A carriage driving deeper into the mainland was currently being ridden by an enormous robed skeleton and a small smiling dwarf.
A few weeks after its encounter with the Holy Lord, Dar'ith began receiving news of a dangerous lich that was causing numerous disappearances and an increase of undead activity somewhere near an abandoned castle some way south of the capital.
This lich was apparently some kind of nemesis that Sanctus never managed to eliminate completely, only managing to destroy its host and forcing it back somewhere unknown, only for it to return a few years later.
Following these informations were some rumors about interesting magic books and research papers tucked away inside the undead's residence, along with enchanted weapons, armors and some weirdly specific knowledge about something apparently unknown.
Dar'ith, being someone with enough intellect to understand incredibly obvious signs, understood that this was an extermination mission sent by the light god.
And as his new champion, Dar'ith obviously decided to avoid the request.
So, when its servant, bodyguard and knight Jack appeared in front of it with his usual beaming smile and a request for possible assistance, the skeleton whipped out an excuse.
"Unfortunately I already have other plans, I will not be able to assist you."
"Other plans? May I know what do you have in mind, milord?" [Jack]
"I... Wished to survey Altria to better know the territory I will be working in."
"Of course! How can anyone be able to fight the evil of this land if he doesn't know the land he have to fight in!" [Jack]
"Exactly."
"I completely understand. I had hoped for your presence to bolster the morale of our troops but alas... Actually, why not come with us, exterminate the undead and surveying Altria after the mission?
Your plans and ours fall perfectly together! This must be a message of the great Holy Lord! As expected of the holy messenger." [Jack]
"...no."
"No?" [Jack]
"...I will not be able to assist you because of an... Anomaly, that I need to study."
"An anomaly? I never received any news about this anomaly, may I ask how did you come to know of this?" [Jack]
"The Holy Lord told me."
"The Holy Lord himself!?" [Jack]
"Yes."
"Oh, these are wonderful news, I must tell the king! We need to mobilize the troops, no, the scholars, we need to send all the support we can for this mission!" [Jack]
"No, there is no need for any of that. Just go fight the lich like you were planning to."
"But why? For such an important mission we need to-" [Jack]
"Do you think that I will fail this mission?"
"What!? No! Of course not, but-" [Jack]
"Then stop this instant, there is a reason why the Holy Lord asked me to complete this mission instead of assisting you."
"R-really?" [Jack]
"Of course, you are needed somewhere else and he knows that you won't be needing my assistance. So go, and do your duty the same way I shall do mine."
"I will!" [Jack]
"Good, now leave, I need to prepare myself for the travel."
"Of course, I shall give orders to the troops and prepare to join you." [Jack]
"...no, you need to lead your men, I can go alone."
"I have the orders to serve and protect you, milord. This is more important." [Jack]
"No, the Holy Lord told me to go because he knew you were in charge of the mission."
"But-" [Jack]
"No buts, just go."
"Please, if not me, at least take someone just to be sure. I do not wish fo-" [Jack]
"Fine, I'll take Bradn, now go."
----------------------------------------
Shifting its gaze away from the book, Dar'ith asked the dwarf in front of it a question.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Bradn thinking what is 'anomaly'. Bradn never listened the word before." [Bradn]
"You can think of it as something unusual that cannot be explaned in normal circumstances."
"Unusual?" [Bradn]
"Mm... Imagine not being able to hear Shassathahla's beats."
"Not hear!? Ramaktul, Not possible!" [Bradn]
"That, can be considered an anomaly"
"Oh, anomalies maraksseh, Bradn var nash. Bradn tah'tah waugh anomaly." [Bradn]
"I do not speak drakkir yet."
"Ah, not worry, Bradn only remembering anomaly is bad." [Bradn]
"...Sure."
After half a day of travel, the carriage finally stopped and the two got out.
Dar'ith ordered the driver to go back as they would need a few days to complete the mission and didn't know how much specifically.
After another discussion similar to the one it had with Jack, the undead finally managed to convince him to go away.
