"Don’t you think... that they are too excited?"

The leaves had been completely consumed and the tendrils reached the second largest branch, quickly consuming the mangrove within seconds.

Killian jumped down from the tree, looking around the ground to see if there’d be a sight of leaves. None.

He knew these tendrils ate without leaving a trace, but it felt almost impossible to cut down a tree without a leaf dropping. He folded his arm, watching them crawl the dried bark of the darkening tree.

"Un..."

Killian froze and lowered his head, looking directly at the small hole in the tree. It should have belonged to a squirrel once, but the darkness within felt anything but natural.

"I wasn’t hearing things just now." He paused to listen again. "Something had spoken to me."

The words didn’t come again.

"Do you want a new pet?" the Void asked with a tone that could only foreshadow problems as far as Killian knew.

He stepped away from the tree as it was confirmed that there might be a living being inside of it.

"First of all, if you are addressing Thistle as my ’first pet’ then that’s very rude. She’s my friend."

"Is the foreign girl also your friend?"

"Pixie?" Killian scrunched his nose, wondering why she was suddenly brought up. "No, you never confirmed that she’s not a threat. And she keeps calling me..."

He looked down at the notification he got again.

[Capacity: 275 → 325]

[Void Reborn: 0.3%]

"They are working fast." Killian looked up at the tendrils and they had ventured almost half the tree. Soon they’d reach the hole in the tree and he wasn’t sure what would happen.

"What is trapped in there?"

"A wild being."

"And you suggest keeping it as a pet?"

"She will be efficient. See her as a summon.’

Killian took a bigger step away from the tree. He had watched his older sister try and fail, even getting hospitalized once, to know that obtaining a summon without near-infinite mana or a great affinity for one’s element was equivalent to attempted suicide.

He shook his head, and returned his gaze to the tendrils working to increase his capacity. "I have no use for one. It is a lot of work."

"Even if she’d likely not need your mana to exist?"

That was tempting, because it removed the major reason he didn’t want one.

But Killian had noticed how the Void said ’likely not’ and not ’definitely not’. He closed the distance between himself and the tree. He nodded once.

Immediately, the tendrils above him stopped consuming the tree and rushed into the hole, their dark marks scarring the bark as they moved. The tree cracked faintly as it expanded to contain them, then the tendrils stopped deeper.

A sharp tug and a small cry echoed out. Killian’s brows furrowed, and he leaned into the tree. The sound was soft, like a baby’s. The tendrils tugged again, dragging something out and the cries intensified.

"What’s going on?" He held onto the outer tendrils.

"It is normal. That—"

The crying suddenly got louder. A sharp scream followed after, filled with pain, and nearly deafening to Killian who stood nearby. He stiffened, pulling the tendrils on impulse. "Hey, stop–"

Scream!

The screams cut in, louder and more desperate. Killian’s face darkened. "If she doesn’t want to come out then fine! Stop forcing it!"

The tendrils slowly withdrew from the hole. He immediately noticed the blood coating their ends.

He grabbed them harshly, his eyes widening. "Did you go in there to hurt someone? Are you crazy?"

The tendrils shrank slightly under his grip.

"You directed them in there, Killian. Also, they weren’t hurting her."

"Help me..."

Killian froze. The voice came again, tiny and weak. He slowly looked toward the hole again. A single eye stared back at him from the darkness.

Despite his instincts asking him to move, he stayed there, staring back. He couldn’t even tell what creature a white plain ball of eye belonged to but he only knew one thing.

It was definitely looking at him. Expectantly.

Killian’s expression tightened. "Last time," he said slowly. "What is that?"

The Void stayed silent for a moment. "It might be a little more than a summon."

Killian kept his gaze on the eye. "Do you want to get freed from there?"

"Un..."

Killian took that as a yes. He released the tendrils that were still in his grip.

"Be gentle."

The tendrils slipped back into the hole, and no sooner had they gotten in, that the screams returned almost immediately.

Killian didn’t stop them, and only watched with mild interest.

If she had truly been trapped inside the tree for so long that the tree probably took part of her mana to grow this big, then whatever held her there was probably buried deep. It would take a while to untether her from whatever was holding her.

The tree trembled faintly before the tendrils finally pulled back out again, dripping blood.

But there was nothing following them.

Killian blinked once. "And?"

"You have freed her."

Killian waited but the Void said nothing else. "Will I be seeing the girl or what?"

There was no response and he sighed. The tendrils casually returned to consuming the tree like nothing had happened.

When they reached the spot they stopped at before, they spread out like a carpet, and latched to the tree.

Killian’s eyes dropped to the hole, to check for the girl again, but he saw the tendrils descend to the ground.

"What the..." He watched them scramble for a piece of bark and fallen branch, the only things that survived their horrendous swallow.

He looked at the place the tree once stood, having worms and dark soil underneath. Sunrays shone down to him as he stood, dazed at how quickly the gulp had been.

"Well, the girl..."

A notification appeared.

[Capacity: 325 → 500]

Killian stared at the screen, eyes trembling slightly. ’500...’

His mouth opened to say the most accursed swear words.