, his instincts suddenly screaming danger.
Aether's chest expanded as he drew in a massive breath, not of air, but of the very fabric of space around him. The void dragon's voice boomed across the clearing with childlike excitement.
"SINGULARITY COLLAPSE!"
The words registered in Arthur's mind a split second before comprehension dawned. His eyes widened in shock.
"WHAT?!" Arthur teleported instantly, blinking a hundred meters away just as reality itself began to fold.
Description: The Void Dragon creates a miniature gravitational singularity at a targeted location within 50 meters, pulling everything toward it for 5 seconds. Enemies caught within 5 meters of the center take massive crushing damage and are stunned for 2 seconds. Those within 100 meters suffer a 60% movement speed reduction and take continuous damage. Cooldown: 5 Minutes.
The air between Aether's outstretched claws compressed into a sphere of absolute darkness no larger than a marble. For one heartbeat, nothing happened—a moment of perfect stillness.
Then, reality folded under pressure.
The tiny black sphere dropped toward the center of the clearing, descending with deceptive gentleness. When it reached a point equidistant between the three tree guardians, it stopped, hovering five feet above the ground.
Everything went silent. Even the constant background noise of the forest ceased.
Then the singularity pulsed once, and the world turned inside out.
Light itself bent toward the dark sphere. The ground beneath it cracked in a perfect circle, soil and stone lifting upward against gravity. The air rushed inward with hurricane force, creating a howling vortex centered on that impossible point of darkness.
The nearest tree guardian never stood a chance. Its massive wooden body lifted off the ground entirely, branches flailing uselessly as it was pulled inexorably toward the singularity. When it crossed the five-meter threshold, the effect was immediate and catastrophic.
The guardian's body compressed with a sickening crunch, bark splitting, limbs folding inward at impossible angles. In seconds, its twenty-foot frame had collapsed to half its size, then a quarter, wood splintering and sap spraying in all directions before being consumed by the hungry void.
The second guardian tried to anchor itself with root-feet dug deep into the earth. For a moment, it seemed to resist—until the ground beneath it tore away, sending the creature tumbling into the pull of the singularity. Its fate mirrored the first, body crumpling like paper in a fist.
From his relatively safe distance, Arthur watched in awe and alarm. He'd known Aether's singularity collapse skill was powerful, but seeing it first-hand was something else.
Even at a safe distance, he could still feel the effects of the skill. The wind, the pressure. Even his armor fluttered against the skill's after effects.
The third tree guardian showed surprising intelligence, attempting to flee the clearing entirely before the attack landed. Unfortunately, it made exactly ten lumbering steps before the gravitational field caught it, dragging it backward despite its desperate clawing at the ground.
But the most unexpected reaction came from the strange bud plant they'd been approaching.
As the singularity formed, the massive flower bud suddenly trembled violently. With a series of wet, tearing sounds, the entire plant uprooted itself, revealing a tangle of root-legs beneath its thick stalk.
Two vine-like appendages extended from its sides, and the bulb at the top split partially open, revealing a primitive "face" of sorts—a cavity lined with sensitive tendrils and a glowing crystal at its center.
The plant creature looked from the singularity to the guardians that were going to evaporate in moments, then back to the singularity.
If a plant could express an "oh shit. I fucked up," moment, this would've been it.
It turned and scuttled away with surprising speed, root-legs moving in a frantic scrabble. For a moment, it seemed the bizarre plant might actually escape—until it hit the outer edge of the singularity's influence at the 100-meter mark.
The plant's retreat slowed dramatically, as if it were suddenly moving through thick syrup. Its vine-arms waved in what could only be described as botanical panic as it was inexorably dragged backward toward doom.
Arthur couldn't help but laugh at the absurd spectacle. A sentient plant that controlled epic-ranked monsters with ease. It was running for its life like a cartoon character, complete with a comical backpedalling motion as it fought the singularity's pull.