Name

The brightness of the sun dimmed slightly in this place, a lushness of tree leaves shadowing over what under it. Cold and moist wind blowing softly around the bushes and trunks, like a whisper that made a chilling touch. The air of serenity and sacred dominate the area, in the center of it of course the Old Tree that emit the aura. Beside the tree, a male human body laid there peacefully sleeping.

"There was a small tribe that having a secret art to devour souls. Unlike a spell, a secret art have his own plus and minus. Some make the practitioner having a huge appetite, some make them having no desire, and some need a tribute to strengthen the art. The soul devourer tribe was one that hated by other tribe because they eat their enemy's soul like a feast".

"So they eat soul because they hungry or to strengthen the art?" Darron asked.

"Absolutely not hungry, they eat like crazy because soul have a unique flavour like an addiction i can't deny".

"So master is one of them?"

"Of course i am, what's the point of the story if it wasn't about me?"

"Then what had happened to you master? Why are you a tree?"

"Patience! Continuing, so the tribe of soul devourer have a tradition for the next chief to devour hundred of soul and assimilate its essences. The ceremony must be held after forty days after the death of the last chief. On the third day of our 'chiefless' tribe, we built a settlement before winter at the border between not yet allied Principality of Gar and Verance Federation. Both of them have some insecurities about the tribe, actually all of the kingdoms in this continent are insecure. hahahhahah!"

"So both kingdom actually not so friendly, but they united because of having common enemy".

"Correct! Politics are always like that. They send out around hundreds of soldiers maybe thousands each, they circled our camp to cut off food. I don't know where they get the information about the secret of our tribe, that souls can't provide nutrition for the body or about our location that time."

"They block anything from the outside and from the inside, animals or human. They never attack and just defend the blockade. Line assembled after line, if a line fall a new line rise. The other weakness of our soul devourer art was if we doesn't reach the full mastery of the art, we can't directly and forcefully take the souls of others. We who have lower mastery need to incapacitate the body first then take the soul."

"Then how do we know that we have already full mastering the art?"

"You will feel it, there are no exact number about how much soul you devour to fully mastering it. Feelings isn't only about emotions or good and bad, it's about how deep you know yourself and how accurate you value everything. Body, mind, and soul are connected and influential to each other, feelings was like a connection between your mind and soul."

"Back to the story, on the tenth day of the blockade we made an agreement to choose the chief early out of hopelessness. Without food we won't last long until the joint army slaughtering our tribe. I was elected to become the chief, with a heavy heart i accepted. Our tribe wasn't huge, it's barely passed two hundred, and mostly woman and old people. Lot of our tribes young man are fallen when trying to break the blockade on the first time. Those hot blooded fools are so reckless! But i ain't the chief that time, and we are free people that can't be dictated."

"Your tribe, what happened then?"

"My tribe is now yours too, there are only left around fifty able body to fight in our tribe that time. Our old tribesmen then made a line, our tribeswoman too until counted a hundred. We can't abandon the culture and ritual of the old. One by one they incapacitate themselves, some slit their own wrist and other slit their own throat. I cried for the first time in a long years, they are family and friends that sacrifice themselves for me. Steeling my own will, i ate their souls."

"But one mistakes that we never know was the days our late chief passed away, usually there are no problems but we held the ritual early that time. Actually i don't know what to do after the devouring ritual, but the fact that i should devour the soul of the late chief too only known at that moment. The soul of our late chief is still so strong and powerful, i must fight him soul versus soul in my trance. Brawling and trying to break each others will, in a split moment i've got my chance to defeat him then devour his soul. I feel like my body explode but then powerful sucking force imploding and i am the center of it. When i open my eyes my heart felt like been stabbed. I only see dead body around me, my tribes and the kingdoms army all dead. I tried to stand but failed, vomiting blood then fall unconscious."

"Master!" Darron hugged his master and cries.

"Actually you are a good boy, i was in the white room like this room in my unconscious body state. Then i saw a blurry figure but i am sure it's not a human. He is sitting in a corner, wounded badly. He said i am a killer, too many death caused by me. I felt pain in my heart then devour him to end his suffering. My wounded soul actually healed and faster to assimilate the soul i had devour, but then i can't feel my body because i had become a tree. Yet another mistakes i had done, he was a wood spirit not an ordinary human soul."

"That's the sad story of the fools you called master, now any questions?"

"One! There are a very important question that i long forgotten to ask, so what is your name master?" Darron asked