The day was coming to an end, the sun dipping below the horizon. The two armored figures, however, stood still and held their weapons strong. They were bound to be exhausted from an eternity of standing, but it was their duty, and this duty had to be fulfilled.

Behind them stood a towering tree, with a mass of brown, withered vines for a trunk, expanding up and around to form branches and twigs. Hanging from the vines were ripe, plump, black colored berries. They resembled blueberries dipped in shadows. The two guardians were tasked with the job of forbidding anyone from consuming them by all means necessary. They had both committed grave crimes, and to repay their debt, they were burdened with the task of guarding the Shadow Tree.

In truth, the two guardians thought that their task was bothersome and redundant. For as long as they could remember (which was quite a while), not one creature had approached the tree. Not a human, not a land animal, not a bird, not some mythical creature the world had never seen before…

To be completely honest with you, the two guardians actually could not fathom why they had to guard the tree. They had no idea what the tree actually was. Sure, it was a tree, that was obvious enough. The color and shape of the vines were perplexing, but it was still just a tree.

The berries were a different story. The guardians had to protect the berries from being eaten at all costs, even at their own lives. They didn’t know why the berries were so dangerous. Truth be told, the guardians thought that the berries looked sort of good to eat.

The guardians were forbidden to utter a word to one another, but they both had the same inquiries. Why are those berries so dangerous?

A dark silhouette suddenly appeared at the bottom of the hill. The guardians glanced at each other. Nothing had come this close to them for a very long time.

No, it was probably just a creature passing by (even though this area had long been deserted). Perhaps it would sniff the bare dirt ground and leave to continue its search for food, or whatever it was looking for. But the silhouette kept coming closer. The figure was draped in a black cloak with a long hood to keep its face obscured.

What is that? the two guardians wondered, growing increasingly alarmed at each step the thing took.

The silhouette stopped in front of the guardians, who drew their long spears.

“Leave this place!” they yelled as they were taught.

The figure stood still, making no move suggesting that it was going to obey the guardians’ order.

“Leave or die!” the guardians snarled.

The figure still did not move. The guardians, left with no other choice, darted forwards with their weapons aimed straight at its heart.

All of a sudden the figure vanished. The guardians stumbled, looking around, befuddled. They had never encountered anything like this before.

The figure suddenly appeared at their right. The guardians froze, too shocked to make a move. The cloaked creature came even closer, delivering blows at frightening speed. It seized one of their spears and stabbed both of the guardians’ hearts in quick succession. Just like that, they were dead, bleeding red onto the lifeless soil.

The figure gazed at the two corpses, satisfied, and removed its hood. It appeared to be a striking human woman. She had shining hair the color of obsidian that hung past her waist. Her skin was stark white, and her dark eyes gleamed as she approached the tree.

She raised a hand, running her fingers over a small, dark cluster of berries. She rested it there for a moment, as if considering something, then ripped off the cluster. She plucked each berry from the twig, and all at once, tipped them into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. She clutched her throat, gagging, dropping to her knees on the soil. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, then vanished.

It was as if she had never come.

The tree swayed in the slight breeze, bathed in gold from the setting sun. The two guardians lay dead on the ground. The parched dirt thirstily drank their blood, which flowed up through the Shadow Tree’s roots, making the berries more toxic than they had been before.

One of the berries, too ripe to be borne any longer on the tree, dropped to the ground. It splattered against the ground, soaking the soil with blood red juice. A black, shadowy vapor escaped into the atmosphere.

That was the beginning of the first end of the world.

There would be more to come.