"So, where is anomaly?" [Bradn]
"There isn't one."
"But is rogh naktul anomaly?" [Bradn]
"Rogh?"
"Is objective, goal, target, destination." [Bradn]
"I made that up."
"Lie? But lie naktul nahhifura, lie is maraksseh!" [Bradn]
"I didn't want to participate in the mission. Just keep quiet, I chose you specifically because anyone else would've been even more of an annoyance."
"But why... Oh! Bradn nash. Bradn should have nash before, Bradn is not good friend, kittargh Bradn." [Bradn]
"You understand what, exactly?"
"Drakhnahhi Dar'ith is undead, enemy is undead. Darvan not want fight own kind, so Dar'ith not want fight own kind. Bradn var nash, fight other darvan is bad, never fight same. So Dar'ith not fight same because both is undead." [Bradn]
"...Yes, that is indeed the reason. Can I count on your silence?"
"Fuh'nahal! Bradn is silent!" [Bradn]
"Thank you Bradn, I knew I didn't have to kill anyone today."
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Fuh'nahal, killing own kind is bad." [Bradn]
And so the time passed, after creating a few blocks of earth to sit and lay on, the two relaxed themselves and enjoyed their little vacation.
Everything was calm, the wind softly caressing the grass while the birds sang to each other made for a pleasant day.
Except for some annoying thing happening in the mana somewhere in the distance.
But the undead ignored it in favor of its moment of peace.
Evening came, and with it, the light to read went away. But the strange phenomenon didn't.
With a sigh, the undead closed its book.
"Do you also feel it?"
"Fuh'nahal, erratic th in that direction. Rhythm is strange." [Bradn]
"I can't concentrate, I'm going to check what's going on."
"Wait, Bradn comes too." [Bradn]
The two walked toward the source of the disturbance, after a certain point, the mana surrounding them completely changed and according to the dwarf, her goddess' beats were worryingly fast and irregular.
Some more road travelled and the duo spotted something similar to a farm.
The farm looked pretty normal: many fields filled with crops ready to be harvested, an imposing mill towering over a house and a large barn.
Unfortunately it only looked normal through normal eyes, because what Dar'ith was seeing was mana violently rippling through the air coming out of the barn.
"You! Get out of here, this is private property!" [Man]
With a quick motion, the undead put its mask on and turned to the shouting man.
"Oh, fo... Forgive us, we didn't know. We were kind of abandoned by our group and managed to stumble upon your farm. If possible, can we rest here for the night?"
"No, get out of here now." [Man]
"Please sir, we only wish to stay for one night, it is dangerous to go out at night."
"Do you not understand? I said to get out of here! Do it now or else!" [Man]
"Please, we can pa-"
"Dar'ith! It is trap!" [Bradn]
Bradn wielded his war axe and glared at the man before stepping back and avoiding an arrow aimed at his feet.
Countless men began appearing behind the first one, all armed to the teeth and menacing.
"Bandits? What is in the barn?"
"The barn? He's a mage, prepare counter spells." [Man]
"Tell me what's happening here."
"Nothing, just go away and we'll let you live. Also what happened to your voice?" [Man]
"Tell me what's happening here and I'll let you live."
"Whether I die or live doesn't matter, believe me, it's better if you leave now." [Man]
"What if I refuse?"
"We'll force you." [Man]
"..."
"You seem smart, you can obviously see that you're outnumbered s-" [Man]
"Reality breaks, disappears, the world splits"
The world was cut and every man slid off their bottom parts, sliced by an invisible blade passing through reality.
Or at least almost all of them.
With half a shoulder missing, the man they first met glared at the undead.
"Go!" [Man]
"Ta shassa dall, tah'tah shahha!" [Bradn]
A large wall rose from the ground, covering the two from the arrows and spells thrown at them by the bandits.
Behind the exploding spells, Dar'ith drew two daggers and parried the attacks of a few flanking forces.
