I lean against Clarence, my body weak from the battle in the Dusken Depths. The dungeon entrance fades from view just as we leave, and we make our way back to Seraphine's Rest.

  That last spell I cast drained me more than I could have ever imagined. It felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me for some time now, and I still couldn’t catch my breath.

  The village comes into view, its people stirring and moving about, free from the Soul Harvest that had been plaguing them.

  "Everyone's bedhead is crazy, it looks like you when you wake up from a nap," Clarence comments, his voice carrying a hint of relief.

  I choose to ignore that comment, and we make our way to the village elder's house.

  In the corner of the room is Terra’s body. His soul was already gone. It was likely his body couldn’t protect his soul from a second hit from the Soul Harvest and he opted to leave it behind. If only Clarence hadn’t taken that insignia…

  In the other room I see a healer standing over Elias, desperately trying to tend to his wounds.

  Elric spots us and greets us with a smile on his face. "Crowsongs, you've done it! You freed the village from the curse! Thank you, thank you!"

  "Yeah," I whisper, ignoring his thanks, "how is he?"

  The elder hesitates for a moment before answering. "Come, let us talk."

  We entered the room where Elias lay motionless on a bed. The healer's hands hover above him, a faint glow emanating from his fingers as he tries to mend my brother's mangled body.

  "His injuries... they're severe," the healer admits, sweat dripping down his brow. "His wounds are unlike anything I've seen before. At first sight, it appears to be six cavities in his chest that have been cauterized, but it appears there was damage to his organs. He has been bleeding internally for some time now."

  "Can you save him?"

  The healer looks at me with an expression I’m all but used to. "I've done everything I can, but I don’t think-"

  "Keep trying," I urge him. "He's strong. He'll pull through."

  "Of course," the healer replies, turning his attention back to Elias. But he doesn’t do much more.

  "Clara," Clarence whispers, his voice cracking. "You did everything you could. You can't blame yourself."

  I know Clarence was just trying to comfort me, but his words feel empty. I had failed Elias time and time again. No matter what I do, no matter what I try, this is the outcome in one way or another.

  With the healer's words echoing in my ears, I watch as Elias lays there, his breathing is shallow and labored. His once vibrant eyes are now dull and unfocused. Each breath he takes seems to be a struggle, but still, he clings to life.

  "Is there really nothing more you can do?"

  The healer shakes his head. "I've done all I can. Now it's up to fate."

  "Of course, it’s up to fate," I mutter under my breath, grabbing a hold of my brother's hand.

  "Clara, we… should talk about what comes next."

  "Next?" I look at him, my vision blurring. "What is there to talk about? We're losing him, and it's my fault."

  "Please don't blame yourself. You did everything you could. More than anyone else would have."

  "Then why isn't it enough?" I cry out in frustration, tears threatening to fall from my eyes. "Why can't I save him just this one time?"

  "Maybe..." Clarence hesitates, glancing down at my brother. "Maybe Elias isn’t meant to be saved."

  "What? No… that’s not right," I whisper, my eyes falling to Elias’s frail frame.

  But I know he’s right.

  Elric pats my back, his voice somber as he speaks. "We’ll give you two some time alone with him."

  As Clarence begins to cry, something falls from his pocket and clatters onto the floor.

  A small black gemstone catches my eye, and I instantly recognize it as a soulgem.

  [Zombie Master’s Soulgem]

  Still crying, Clarence stammers through his tears. "I-It came out of that thing after you killed it, I was going to tell you, but-" His voice breaks due to another heavy sob, and he is unable to finish his sentence.

  An idea sparks to life. I could get one spell from this soulgem. One spell. Turn Elias into a zombie before he fully dies. His memories should be intact, and he would be alive, at least somewhat. Would it work? I dive to the floor, grabbing the soulgem and then I look back to my brother's pale, still form on the bed.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  I raise the soulgem to my mouth, only for a hand to grab hold of my wrist. My heart leaps into my throat as I see Elias, his eyes squinting and his grasp weak. His other hand gently squeezes Clarence's as he struggles to speak.

  "I had a dream… I saw everyone. But the way there is... it’s scary." Tears well in his eyes as he looks at my hand. There’s a hole through its center, and then his eyes drift to the burnmark on my arm. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Clara."

  Then, Elias turns to Clarence, and his hand barely just barely reaches his disfigured face. "I'm sorry I couldn't help. I’m…" Elias barely mouths the last word. And that is his last as he slips away.

  It was only Clarence and I now.

  Clarence is struck motionless, his sobs catching in his throat.

  My own tears blur my vision as I imagine my brother scared and alone, making his way to the afterlife for the hundredth time. Every time I was the one that failed him, and yet was the one that had apologized to me.

  But this time, I refuse to let him go without a fight.

  Biting into the soulgem, a putrid odor assaults my senses. The taste is bitter and rancid, like decaying flesh mixed with a sickly sweetness that makes me want to retch. It lingers in my mouth, leaving a vile aftertaste as if the darkness within the gem was seeping into my very being. Even in death, the Zombie Master was still trying to kill me with the taste of its soulgem.

  My world shifts and warps, plunging me into an inky darkness. My heart pounds in my chest as fear and determination war within me.

  As I stand there surrounded by the darkness, a single flame flickers to life in the distance. Drawn to its warmth and light, I stumble towards it. I see Clarence's clear face illuminated by it, and relief washes over me, as I smile at him.

