He glanced at Zaisy, whose usually vibrant wings were folded close and her head bent low. "Where’s he taking us?" he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"The Elder wants to show you something important," she replied, avoiding his gaze. Her usual cheerfulness was replaced with a solemn expression that unsettled him.
Behind them, Hunter trailed with his hands tucked into his pockets, his eyes wandering along the walls. "Deep roots hold old secrets. I’d be nervous if I were you."
The staircase ended at a grand chamber carved into the living wood, its ceiling disappearing into darkness. Three crystal orbs rested on pedestals at the center. Each glowed and bathed the room in blue light. Tendrils of mist curled within one, and the scent of things almost remembered teased Oliver’s nostrils.
The Elder stood beside the orbs and plucked up the one with a swirling interior, his moth wings folded neatly behind him. "Welcome," he said, his voice too large for the small room. "This orb went crazy when you three appeared. Two of you have been here before, so I knew it was connected to Oliver. It’s time to find out what it does."
Oliver stepped forward cautiously. "What is it?" He wanted to ask how the moth knew his name, but he figured Zaisy or Hunter told him.
"A Memory Sphere," the Elder said. "They hold truths from beyond the Veil."
As Oliver approached, it glowed brighter and pulsed. Warmth worked its way through his body, drawing him closer. It beckoned to him and made promises he couldn’t quite understand.
Zaisy grabbed his arm. "Wait, Oliver. Are you sure about this?" Her eyes searched his face, concern plain in her features.
He hesitated. "I don't know. It feels... like it’s part of me."
Hunter leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. "Playing with things you don’t understand is dangerous," he said. “It might be best to leave well enough alone."
The Elder touched Oliver’s shoulder, "Some giants destroy them as if they fear them. And never have we reunited one with one’s orb. Don’t you see the significance?"
Oliver looked back at the glowing orb. "Yes. What do I have to do?"
"Place your hands upon it," the Elder instructed. "Let it guide you."
Zaisy bit her lip. "I don't like this. What if something goes wrong?"
Oliver offered a reassuring smile. "I'll be okay. Maybe this will help me understand what's happening to me. You don’t know what I’ve gone through."
She glanced away. "Just be careful."
Stepping up to the pedestal, Oliver placed his palms on the cool surface of the orb. The feelings intensified. Images flickered within the crystal. Figures moved in exotic scenes. Cryptic symbols spelled out words in languages he should know. He felt tethered to something vast.
Bits of a new life flowed into him, filling his mind with fragmented emotions. He felt exhilaration, fear, sadness, and hope. However, as quickly as it came, the sensation faded. The orb's light dimmed, returning the chamber to dimness.
He staggered back, catching himself before he fell. "What was that?” He’d felt odd, like he’d stared at the world through someone else's eyes, but only briefly.
Zaisy rushed to his side. "Are you alright?"
"I'm not sure." He rubbed his temples. "I mean, yes. Come to think of it, I feel great."
The Elder took back the dim orb. "I think you have become one with the spirit memories."
Hunter brushed back the scales on his head. "So, nothing happened."
Oliver wouldn’t even try to explain the experience. "It wasn’t nothing."
Zaisy examined his face, brushed the hair from his brow, and touched his forehead like a mother. "Do you feel alright?"
"I’m okay."
“What is okay?” She said the last word slowly. Evidently, it wasn’t part of her vocabulary.
The Elder placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, and please let me know if anything should happen for better or worse."
Oliver relaxed and let slip the quip, “Memory Spheres can cause dysentery, blindness, or instant death.” He thought it was funny, mocking pharmaceutical ads, but no one looked amused or would have understood. He sighed and followed Hunter.
As they made their way up the staircase, the atmosphere felt heavier. The tree's creaking seemed louder, the shadows inkier. Zaisy walked closely beside him, her wings brushing lightly against his arm.
"That was brave," she said.
He wasn’t going to disagree with her. She thought he was brave.
Hunter walked a few steps behind, whistling a tuneless melody. "You know what I expected? Enlightenment. Superpowers."
Oliver shrugged. "I couldn’t be that lucky."
They emerged into the familiar warmth of the upper levels, the sounds of Tree City bustling around them. A memory brushed against his mind. I’d been somewhere like this, but different.
Before they parted ways, the Elder insisted the trio come to dinner, though Oliver suspected the reason was to keep an eye on him.
The warm glow of lanterns bathed the interior of the Elder's dwelling, carved deep within the oak. Tapestries woven from spider silk adorned the walls, depicting scenes of everyday life along the thinner branches. Life in the canopy appeared to be rural compared to the urban boughs.
A long table stretched across the room, laden with exotic dishes.
Oliver sat beside Zaisy, his eyes wide as he surveyed the feast before them: bowls of glistening nectar, platters of roasted seed kernels, and a steaming pot of mite porridge. Hunter put an arm over the back of his seat and cast an eye over the variety.
The Elder entered and took a seat at the head of the table. "Eat, my friends," he said, gesturing to the spread. "At this hour, Tree City turns forty seasons. And on this very night, a stranger is reunited with his Memory Sphere. Traditions and legends are alive and well, and the tree stands strong." He raised a cup, and the table of odd creatures drank.
