The truth of the forest

*Morpheus pov* 

My body ached as I made my way through the forest, this time as I walked the air seemed much lighter. The ritualistic spell I used corroded a lot of Gaia's influence over this part of the forest and some wards were affected. 

I should have recognized her deplorable aura seeping through the wildlife when I first entered the treeline but, I didn't for some reason. It didn't quite make sense at first until after my corruption spread. She used her magic to implant the effects her ambient signature would usually leave onto the wards that already existed. With a little work, she could hide her influence deep within the ward scheme. 

This is only useful pertaining to me. It would have been quite literally pointless for her to do this for everything else. 

All this extra effort just to keep me unaware for a few minutes is quite touching. Perhaps she decided to stroke my ego. 

I chuckled as I traveled deeper into the forest and I felt the difference immediately the farther I traveled from where Igor's body lay and the corruption spread the more and more I felt stifled. 

If I wasn't so annoyed I probably would have stopped and appreciated the ward scheme. Still, it was odd in the past when I visited this forest the giants were everywhere. Now? I don't even see a spider. 

And Igor was just waiting near the entrance with some of his soldiers? 

What is happening? 

Reaching where I remembered the giant's home was supposed to be I stopped eying the large stone walls. 

My eyes widened as I stepped through the massive stone archway, the sudden silence of the forest behind me sharpening the contrast of the scene before me. Giants, once towering and formidable, now lay broken and defeated, their colossal forms slumped against the earth. Their skin, usually the gray of ancient boulders, was marred with veins of gold that shimmered sickeningly in the fading light. Golden blood oozed from their bodies, seeping into the cracks of the ground beneath them as if the very land was drinking their life force.

What was this? A massacre?

I moved forward cautiously, my senses on high alert. The stench of death was thick in the air, but there was something else, something that gnawed at the edges of my mind—the faint hum of magic, ancient and foul, weaving through the earth like the remnants of a forgotten curse. This wasn't just a slaughter. It was a siphoning.

The stones. My gaze shifted to the boulders scattered across the clearing. They were not natural. Each was embedded into the giants' bodies, as though hammered into place by something far more sinister than brute force. They pulsed faintly, drawing the golden blood deeper into the earth. A part of me recognized the signature of the magic, but it was so twisted and obscured that I couldn't quite place it.

The giants were being drained. Not just of blood, but of essence. Of life.

Igor would never agree to this. He despite being a fool would do anything to keep his people alive. 

A hollow laugh escaped my throat, raw and guttural, echoing through the stillness of the forest. It started as a low chuckle but quickly spiraled out of control, twisting into something far more sinister. I could feel it clawing its way out of me, unhinged and jagged, reverberating off the stone walls of this graveyard of giants.

I couldn't stop it.

"You bitch!" I shouted my voice echoing across the corpses 

I spun around raising my arms, "I must thank you, Gaia, you did my job for me it is much appreciated! You know I was wondering why none of this made sense, I should have seen at least flickers in my visions. I wonder how much power did you use to obscure this place from my sight? I mean if I didn't know Tom wanted the Giants I would have never come here!" 

Still no reply but I knew there never would be. 

"Igor believed in you more than anything but you used that! I wasn't fighting Igor I was fighting you, wasn't I? Luring him with the temptation of power, the desire he held to be closer to nature while at the same time, you were corroding his mind! Brilliant I would have done something similar I must confess," I continued walking closer to the corpses 

"I must admit I was confused when I first saw all of these corpses, until I realized something these runes are rather similar to something else," the portals I have destroyed were close to what was on the stone 

"You are using the giant race to try and summon yourself to Earth,"

"I must apologize, Gaia," I sneered, pacing to the side as I surveyed the carnage before me, the golden blood still dripping from the giants' wounds, the grotesque stones embedded deep within their flesh. "But I won't let that happen. By the time l'm done here, you'll be too weak to even think about joining the war. This little display must've cost you dearly."

I raised my hand, feeling the familiar surge of power coursing through my veins. The air around me trembled, the ground vibrating in response to my gathering magic. The stone spikes, once thrumming with life, now seemed fragile, mere obstacles in the way of my goal. 

With a sharp gesture, I unleashed a wave of energy, dark and corrosive, that shot from my fingertips and slammed into the first spike. The stone cracked with a sharp, satisfying snap, sending shards flying through the air. Golden light spilled out, dissipating into nothingness as the spike crumbled into dust.

One down.

I turned to the next one, my lips curling into a snarl. I thrust my hand forward again, and another spike shattered under the force of my magic, the gold leaking out like the life draining from a dying animal. The remaining stones pulsed in desperation, as though sensing their doom.

"Oh don't beg now," I laughed before destroying the rest and immediately taking a step back to enjoy my work 

Stepping over to the gate I turned and looked at the bodies, "just to be safe I guess," taking my wand I flicked it forward, "Pestis Incendium!" Fiendfyre erupted from my wand-washing over the corpses consuming the land and the dead 

I watched, the heat licking at my face, the fire reflecting in my eyes as I stood motionless for a moment, taking in the devastation I had wrought. The forest trembled under the power of the spell, as though recoiling from the force of my will. Even the lingering traces of Gaia's influence seemed to falter and flicker, retreating in the face of such unchecked power.

"Just to be safe," I muttered under my breath, a dark satisfaction settling in my chest. The flames continued to rage, but I had already turned away. There was nothing left here for me.

The forest around me felt different now, hollow and subdued. The oppressive weight of Gaia's presence was gone, burned away by the Fiendfyre and the destruction of her twisted magic. The trees, once a looming, watchful force, now stood silent and indifferent, as if the life had been drained from them along with the giants.

I moved through the trees with ease, the path ahead of me clear and unchallenged. The air was still, the lingering heat of the flames clinging to my skin, but I felt lighter, freer. Gaia's attempt to obscure herself, to twist this place into her own personal trap, had failed. And now, she would pay the price for her arrogance.

As I reached the edge of the forest, I glanced back one last time. Smoke billowed up from where the fire still raged, a thick, black column rising into the sky like a dark omen. The flames would burn until nothing remained, until Gaia's influence was purged from this land.

"Goodbye, Gaia," I said softly, a mocking smile tugging at my lips. "I hope you enjoyed your time here."

With a final flick of my wrist, I cast a barrier spell, sealing off the remnants of the forest from anything that might survive the fire. It would be reduced to ashes before anyone could intervene.

I stepped beyond the treeline, the shadows of the forest fading behind me as I walked into the open, the weight of my victory hanging in the air. There was much more to do, more battles to fight, but for now, I had won.

And I just loved winning against that bitch.