  "Clarence! What happened to you? Your face, It’s all better..."

  Clarence turns to me and frowns as something wet lands on his head. Saliva. Just above him is the Zombie Master, and it’s bigger this time, much bigger. The Zombie Master’s mouth envelopes Clarence’s skull and bites down on the base of his neck with a sickening crunch. Blood sprays throughout the darkness, and I scream, falling backwards in horror.

  My hands and feet became trapped in a black, viscous goop that creeps out from Clarence's lifeless body. Struggling against it proves futile, as it only causes me to get more stuck. The only light comes from the dying flame in Clarence’s hand, and the form of the Zombie Master trudges ever closer to me, its grotesque figure sending shivers down my spine. I thought it was dead, I thought I killed it, we left the tunnel behind, so why was it here? Is it possible it was illusion magic? Did I never actually leave the dungeon to begin with? Was it a higher ranked dungeon?

  The muck that surrounds me is already waist high, but I manage to tear a hand free. Grabbing hold of an Aetheric Needle, it takes on the shape of a blade, and I point it towards the Zombie Master. "Clarence! Clarence! Give him back! I’m not gonna lose him too!"

  The Zombie Master simply smacks my blade away with his large hand, and then grabs a hold of me. Clarence’s flame goes out, and I feel a pair of strong hands tearing my body free from the muck. The Zombie Master puts my head in its mouth. It’s moist, and warm. I feel a pair of teeth scrape against the base of my neck, and another needle forms in my hand. It takes on the shape of a spear as the Zombie Master bites down. It punctures the roof of his mouth, and his jaw, stopping him from biting down all the way.

  "I told you to give him back!" I thrust my hand forward, and down the monster's gullet as I get a hold of Clarence’s hair. Pulling Clarence’s head free, I swing down with another Aetheric blade, and the Zombie Master’s hand detaches from its body as it drops me. It manages to bite through the spear, but just as it does, another needle lingers overhead, and I infuse it with as much mana as I can.

  "Aetheric Anvil."

  The anvil crashes into the Zombie Master’s head, and a decent chunk is taken out as brain matter splatters across the tunnel. Some of it gets in my face, but I don’t care anymore. I’ve already got another needle in my hand, and it’s gaining weight quickly. I grasp it with both my hands as it takes on the form of a crude, heavy, warhammer. The Zombie Master begins to push himself to his feet, but I spin, and allow my centrifugal force do the heavy hitting for me. The warhammer collides with the Zombie Master’s knee, and it inverts immediately with a loud crack. The boss lets out an ear piercing scream as it falls to the ground, but I’ve got another hundred needles lined up.

  "You can feel pain, can’t you, you ugly fuck?"

  Each needle takes on the shape of a different blade. Each blade is just durable enough to pierce the boss's flesh, but shallow enough that they don’t allow him to die. Not yet.

  After a hundred glowing blades riddle the creature's body, I hold both my hands up. A final needle takes on the shape of something much bigger, and heavier than I’ve ever made.

  "Aetheric Boot!"

  A giant boot appears in the air, and it hits the ground with enough force that the entire tunnel shakes, and echoes as if an explosion had just gone off. The ground where the boot lands sinks in an extra couple of feet, and the Zombie Master’s head is completely obliterated. His body doesn’t so much as twitch anymore.

  "Stay dead this time, you sack of shit," I curse, and then spit on the boss as I walk past him.

  Using the last of my mana, I summon a single needle that illuminates my surroundings. I find Clarence’s head, and bring it to his body. Dropping to my knees at his corpse, I try to reattach his head as best I can, but I fail.

  "C’mon Clarence, it’s okay. We can fix you, I know we can, you’re gonna be okay. I…" My voice trails off as I hear a groan in the distance. The last needle I have shoots in the direction of the noise immediately, and it punctures another zombie. It’s just as big as the last, and I was out of mana now.

  Rising to my feet, I clench my fist tight as I prepare to fight once more. As the zombie grows near and reaches out for me, a blinding flash of light pierces through the darkness. "There you are!" A familiar, feminine voice calls out. I recognize it as Aetheria's.

  I blink away the light, my eyes adjusting to the now empty tunnel, bathed in a soft, comforting white. Aetheria stands with her back to me, three tassels raised, emitting an array of white, pulsating magic .

  Aetheria turns to face me, a gentle expression on her face. She holds a hand out to me, bringing me into a gentle embrace. "There there, Clara! It is just a dream. A bad dream, a nightmare to be exact. A couple of Whispers got in here somehow, but it's okay now." She steps between me and Clarence.

  "Your cousin is doing just fine in the waking world. This was just all a bad dream, do not worry."

  Her words are a soothing balm to my soul. With a shaky breath, I take Aetheria's hand and allow her to take me away. As our fingers intertwine, the two of us are spirited away to a new location, leaving the tunnel and my nightmare behind.

  "Where are we going?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. My thoughts were still consumed by the gruesome scene I had been a part of moments ago.

  "You already know," she says, lights of varying colors pass us by. But they soon fall away, replaced by a colorless landscape. "This is where you wanted to go, right?"

  "How did you?..." I begin, staring over the world of souls.

  "The Eternal Dream," Aetheria announces, holding an arm out to the sight before me.