Oliver hesitated at tasting the mite porridge. "I’m hungry, but I’m not used to this.”
"A traditional dish," the Elder replied. "It nourishes not just the body but the spirit."
Zaisy grinned, scooping a portion into a wooden bowl and tasting it. "It's delicious."
With a cautious glance at Hunter, who gave a noncommittal shrug, Oliver served himself. The porridge was surprisingly flavorful, a blend of savory and sweet. As he ate, a subtle tingling sensation spread through his limbs.
"If you feel one wiggle, just bite down?" Zaisy said. Her eyes widened after he took a few bites.
"Yeah," Oliver figured he probably had. They’re so small they probably enter one’s mouth all the time, but not with this body. He was so small that mites were like regular bugs to him. Flexing his fingers, he said. "I feel stronger."
The Elder watched him intently. "I don’t think he’s ever eaten a mite."
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Hunter laughed. “Who his size grows from eating mites?”
As the meal continued, Oliver noticed his perspective shifting. The table seemed lower, the room smaller. He realized with a start that he had grown, at least on par with Hunter. "This is weird," he said.
Zaisy clapped her hands. "Look at you."
Before he could respond, a distant rumble shook the floor, causing the dishes to rattle. The warm atmosphere of the gathering evaporated instantly.
The Elder's expression darkened. "Stay here," he commanded, moving swiftly toward the entrance.
Oliver stood. "What's happening?"
Hunter rose leisurely, though his eyes were sharp. "It sounds bad."
A piercing scream tore through the air, followed by a cacophony of screams. Without thinking, Oliver rushed after the Elder, with Zaisy and Hunter close behind.
They emerged into chaos. A shape moved before the city’s skylines, beyond which was only blackness now. A roar pierced through even the screams of the inhabitants. A centipede tore through a platform building, its segmented body undulating with horrific grace. Its exoskeleton gleamed like tarnished metal, and its multitude of legs clawed everything it trampled. Residents scattered in all directions, their cries helpless.
"By the wood spirits..." Hunter said, pulling out a long blade of serrated bone.
The centipede's mandibles snapped at those who fled, severing a man mid-stride. Blood sprayed a child with bulbous eyes. The creature let out a shrill hiss and ate half the body in one swallow.
"It’s just a centipede. We have to kill it." But Oliver was thinking like his normal-sized self. This thing was monstrous.
Zaisy grabbed his arm. "It's too dangerous. We have to go."
The centipede swung its head toward them, blood drool oozing, and lunged. The force of its movement cracked the branch beneath their feet. They leaped aside just as its mandibles sliced through the space where they’d been.
The Elder stepped forward, staff in hand. "Begone, beast!" he commanded, striking the ground. A pulse of light emanated from him, momentarily halting the centipede's advance.
Seizing the opportunity, Oliver hurled the first object he laid hands on, a lantern. It hit the creature's eye but bounced off harmlessly. The centipede turned its gaze on him, a guttural growl from deep within its thorax.
"That was stupid," Hunter said and stepped in front of Oliver.
The creature charged, and Hunter drew a green line of blood along its side. Oliver barely managed to dodge and landed hard on the floor. He scrambled up, heart pounding. The centipede reared back, preparing to strike again.
Suddenly, the Elder interposed himself between Oliver and the monster. "You must survive," he said. “You were brought here by the Memory Sphere.” With a swift motion, he struck his staff against the centipede's head. The creature recoiled in a shower of sparks. It retaliated with blinding speed, its mandibles closing around the Elder.
"No!" Oliver screamed as the Elder was lifted into the air, his body limp.
Why would someone sacrifice themselves for me?
The centipede flung the Elder aside, his form disappearing into the abyss below.
"Oliver!" Zaisy's urgent cry snapped him back to the present.
They retreated, weaving through the tangle of branches. Around them, the city was in ruins. Fires sparked where lanterns had fallen, and the screams of the wounded and dying filled the air.
Two women ran from an opening. One was shockingly naked, and though she had the glossy shell of a beetle, she appeared very human, and her curved lines very feminine.
The other clutched a child. The centipede struck before she could step, obliterating each in a mist of blood.
Oliver's gut twisted. This was more than a random attack. "It's hunting me," he said more to himself than anyone.
Hunter glanced at him sharply. "What do you mean?"
"This is the hunt. It's after me." He summoned the menu screen, the translucent display appearing before his eyes. On was new information:
Centipede Colossus
- Weaknesses: Underbelly, vulnerability to fire.
- Resistances: Hardened exoskeleton, rapid regeneration.
"It's got weaknesses," he said. "But we can't fight it here. People are dying."
Zaisy nodded, fear etched on her face. "We have to leave."
Hunter crossed his arms. "You think it’s hunting you? I never signed up for this."
Oliver met his gaze. "I should go alone."
"Not a chance," Zaisy said. "We're in this together."
Hunter sighed. "I barely know either of you, but I don’t trust you guys to save yourselves. I think I’ll stick around for a while and see you don’t die."
