Long ago, a great evil spread across the land. It had no name, no shape, the people simply referred it as, the curse. The curse was a dark cloud that swept across cities and towns, turning all it touched into its undead soldiers. This time was called the purging. Countless died to its cursed touch. It spread chaos upon the entire world. Enough was enough and 10 heroes, each representing a different race and element rose up in order to defeat the curse. They battled thousands upon thousands of undead soldiers before reaching the centre of curse. Using their powers, they withstood the curse’s touch and using a powerful spell, later destroyed it. They returned home, winning half of the fight. The curse had been destroyed, but the damage the curse had caused still remained. Undead roamed about, slaughtering all they could find. Beasts turned evil due to the curse’s powerful aura, sought to destroy all life. Though the worst of all were the curse cultists, who worship the curse like a god and seek ways to return the curse back to this world. These evils were called, the curse’s corruption.
Even without the curse, the corrupt continued to terrorize the world, even the heroes who banded together once could not defeat their sheer number. With all of the world at stake, the previously divided races followed the 10 heroes lead and united to fight against the corrupt. This was called, the uniting. They shared weapons, tactics, skills and magics. Eventually, they were ready. After a 100-year war, they had drove the corrupt off their land and restored peace to their families. While victorious for now, they knew the corrupt would return and they decided they needed to teach the younger generation on how to defend against these evils. This lead to the creation of battle schools. Here, children of all races would learn how to harness their innate powers and fight with them. The grandest being the 10 heroes’ academy, situated in the middle of the races, which are now called the sapients.
Years have past and life had become peaceful for the sapients. The corrupt seemed to have weakened, and their forces have started to dwindle. Without the corrupts influence, the sapients have begun to flourish, their power ever increasing.
But the world must remain in balance, so as one evil is defeated, another must take its place. Without the fear of the corrupt, people figured that they no longer needed others. They no longer need to ally themselves with anyone else and turned on their friends. Stealing became a word once again. Things like racism and sexism started to appear from slander and misinterpretations, before worse things like slave trading and soul harvesting became a reality. The sapients turned against each other and it wasn’t long before the continent was threatened with war. The people were once again divided and weakened, forming kingdoms and empires within their previously united home. This event was called the dividing. The only thing keeping them from waging war was the 10 heroes’ academy.
The academy was so powerful, they prevented any wars using their sheer force and their influence over the continent. But the people were still unhappy, bloodthirsty, angry and vengeful. To end their strife peacefully the academy made a tournament. Every ten years, the academy would hold a grand tournament between the most powerful fighters from across the land. Each one representing the faction they came from. The winners of the battle would be awarded fame and fortune, while their faction gained power, respect and treasure.
Like this, the sapients have managed to stay together, even if they still fight each other. But that evil still hasn’t left this world. The sapients will soon learn that being divided, will bring about their downfall.
---
It’s the year 2054 gd. 2054 years after the great dividing. It was a pleasant day for the city of Dewgate. Dewgate was a rather small city compared to others, but was definitely one of the better ones. Dewgate was situated right beside a large lake, and an even larger forest. Dewgate had fertile lands, a wonderful view, and was safe from beasts and bandits due it being very close to the Vezoth’s capital - Tharos. Because of all its pleasantries, Dewgate became the final stop for merchants before the capital, making it one of the wealthiest cities in the kingdom.
Dewgate was split into three major factions. The first was the Warde family. They owned the majority of Dewgate and controlled most of the wealth. The head of the family was the lord of Dewgate. They were the oldest family with their roots dating back to the foundation of Dewgate. The second was the Wei clan. They were a relatively new family that fought their way to become a noble. The Wei and the Warde weren’t on the best of terms with each other right now due to a little accident when the Wei were climbing to power. The last clan was the Lygott family. Mysterious individuals who somehow gained nobility. They snuck themselves into Dewgate and rose to power unbeknownst to anyone. Not much is none about them as they are quiet and keep to themselves. They usually stay inside the mansion, the only reason for them to come out was for formal events.