A blade colliding with another on the left, a sword cutting the air on the right. After a small dance with the enemy, four bodies fell down as the undead skillfully dropped its daggers and unsheated the sword on its side, cutting the life away from them with a single motion.
"Bradn, cover me."
The dwarf switched places with Dar'ith and began dealing with the enemies with unexpectedly graceful movements for the image he gave.
If Dar'ith's earlier performance was a dance, then a full on ball was happening with Bradn.
Every movement looked calculated in order to follow a silent beat, every hit made contact at the right time, every step, every sound.
The dwarf was not fighting, he was playing music using the sounds of the battle and forcing everyone to dance to his tune, putting them to sleep under the music of war.
Turning away from the show, the undead propelled the two daggers across the enemy's backline using its mana.
Screams of pain confirmed the success of its attacks, and as the moon rose to the sky, its sense of danger shouted it to dodge something.
Both the dwarf and the undead hastily threw themselves to the ground.
The rock wall protecting them exploded as a broken scythe swept across it.
"It is too late to turn back now, forgive me, but I have no other choice." [Scythe wielding man]
As the two stood up, they discovered the true form of the new person that appeared.
A dry and mostly skinless and fleshless face, a rough beard going all the way to his chest, dressed in patched up and slightly ripped farmer's clothes with a large straw hat covering his eyeless sockets.
The eyeless man held a large scythe made of a dried up and cracked snath and blade pieces floating close to each other, creating something similar to a scythe's blade while glowing a pale azure.
It was not human, it was an undead with a terrifying yet gentle expression that slowly readied its weapon for another attack.
Sparks flew as Dar'ith managed to barely block the unexpected swing.
The undead farmer was still preparing its attack and for some reason it was already in front of the skeleton.
"Who are you?"
"I have long since forgotten." [Undead farmer]
Dar'ith kicked the undead away and prepared to cast a light spell.
A crack.
The farmer struck with its scythe again, breaking a rib.
"How!? How fast are you!?"
"You weren't cut? Is it protection magic?" [Undead Farmer]
Dar'ith kicked again, and just like before, the farmer attacked the exact second it was pushed away.
Something was not right, this time the skeleton managed to defend and decided to cast the light spell at point blank.
A bright circle appeared and a light dome grew from Dar'ith's position, engulfing the both of them.
What!? But I just saw that happening...
The light dome was nowhere to be seen and the undead farmer was once again attacking, in the same position, the same way, as if nothing ever happened.
A fist made of stone rose from the ground and crashed against the farmer sending it flying.
Dar'ith turned to Bradn but its sight was stolen midway through as the figure of the farmer that was supposed to be flying through the air was standing in front of the broken wall readying an attack.
Three magic circles activated on the skeleton as it increased its speed and dashed at the enemy.
One, two, three, countless attacks were unleashed with lightning fast movements on the farmer.
Using its magic light sword, the skeleton hacked away pieces of the enemy desperately trying to block the attacks.
The undead farmer was reduced to a stumpt holding itself with the scythe in its remaining arm.
Dar'ith lifted its sword and prepared for the final attack.
Three magic circles activated on the skeleton as it increased its speed and dashed at the enemy.
One, two, three, countless attacks were unleashed with lightning fast movements on the farmer.
Attacks that were blocked and parried with extreme accuracy, not one of its attacks managed to even get near the enemy, always stopping at the scythe.
The enemy not only had incredible speed, but also absurd reactions.
Fighting it head on wasn't a good idea, Dar'ith needed to surprise the enemy in order to gain an opening.
So the skeleton slashed at the farmer while simultaneously summoning a fist made of mana to the enemy's side.
The unexpected hit staggered the undead and the magic sword managed to sever an arm and cleave through part of the abdomen.
The farmer reeled back and Dar'ith struck again, piercing the undead's chest and pinning it to the ground.
Chanting as fast as it could, the skeleton summoned a bright magic formation right in front of the farmer's face.
Dar'ith stared the enemy down as the magic circle released a torrent of light on the grounded undead.
