The world had changed when Seth was asleep, more than just the wreckages of civilization and mystical creatures tearing themselves from storybooks and leaping into reality. The environment itself had changed to, eager to accommodate the new vibrant species and evolve alongside them.

It had once been thought that through the simple absence of humans, that the world had begun to heal itself, water becoming cleaner, forest regrowing, animals appearing in unexpected places, etc. Whether that was true or not was still up for debate when the system had descended.

However, if that had been considered healing. What had happened to the world now, even in the face of the initial chaos and destruction, could be called nothing short of a miracle.

Even though he had been asleep for a mere 11 days, and trained in reclusion for another 7, when he had first stepped back out onto the streets he had felt like he had been asleep for millennia.

What had once been carefully trimmed grass patches by the side of the road, were now veritable fields. Each blade of golden grass stood shy of a metre tall and, when Seth had brushed through it on his journey, the dew drops resting on said grass had seeped into his skin. Each droplet revitalised his energy, even if by the smallest measure, so that a simple stroll through the grass felt like a full night's rest. Unsure of whether it was a property of the grass itself or solely from the water, Seth had carefully taken cuttings and gathered the dew for later use.

The once perfect black rivers of asphalt were cracked and destroyed, jutting up in angles and dipping down into man-sized potholes, although those could have been there before.

Nature, no longer restricted by the whims of man, forced itself back into the spotlight. Weeds tearing through the roads, trees climbing up buildings and using them to support their growth.

The jungle had reclaimed the concrete jungle. Seth couldn't help but reminisce on the havoc a few potted and decorative plants had caused in his old office building.

It made navigation a pain, the familiar streets now overrun by flora and fauna as they encroached on human territory and stole back what had been taken from them.

Thankfully, there still existed a few recognisable landmarks that Seth could use to orient himself, when he wasn't busy being distracted by all manners of shiny and new things.

***

Crouched behind the wreckage of sleek, expensive looking black car, Seth observed the glistening object like a tiger stalking its prey. His cover, which had once been a sign of wealth and status, was nothing more than a husk torn apart from the inside when its former owner mutated.

Blocked by a wall of trees on one side, there was a clearing before him. Gathered underneath a lone tree in the middle of the clearing, which a menagerie of hanging vines much like a willow tree, were a herd of deer. Whilst deer were not uncommon in Scotland, rarely would you have seen them this far into the city, but why would they care about that now?

The glistening that had caught his eye was in fact the very skin of these majestic creatures, or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a shell?

Surrounding the body of the deer was an emerald, stone-like structure. Every inch of them was covered in it, making them seem as if they had been meticulously carved out of jade and been brought to life. Despite the rigidity one might expect, it didn't seem as if the Jade Deer had any issue moving in their new bodies.

The sun glinted off their skin as they perused through the clearing, grazing on the ocean of crimson grass underneath their feet.

There was only one exception to their jade protection. Their eyes, which were the same inky pools of soul-ensnaring darkness they had always been.

Naturally, they were not the only animals in the clearing, which Seth only realised used to be a play park when he saw the overgrown swing set. Blink Rats scurried through the crimson grass, hiding themselves in its brush.

A variety of birds flitted through the trees hunting their prey or collecting scraps to build their nests, while what appeared to be an average housecat lounged in a low hanging branch of a particularly sturdy tree.

After all, not everything would be after him and humans in general. Their place on the food chain had certainly shifted, but the chain itself had not broken down completely. A world in which everything killed each other on sight was a world that was doomed to fail.

As he drew closer to his prey, all the while studying it and keeping an eye out for threats to himself, Seth noticed an oddity amongst those in the clearing.

Despite the tree being in the middle of the open area, it seemed that all of the creatures gave it a wide berth. Actively avoiding the hanging fruits like the plague. The only thing that came close to the tree were the Jade Deer, but even then they were still a metre away at the very least. Never bothering to sample the delicacy of the low hanging fruit and instead contempt to munch away at the crimson grass.

Immediately, this set off alarm bells in Seth's head but before he could even begin to contemplate the reason for it, such as the fruits being poisoned, he was given a front row seat to the explanation.

A lone Blink Rat, dodging the swoop of a predator bird, appeared within the shade of the hanging tree. Its head darted around, checking for immediate danger in case it had stumbled into anything worse than the bird.

However it was quickly distracted by the tantalising scent of the fruit that hung from the thick vines. As its nose sniffed at the air, it crept its way over to one of the glistening, bulbous fruits. From where it stood, it could see the fresh morning dew still lingering on the red skin of what Seth would describe as closely related to an apple.

Its wiry tail swishing happily, the naive Blink Rat stood on its hind legs and craned its neck as it prepared to take a gluttonous bite of its delectable meal.

Seth only stopped watching for barely a single second, just long enough for him to blink, yet when his eyes focused once again the Blink Rat, and its bounty, had completely disappeared.

At first he thought that it had just teleported away with it, but when he viewed it again from Bob's memories he discovered that, of course, it could never be so simple.

He watched in horror, having to slow the memory down just to view it properly, as the apple-like fruit opened up into four separate parts, revealing a cacophony of curved, needled fangs packed together like seats at a stadium as they led towards the hollowed centre of the fruit and the vine throat filled with even more teeth. Strings of spittle with the drooling maw connected the wings as they ensnared their victim.

The fangs plunged into the Blink Rat, pulling it in closer before the plant immediately began to retract like a tape measure, shooting up into the leafy shroud of the treetop where it could devour and digest its prey in peace.

Pulling himself out of the memory and snapping back to reality, Seth trailed his eyes up to the canopy of the carnivorous tree. He could see dozens of those 'fruits', some with their mouths still full and others with bulges within the vines as if they were a serpent and had swallowed their meal whole.

The most disturbing sight was that it wasn't just small creatures. He could see something the size of a human within the shroud of leaves, but he couldn't make out what the creature was. Perhaps it was an unlucky person who had strayed into its trap in search of food.

Whatever it was, It was wrapped up loosely in vines, enough that it obscured its figure but seemed like it should still be able to escape. Yet, it remained with only one of the ensnaring vines biting into it.

'Note to self, Definitely do not let one of those things bite me. God knows what kind of venom they have.'

As he shivered at the thought of being dragged up to a tree top to die slowly, another glimmer caught Seth's eye and brought his focus back to the clearing.

One of the Jade Deer, uncaring for the fate of the Blink Rat, was approaching the carnivorous tree with measured steps. It held its head high, not faltering as it strode confidently over to the boundary that separated the clearing from the hangman's fruits, the rest of its herd following close behind.

The very moment the first deer crossed the threshold and entered the tree's hunting domain, the demonic apples began to lash out quicker than Seth could register. Even keeping his eyes peeled, not daring to take his eyes off the sight even to blink, he could barely see their movements.

Multiple fruits latched onto the ample flesh of the Jade Deer, yet as it kept walking the teeth scraped along the unblemished surface of its skin, unable to pierce through its defences. The only form of acknowledgement towards the attacks was the Deer closing its eyes as it walked.

By the time that the rest of the herd started to enter the area, the hanging apples had stopped trying all together, Instead choosing to conserve their energy for prey they could actually feast upon.

A single thought crossed Seth's mind, a devious smile dancing across his lips, as he watched the entire event play out.

'I could do with new under armour to go with my cloak.'