Like today’s. A few days ago, the 3rd son of the Warde clan was born. Bane Lethrosen Warde. Although the Warde family had 5 other children, they still celebrated his birth. In fact, the Warde family would celebrate almost anything, from their children’s birthdays, to their achievements, the Warde family had tons of money to spend, and they loved to spend it.
The party was grand, as were all their parties. It was extravagant. Laughter and dancing filled the halls. It was a sight to behold. At the end, most had forgotten who this party was for and left for their home satisfied.This was Bane’s first birthday party… and his last.
In this world, power was everything. Be it in the form of wealth, connections or strength. The more power you had, the higher your status. So, what if one of your family was weak? It wouldn’t matter if you were from the low caste, but to the nobility and above? You would want to get rid off that weakness, keeping your family strong.
After the union, sapients started finding changes within themselves. Previously, sapients would be born with only one affinity to an element, but after, sapients would be born with 2 on rare occasions, even 3, but these were the rarest. The sapients grew stronger, physically and mentally. Their magical power rose as well, and an entire new organ developed in their bodies. This new organ was called a gift. The gift was situated on the right side of your chest, moving the heart farther left. The gift would help the heart with its duties. The gift had other functions though. It allowed the sapients to create their own energy rather than rely on the world’s energy. This gift gave them the power to cultivate.
So, almost 2150 years after they gained their gifts, it had become a norm, meaning, having a weak gift meant that you were weak. Such was the case with Bane. Bane was born special, after his party his gift was tested. To the Warde family’s dismay, Bane had a completely dysfunctional gift. His gift could not release the energy it absorbed or created but it would continue to pump blood. This was due to Bane missing a heart. Having a dysfunctional gift was just as rare as having three elemental affinities. Because of this, he was treated badly by his siblings and parents, and was often shunned and alone. Only his grandfather payed any attention to him. Due to his heritage, he had lived a lonely life, stuck in the confines of his home. Even though he was considered worthless, Bane was still a son of the Warde family and had value just because of his name and could be married off to another family.
Bane, despite being unable to cultivate was rather intelligent, and was often found in the Warde family’s library. Intelligence was another form of power, but it wasn’t given the respect it deserved. So Bane was left in the library.
On his 12th birthday, his grandfather had had seen his despair and decided to finally end it. To protect Bane, and to keep him safe, he sent him to a small town completely owned by the Warde family. His grandfather had given him the task to govern the town and sent a few soul-bound servants with him.
When Bane arrived to his new town, he had found all of the residents in poor condition. While walking through the streets to his residence he noticed the hateful glares of the villagers. Every villager he approached would either walk away or ignore him. After asking almost everyone he came across, a kind old man finally gave him the answer he was looking for. Apparently, the Warde family had ransacked their town, taking their valuables and leaving claiming it was for the young master who was arriving.
Bane was shocked at the news. Even though he was boiling with anger, he realized it was pointless and it quickly subsided. He had no one to blame after all. Bane, followed by his servants arrived at his new residence. It was damaged and living in it would be a difficult task. In just a few days his servants gave up on their master and abandoned him themselves… and taking his valuables with him. Even the soul-bound servants couldn’t handle their master’s bad luck and fled, facing the consequences of abandoning their oath.
Bane found himself with a broken house, no money, without help and all alone with only his personal items on him. But Bane didn’t give up, he knew that any situation could be turned around, as long as one was positive enough. His fate here was better than an bound by his family. He would show that the gift his grandfather gave him wouldn’t be wasted.
This is Bane’s story.
---
*Sigh*
The townspeople are ever so cold towards me. Even though this town technically belongs to me, they exhibit so much hatred towards me that they won’t even look me in the eye. I tried to explain that I had been framed but I was met with silence. They hadn’t believed me. If I need to make this town better, I need to gain the trust of the people. But how do I do that in this type of situation?
My past few weeks were full of pleasantries and hellos, greeting each and every villager. It didn’t help much but I felt that I made some kind of difference. After that, I would try and rebuild my house. I’m not physically strong so progress was mediocre at best. Thankfully, the old man had given me a room and food. I mustn’t waste his kindness.
The next day I decided to walk around town. If greetings won’t help, then maybe helping them out would? After sometime I saw an old woman struggling to lift a bag.