A thrashing behind them signaled the centipede's approach, its bulk splintering the structures behind them.
"Okay," Oliver conceded. "But we need a plan." No one spoke up, and he couldn’t come up with anything on the spot. But he kept it in the back of his mind.
They descended the spiraling pathways and took three or four steps at a time. The centipede pursued, its segmented body tearing through the architecture and ripping screams from its victims. Away from the tree, the sounds it made softened, scratching through the grass-bladed forest.
It slowed, but so did they.
By dawn, they’d lost track of the hunter and plunged into the grass. Exhaustion weighed on them, and their breaths came in gasps. But the predator’s rustling again signaled its presence. It was relentless.
"We can't keep this up," Zaisy panted.
Oliver scanned the terrain. "I thought of a plan. I once watched a movie… I mean, I heard a story about an invisible and super-strong hunter. The hero lured it into traps of spikes and pits. It's vulnerable underneath."
Hunter gestured to the ground around them. "Digging a pit would take time we don't have."
Oliver rubbed his chin, "What if we use one of the animal burrows? Expand it, set spikes at the bottom."
No one protested. They continued onto a mound where the forest thinned. They could see over the grass tops, which gave away the centipede's movement.
Zaisy pointed just over the other side. "There! There’s a ground wasp hole."
They hurried to the site, a gaping hole descending into darkness. Tossing handfuls of dirt, they worked to widen the opening, sharpening stiff shoots into crude stakes and placing them in the pit.
Oliver blocked the creeping thought of the wasp’s return. Judging by the size of the whole, it would be massive.
They worked as fast as they could, but it took too long, and what they feared happened as the grass nearby spasmed. The creature neared.
Oliver separated a fiber from a wilted leaf and finished the false ground. "Ready?"
Hunter drew his bone sword. "As I'll ever be."
“Zaisy, I need you to find the centipede and call it over here.”
She darted above the grass, yelling, "Hey, over here!"
The creature erupted into the clearing, its gaze locking onto her. It surged forward, mandibles snapping.
"Now!" Oliver said. “Behind the pit.”
Hunter stumbled on a waste piece of leaf and almost went into the pit. He cursed and jumped.
The beast's forward momentum caused it to stumble, and it snapped at him. It lost balance on the false ground and plunged into the pit. The stakes impaled its underbelly. It screeched and whipped its body, causing even more damage.
Oliver walked to the edge and peered down. But it wasn't over. The centipede tore rents in its body and lifted upward to stare face to face.
"It won't die!" Zaisy cried, hovering above.
Desperation fueled Oliver, and he grabbed a spur on the creature and swung out of the way. "Hunter, stab it."
Hunter fell and kicked at the mouth of the beast. “I can’t.”
“Throw your sword to me.”
Hunter flung the bone blade.
Oliver caught it out of the air. What was happening to him? There was no way he could have ever done this before. He threw himself on the back plates and rode like a jockey. He slid down and around to the underbelly. Was his body just better in this world? No, he would have noticed. The orb had given him power. He stabbed into its guts, over and over.
After the centipede lay dead, Zaisy landed beside Oliver, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "We did it. Too bad it had to die."
Hunter clapped a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Not bad. Let’s not let it go to waste."
The Elder's sacrifice, the rampage through Tree City, the innocent lives taken, why did it matter to Oliver? This wasn’t real. He wiped goo from his face. “What?”
Zaisy nodded as if it were decided. "We’ll need a fire. I won’t eat anything raw."
Oliver choked on his spit. “What? We’re going to eat it?"
Hunter gazed into the distance. "Let’s hurry before a wasp shows up."
“This is for you,” Zaisy said. “If you want to become stronger to survive, you must eat what you defeat.”
Oliver looked at the disgusting corpse. Gross. "Let’s fry it up."
Only Hunter knew how to get a fire started. But Oliver helped gather kindling and whatever else appeared burnable. They had to eat it while it was fresh.
When they circled the fire a ways from the threat of the wasp, Zaisy pushed a chunk of the meat onto a skewer. “Why do you wear that on your face.”
The crackle of flames filled the clearing, casting dancing shadows against the looming grass.
Oliver touched the plastic mask. Believe it or not, he hadn’t noticed it. Why would his new body have it? Or maybe he didn’t get a new body. Perhaps the scale of this world was larger, and he was the same size as he had been. “My mom took an iron to my face.”
Maybe Zaisy didn’t know what an iron was, but her eyes glistened, and she didn’t ask.
They cut into the beast and cooked portions around a campfire. With each bite, they grew. It wasn’t just a little bit like with the mites. Oliver could reach up and bend a blade of grass to the ground. He was massive. Well, relatively speaking. And naked. Only the mask scaled to his new height.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get much time to enjoy their new level, which must have been seven or eight.
The grass stirred, and two men, one with the head of a garden snake and the other with the pinched face of a mouse, looked down from over the tops of the blades.
The snake hissed and spoke. “That one there, laying back half asleep. He was that special forces guy, a real pain in the ass.”
“You fucking noob. Let’s not waste our time. We need to level up quickly. They’ll get us nothing.”
“Na, I want to kill him if only for the satisfaction.”