Albaras laughed, the sound echoing eerily as he began descending the stairs. A torch now in hand, he saw what lay in the darkness, liquid and human fused as one, stretched along the walls. The orb began to pulse. Its rhythm turned slowly into a shriek, a cry sensing what was to come, something dark, something inevitable. The unsettling beat matched both the pulsing and Albaras’ laughter. The demon was descending.

  Upstairs, the battle raged in the tavern. Rederick and Methussun fought fiercely as the creatures clawed at the windows, their grotesque forms pressing through the shattered panes. The sounds of splintering wood and heavy breathing filled the air as the two warriors fended off the onslaught.

  ′Where to?′ Rederick yelled over the noise, his sword hacking at the nearest creature’s throat. Albaras, moving downward, pointed toward the second floor with a nonchalant gesture.

  Without a second thought yelled Rederick at Methussun ′Up. Quickly.′

  It was strange how calm Albaras was, no time to ponder’ movements at odds with the chaos around him. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the orb’s glow intensified, filling the room with a low, humming vibration.

  Rederick and Methussun exchanged a brief, tense glance before pushing forward, taking the stairs two steps at a time always looking down at the things approaching.

  Slowly, they were pushed higher and higher. Even Methussun, once a wall of strength, was beginning to tire. His swings grew heavier, less deliberate. Each strike was driven more by gravity than will as his halberd crushed skulls that dared too close in.

  Rederick’s eyes darted to the hallway behind the things, noticing something strange—most of the creatures weren’t following them upstairs. Instead, they were flooding into the basement. This is a fleeting opportunity.

  ′Get to the room!′ Rederick shouted, gesturing to a door just behind them.

  Without hesitation, Methussun and Rederick surged towards it. As they entered the room Methussun’s heavy armor wedged against the door, blocking it with his broad form. Rederick wasted no time. He tore off the ribbons of his armor and began knotting it together, the fabric of his white ribbons trailing out from beneath his breastplate. The makeshift rope would have to do.

  He dashed to the window, pushing it open just enough to slip through. The town stretched out before him, a nightmare unfolding as the creatures seemed to focus on the tavern’s entrance, ignoring the upper floors. Taking a deep breath, he tied one end of the ribbon to a sturdy beam and threw the rest out into the open air.

  ′On my mark,′ Rederick said, locking eyes with Methussun.

  A nod was all they needed.

  Rederick climbed out of the window, his muscles straining as he lowered himself down slowly, his feet barely skimming the side of the building. Once on solid ground, he didn’t wait. He sprinted toward the nearest building, slipping into the shadows, hoping the creatures would remain distracted.

  ′Methussun followed, reluctantly leaving his halberd behind. His heavy steps echoing reverberated off the walls as he descended. but he was close, always close enough to guard Rederick’s back.

  Albaras stood at the bottom of the stairs, his weapons secured. A barrel sat beside him, its top removed, the flammable contents exposed. He smirked as he heard the creatures above, their bodies tumbling from the second floor, crashing down behind him. The hanging orb pulsed frantically, shrieking for help, but Albaras only laughed.

  The first creature lunged at him, its claws reaching just as Albaras let go of the torch. The flame tumbled into the open barrel.

  One second.

  Two seconds.

  The explosion tore through the room. Fire and force hurled Albaras and the creature through the air before slamming them into the ground. The shockwave ripped into the orb, shattering it. No longer whole, now resembling a fractured moon.

  Flames roared to life, creeping hungrily toward the other barrels. The heat licked at the wooden floor, devouring it. Smoke curled upward, filling the space with the scent of burning wood and something more… something unnatural.

  Albaras sat up, laughter fading into a low, satisfied chuckle. He glanced at the orb, gave it a lazy wave goodbye, and turned toward the stairs. Behind him, the creatures ignored him completely. They clawed desperately at the broken remains of the orb, trying to absorb what was left, to save it.

  Morsan fought on, even as he dropped to one knee, his breath ragged. He kept the creatures at bay, his halberd swinging in slow, deliberate arcs. Then, without warning, the things convulsed, their twisted forms shriveling before collapsing to the ground. Dark liquid seeped into the earth, vanishing like ink in water.

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  They did it.

  Morsan exhaled, forcing himself to stand. He leaned heavily on his halberd, using it like a cane. Victory should have tasted sweet, but something was wrong. The air still carried the weight of corruption. The darkness had not yet lifted.

  The others wouldn’t know. Not until they got out. That meant one thing. I needed to go back. I need to warn them. This isn’t over.

  As Kian moved across the ground, even the creatures couldn’t sense him. Fulm’s cloak, now feeling like a gift from the heavens, kept him hidden, letting me slip past them.

  Kian watched as most of the creatures crumpled to the ground, shriveling like frostbitten corpses. But it was all a lie. In the shadows, Kian saw something rise. Lines of darkness slithered from the trees and earth, converging, feeding it. The shape grew larger with every second, an abomination stitched together from the land itself.

  He couldn’t watch any longer. He had to move. Trying to find Rederick. Albaras could face this thing, but Rederick he can’t.

