2 Are Rumors True?

Earth. 2018

"God damn it. Another fucking mosquito. Why have we not wiped these bloody things off the face of the earth yet? You know they are able to genetically modify females to make the males sterile after they mate, right?" An overweight, over dressed man said as he was trenching through the heavy brush of the forest floor.

"I heard the more you complain about the mosquitos the less likely they are to bite you," Arbor joked with Johnny, "Also that could potentially cause unforeseen damage to the eco-system. Mosquitoes are might be useless, but they are the prey of several animals. Causing them to go extinct on purpose would cause many other insects…Hey are you even listening to me?" Arbor gave a glance to his overweight compatriot. He couldn't help but think to himself, 'Its great and all that he funded this trip, but his lard ass should not have tagged along'.

Arbor is a 24-year-old Botanist. Growing up he spent every second exploring the woods behind his house. As he grew older, he started to hike the local mountain and researching anything he did not understand about plants. In college he studied botany and would take martial arts classes and watch anime. He quickly made a name for himself by discovering three ancient civilizations and a new family of plants in the Amazon Rainforest.

Johnny was breathing heavily as he supported himself against a tree with his right arm. "What were you saying?" Johnny asked. "....Maybe I will just invest a couple hundred million into research to eliminate these fucking things once and for all," Johnny muttered to himself.

Johnny was a spoiled billionaire, that had a childlike mindset, with old money who had heard rumors about an ancient tree that gave fruit to a golden apple once every couple of thousands of years. Granted these rumors had slowly started to fade away with time. It has been said that this apple granted immortality and powers beyond any human could ever imagine. This hoax started circulating around a thousand years ago. Murals and ancient texts describe a human who was able to able to jump over rivers and out run the fastest horse. It was said that this super human had the strength of ten men and had skin stronger than iron.

How did Arbor as one of the worlds most renowned explorers and botanists, get dragged into searching for a golden apple? Arbor idolized Indiana Jones growing up. Thus, he had a desire for delving into explorations based of gossip that seemed out of this world. Recently Arbor was starting to regret his decision to go on this little adventure, because of the inflated good-for-nothing boss that hired him.

After traveling for another ten minutes, Johnny could not handle the excessive physical activity and demanded that the group set up camp.

The next couple of days consisted of the party voyaging deeper into the forest. As they started to trek towards the center Arbor started to notice that the vegetation and trees started to brim with more vitality.

"What the hell is going on here? Why is the...Is that story true? That can be the only explanation. What if the animals get affected also? How big would…" Arbor mumbled to himself as a horrified look started to surface on his face.

Arbor placed his right hand on his right hip, then signaled for everyone to ready their weapons. Unknown to the troupe, the local predators had moved out of the territory but were still stalking the intruders. Luckily, Johnny had brought plentiful guards.

"Everybody, on guard. Accidents are unacc..." The commanding guard barked.

"Rollant, if you or any of your men let me die I have strict orders that all of your families will be killed," Johnny interrupted.

"What ever you say boss." Rollant mocked.

A couple of hours later.

"Holy mother nature. What kind of tree is that?" An insignificant guard inquired.

Following the guards stare, Arbor noticed a seemingly normal looking tree except for one distinct feature. Any normal person would be able to tell that this tree was not normal. This was because the tree had a slight golden glow was emanating off the chestnut bark.

Without a second thought, Arbor started to disregard everything and make his way towards the magical tree. When Arbor placed his hand on the tree a warm sensation entered his body. Without the slightest clue to him, a sliver of his soul escaped to the barren realms. Arbor had estimated that the tree had been growing for around three thousand years.

…

Divine Realm

In a dark corner of the world. An ebon castle stood erect at the bottom of a valley. It seemed as if light itself feared entering this crevice. This place is a painful reminder that the God of Death exists. This was not hell, but it was as close as one could get without dying. People clad in black, purple/violet, and dark grey robes could be seen shuffling back and forth in the castle and the surrounding area.

In the grand hall stood a throne made of skulls of humans and different animals that emanated obsidian smoke through the eyes of each skull. Sitting on the thrown was a man surrounded by the smoke. This man had the appearance of an early teen. The black hair, black eyes and skinny face would scare off even the proudest cultivators.

"Hmm..who is that? He has potential, too bad hes too good of a person. Haoshe would want him." Veon said with a grimacing tone. An low distorted laugh echoed though the hall. "He won't have a chance."

With that Veon reached out his hands and sent out two strands of essence. One to his subordinate and another to the Forgotten realms. Seconds after Veon blacked out from over using his power.

…

Obviously, Arbor was unknown to what was happening in the Devine Realm. After removing his hand, Arbor walked around the tree and figured that it was thirty feet in circumference. Arbor tired to chip some bark off but failed. He was unsuccessful and failed to even make the slightest scratch. Twenty-five minutes later Arbor was done inspecting the tree. Arbor was now sitting on the ground with his back up against the trunk and looking up at the thousands of branches that were birthed by the tree. Arbor decided to shut his eyes and take a nap while everyone else set up camp.

"AHHHH FUCK. SHIT. MOTHER FUCKER. GOD DAMN IT." Arbor roared, alerting everybody in the camp. He swiped away the tarantula that had bit him in the neck. He tried to get up but his body was paralyzed. His body was starting to turn black as the poison was circulating through his body. A Black mist started to emanate from ever poor on his body.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO HIM?" Questioned a guard with a horrified look on his face.

Blood started to poor out from Arbor's seven orifices. He was slowly losing consciousness as he struggled to keep his eyes open. Arbor lost had thought he lost his life, but his soul was simply being extracted from his body.

Johnny was standing in the back of the crowed looking at Arbor when he suddenly noticed a yellow glow coming from the top of the tree.

Johnny was stuttering over his own words, until he final said, "Hey isn't that…"