Yet, the farmer didn't flinch an inch and instead it just let go of its scythe and made a motion with its now free hand.
So the skeleton slashed at the farmer while simultaneously summoning a fist made of mana to the enemy's side.
But the undead dodged the invisible attack just like every other attempt and stepped forward, inside Dar'ith's guard.
The skeleton's gaze suddently moved to the sky thanks to a headbutt from the enemy's part.
A kick to its leg made it lose footing and in the next instant Dar'ith was kneeling on the ground watching the blade of a scythe closing in on its neck.
With a meaty sound, the undead farmer's arms were ripped off to the side by a passing wall.
"No!" [Undead Farmer]
"Now, Dar'ith!" [Bradn]
With a desperate attack made in a horrible form, the skeleton violently hacked the undead's leg, cleaving through it and smashing the sword on the ground.
Using the half buried sword as a lever, Dar'ith rose up and kneed the enemy before stomping its chest to the floor, reversing the roles.
Rotating on itself, the skeleton slashed the remaining leg away and stomped harder on the enemy's body to keep it down.
All its attacks were finally connecting, it had to end the fight now.
And so it chanted a light spell while repeatedly hacking away at the limbless body.
During all of this, the farmer had a sorrowful expression and its eyeless sockets weren't looking at its attacker.
Instead the undead was looking at the full moon glowing in the middle of the starry sky.
A beautiful midnight to anyone, a horrible sign to the farmer.
"You poor soul... Forgive me, I couldn't save you from our torture..." [Undead Farmer]
Dar'ith stopped its attack.
They were not the undead's words that stopped the skeleton from killing it.
It was a terrible feeling, an uncomfortable movement of the mana, a bright azure light that enveloped the surroundings.
Turning around, Dar'ith saw a comet, falling down onto the barn.
The meteor struck and everything was destroyed.
A pain that lasted less than a second.
An image of flying debris.
The sight of its body being torn apart by the impact.
The feeling of losing sight.
And the cessation of all feelings.
----------------------------------------
It was morning.
A bright warm sun, a clear blue sky, not a single cloud in a mile. A wonderful new day inside this charming little farm.
"...drakhnahhi Dar'ith?" [Bradn]
"Yes?"
"Was battle dream?" [Bradn]
"I... am not sure..."
A maddened scream followed by the sound of a blade wading through flesh broke the moment.
Countless men and women dressed in a variety of equipments, with different ages and of different castes were killing themselves and each others with terrified and horrified expressions.
In between all of this madness were other men fighting for their lives and mercy killing the traumatized ones.
"D-dar'ith, they is dead! Bradn remember Dar'ith kill they!" [Bradn]
"Were they also undeads?"
The skeleton turned around, ready to fight off a screaming man aiming for them.
But the only thing that reached them was his head, except it didn't as the body was for some reason collapsing a few meters in the distance making the head roll in a completely different direction.
"Please do forgive them, a lot of people lost their sanity after such a long time stuck here. They do not mean to harm." [Undead Farmer]
"Who are you?"
"I am the proud owner of this farm. As for my name, I forgot about that long ago. Call me whatever you wish, the most popular name is Farmer if you want to use that." [Farmer]
"What happened? I remember dying after the meteor struck."
"Dying? Oh no, haha... Dying would be the best thing you could wish for here. Unfortunately you, like all the others, were way too strong so we couldn't save you from your new fate." [Farmer]
"Fate? What do you mean?"
"You are now stuck here, in this farm along with everyone else. Forced to relive this day forever. Come, let's have breakfast at my home, I'll explain everything better. We have all the time in the world after all, no sense in rushing." [Farmer]
The farmer calmly walked to the home near the mill, beheading raving men in his path while the more rational looking people dragged the corpses around and helped with the cleaning.
Just one night ago they were fighting to the death and the entire place was destroyed. But now everyone was ignoring the duo and dealing with each other.
"Dar'ith, Bradn thought that anomaly was lie." [Bradn]
"Yeah, that's what it was supposed to be..."