Unfamiliar Feeling

Before Mors could make a decision, a small fluffy rabbit started to run towards him, making him subconsciously wanting to move aside. 

'Idiot… You will die…'

He thought tiredly, remembering all the stupid animals that ran towards him before, and their gazes. 

'Stupid…'

He repeated while seeing the rabbit's gaze. 

Those empty resigned eyes, that held deep sorrow inside them. 

The rabbit was running to him with the full intention of dying, it was a stupid suicide attempt and the rabbit pushed Mors to be the reason. 

'Why am I… Supposed to carry this death?'

Although Mors never cared about whoever died due to nearing him, he somehow felt bitter about how those creatures were choosing him to be their end. 

Just for the fact that dying because of his power meant an easy quick death… 

Mors silently lifted his finger and dissolved the oval shape, then waved his hand and sent it towards the rabbit. 

The rabbit struggled and whimpered for a moment before accepting its fate, laying down while it was engulfed by the shadowy matter. 

Its body lost its energetic and determined aura, instead, its life force was being sucked out of it, making its empty eyes even duller. 

Quick and peaceful. 

That was the reason why many of these creatures came after Mors. They did not have to hold any grudges against him, and they did not need to attack him. 

Just getting close was enough. 

Mors sighed heavily before slowly standing up and moving even deeper into the Forbidden Area. 

One, two, three… 

He started to count the bodies he found around, one by one. They were the ones Vita started crying after seeing. 

'Probably her friends.'

Mors concluded as he reached the last one, there were 12 in total, a number that was not small, but Mors shrugged this matter off before laying in the middle of those bodies. 

He closed his eyes and shook the thought of watching Vita off his mind, he did not need to do it. If anything, it was just a meaningless and rushed whim. 

He eventually calmed down before drifting to sleep, unbeknownst to him, his deadly aura seeped out of his body, sucking the life force of everything near him. 

The life force of the grass and the lush was sucked into Mors, along with the remaining life force in the dead creatures, which caused them to crumble to dust. 

On the other hand, Vita who had left earlier stopped in her tracks in front of a white, big tree. 

Her smile faded and she leaned silently on the tree's trunk, the image of her dead friends flashing into her mind one after another. 

Her lips trembled before hugging the tree and mumbling a soft apology. She called her friends' names with melancholy light shining from her eyes as she activated her power slightly. 

Her power coated the tree and made it shine brighter, resulting in a chain reaction. 

With the white tree as the center, a holy light emerged through the village, washing over everyone with warmth that seeped into their hearts. 

"The Tree of Life is acting up!"

"Woaahh! Our village is going to be even better!"

The people cheered and floated with happiness, thinking about how their village was going to prosper more and more. 

This occurrence was something the people of this village had been used to. Whenever the white tree, the Tree of Life, showed its power, their village was bound to grow. 

Having the Tree of Life was the reason their village was at the top in the forest. 

Or so they believed. 

Even inside the village, the only people who knew about Vita's powers were the higher ranked authority. Such as the Chief and some of his trusted subordinates. 

This story about the Tree of Life was something they had created to trick the masses. 

Many tried to steal a branch from it for their own villages and many tried to hurt it. Unfortunately for them, it was just a normal tree. 

No matter how much they tried to guide it or grow it up, the tree had nothing to do with the growth of the village, which led to their disappointment. 

The Chief even deliberately spread the rumors about how the Tree of Life would not help any other village because it had deemed their village as the 'chosen one'. 

When Vita asked why they did not say that it was her power and not the tree, the Chief kindly explained to her that it was for her own good. 

Since that day, Vita occasionally visited the tree and used her power. It was at first as a practice, but it changed eventually. 

It became like an apology and a memory for the 'missing' friends that she had realized today, they weren't missing but dead. 

She held her tears back and hugged the tree more, before a sudden idea came to her. 

'That god… Did he send Butter back for me…?'

Now that she remembered, the cold wind felt eerily similar to him. She even thought that he was behind her at that moment. 

'Does this mean he is… Kind?'

Why else would he do that to her? But soon, another idea made her shiver. 

'No, how did he even know…?'

How could he figure her power out? No 'healing' power could cure the dead, so if he sent Butter's body with good intentions, that meant he knew about her powers. 

And if not, that meant he sent her the body while fully intending to enjoy her despair… 

Both theories made her terrified and anxious, but she still clenched her fists and took a deep breath.

'I should… Try.'

Her friends' bodies were there, she was terrified so she did not think about it before, but she could save them. 

She did not need to be so desperate over their death… 

She just needs to go back again and save them from that place. 

"To the Forbidden Area… I should go."