  Rederick and Methussun watched as the tavern slowly became engulfed in flames, fire spilling from every window like a living thing gasping for air. The heat shimmered in the night, twisting the air itself as if the fire wanted to flee its own destruction.

  Then, Albaras stepped out of the doorway.

  His body was wrong. His arms and legs bent in ways they shouldn’t, angles that defied nature, yet he moved effortlessly, as if the grotesque distortion meant nothing. The firelight only made it worse, stretching his shadow and exaggerating the nightmare of his form.

  ′Why are you just standing there?′ he barked, his voice cutting through the crackling blaze. He ignored the wet gurgling of blood in his throat. ′We need to go before the fire spreads, my boys!′

  ′He escaped again. Why can he do that? It’s unnatural,′ Rederick muttered to himself, his frustration slipping through. ′Why can’t he just...′ He stopped mid-sentence, catching himself. His gaze fell downward as if in shame while Methussun watched him, feeling the weight of his stare even through the helmet.

  With a deep breath, Rederick started again. ′You heard the man. We need to go.′

  Before they could move, the ground trembled beneath them. A low, rumbling vibration pulsed through the earth. They searched for Albaras, but he was suddenly gone, even in his state.

  ′I thought it’s best to be quiet and move through the shadows,′ Rederick whispered.

  Methussun gave only a silent nod in return. Following Rederick closely, feeling the strain in his body. Surviving all of this without corruption, few could tell such a tale. He should be proud, but he wasn’t.

  Instead, his mind was elsewhere. Worry clung to him, not for himself, but for the others. For the kid, maybe. But why? Why did he care so much? And why, for a man who lived to help, did he feel nothing but disgust toward Albaras?

  The ground trembled beneath them again. This time, it was heavier. It felt worse.

  ′Why is the damned earth shaking? Albaras did his job. He knew what the heart looked like, right? Or did he? What if it wasn’t the right one? What if it wasn’t a heart at all? I didn’t have time to check. I had to trust the hunter. But what if he was wrong?′

  Rederick signaled for them to move. Methussun scanned the area, seeing nothing, but the tremors grew stronger, rippling through the ground like waves. It was close.

  Then a shadow swept over the ground. Good. At least the fire doesn’t let it hide.

  The shadow stretched wider. Even wider. Becoming massive. Expanding. Until it was no longer just a shadow. It became darkness itself.

  Through the window, Kian saw it, this massive being, shifting. In the light, its true form was revealed.

  A creature formed from many, its body a writhing mass of flesh and liquid. The ooze dripped from its form, unable to hold itself together, falling away in thick streams that exposed what lay beneath, faces, twisted, Shifting. Drowning in the cycle.

  Each time the flesh collapsed, new ooze formed, filling the gaps, only to fall once more under its own weight. Over and over, an endless rebirth of horror. The liquid that touched the ground sizzled, burning into mist before vanishing into the sky.

  Kian scanned the ruins, searching for anyone. Just one figure. Albaras. He stepped from a building, his arm unnaturally bent, his gaze locked onto the creature. As he set his arm straight

  Out of the creature’s body, writhing tubes, slick and tentacle-like, shot toward Albaras. He didn’t resist as they coiled around him, pulling him into the shifting mass.

  Slowly, he sank deeper, his body swallowed whole by the pulsing flesh. As it consumed Albaras the creature clapped its hands together in a slow, deliberate motion. As its palms met, something began to form, an orb, expanding between its hands, threads of liquid ooze connected, feeding the forming orb.

  From within the light, a figure emerged. Since Morsan was still behind, that could only mean one thing.

  Methussun stepped forward, bathed in the eerie glow.

  ′Methussun, where are you going?′ Rederick whispered as Methussun stepped into the light to face something. For Rederick, it was just a shadow—for Methussun, it was an being.

  He didn’t look back. He simply drew his sword, the last thing a Toten j?ger should do. Desperate times called for desperate actions.

  The being remained fixated on its orb, its attention briefly shifting as Methussun stood before it, barely keeping his balance. It remained motionless, like the towering buildings around it. But Methussun refused to do the same.

  He advanced, closing in and preparing to strike. His blade ignited mid-swing, turning to fire. The flaming edge cut through the dark liquid, vaporizing it on contact. But as the sword plunged deeper, the creature’s overwhelming mass began to swallow it, threatening to consume both weapon and wielder. The liquid covered Methussun’s arm, slowly.

  Then, something happened. A bright orange glow spread from the wound, coursing through the creature’s body, reaching what seemed like its head. It halted, its focus shifting away from the orb and toward Methussun.

  It looked down, reaching with one hand toward him while the other held the orb.

  Before it could reach him, a deafening explosion erupted. Methussun was blasted backward, crashing through multiple buildings. The monster split in two as the fire erupted from its head. The liquid flew up before raining down.

  Kian and Rederick instinctively dove for cover as the black ooze hissed into steam as it landed on the ground, vanishing into the night sky. Flames consumed the creature’s remains, spreading between the halves. The darkness was breaking; faint light appeared above.

  ′We did it… He got it, ′Kian said with a shaky laugh, the relief washing over me as the monstrous form faded into smoke. It was over.

  Or so he thought.

  Then, Kian saw it.

  ′No… Not again.′