“Hello ma’am, would you like some help?” Being as polite and friendly as I could I aske her gently.
“Your that Warde kid, heh. Who needs help from you?” She replied with a slight undertone of anger in her voice.
I watched her struggle with the bag some more before she disappeared behind one of the many corners of the town. I could only guess why an old woman like her was carrying such a heavy bag.
The next few encounters had the same result. Hate, anger, repulsion, my morale started to lower. It really felt like a hopeless situation. As I was on my way back to the house I saw a peculiar path that led into the forest. Hidden and overgrown, I walked down the path, thinking it would be interesting. I saw many herbs, which I recognized from a book I read very recently. Some were very valuable due to their medicinal properties. I decided to bring a few samples of each type, just to experiment with later.
I had an interest in herbalism after reading that book, but I never had access to the herbs themselves so I eventually gave up on that prospect. Now I can dabble in herbology. I don’t intend to make it my profession, but having the skill would become quite useful.
After walking a bit farther I had an ominous feeling. Close to a portent. I hoped that this feeling came from the stress I was experiencing but unfortunately for me, that was a false assumption. Almost immediately afterwards I heard a scream in the distance. It belong to a young child. Wasting no time I began to run straight towards the scream, I knew of no one else around and no one from the village would hear the scream and if there was a problem, I’m was the only one who could fix it.
I stumbled across a rocky clearing, I saw a child on the floor, cowering. I rushed over and asked “What’s wrong?” Still shaking, the child pointed behind me, and as I turned around I saw a sight I would have never expected. It was a rotten corpse missing an arm, which was common in this world. The only thing was, it was standing, holding an axe, and looking right at me.
“The corrupt…” I whispered under my breath. I had thought they were gone! I picked up the child and ran away as fast as I could. I could smell the stench of the corpse behind me. I could hear it slowly start to follow but being undead and mindless doesn’t help when your chasing someone down though.
I fled the forest, my arms aching from carrying the child. I put him down, grabbed his arm and began to run again. I ran all the way until the village were I burst out screaming for help.
The townspeople began to open their windows to see what was happening. Some seemed worried, others seemed puzzled, the biggest bunch seemed suspicious. It wasn’t long before a few men from the village decided to confront me.
“Why’re you yelling, damn brat.” Said one of them. He sounded very annoyed. I had forgotten my position in the village. Positions didn’t matter right now though.
“Undead, *gasp* monster! It was the corrupt!” I wasted no time and went straight to the point, still panting and gasping after all that running.
“What are you stupid? The corrupt are gone, the only corrupt here are you lousy nobles!” The man retaliated harshly. His words dumbfounded me. Did they really hate me that much?
“This isn’t the time to argue, please just listen to me. It was the corrupt. Ask this child, I heard his scream and ran over to see what was going on before I saw that thing. I ran for my life, and didn’t look back!”
The grumpy man turned his head to the child. “What’d ya see kid. You better not lie to us.” The man used a threating tone.
The boy stood there shivering before he spoke up. “Its true, it was a dead thing walking. Big bro wasn’t lying.” I heard his words and a wave of relief filled me for two reasons. The first being that the boy did see a corrupt too, and the second being that another person had trusted me.
Upon hearing his words the townsfolk began talking between themselves, whispering things like “That Warde brat obviously forced that child into saying that to gain our trust”, “It was probably just a dead body that spooked those kids” and “What are we going to do if they are telling the truth?”
The village started to become disorganized as people started to panic about the possible threat. In attempt to calm everyone down I said “Please, calm down. We can handle this.” As gently as I could. Even I’m freaking out.
They did quiet down and I sighed internally before another voice spoke up. “An’ how do we know that you aren’t lying?” A crusty looking man walked to the front of the crowd. The villagers had an accent, but he had a very thick accent that was extremely annoying.
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“Lying, t-that’s preposterous, why would I lie about a matter like this!?” I was half yelling, half pleading at this point. I needed them to listen to me now. If they didn’t then we could all possibly perish.
“You jus’ wanna take advantage of te situation to gain back the villagers trust. Dont’cha? Claiming there to be some axe-swinging corpse out there. You think we’re stupid?!” He sounded rather convincing and headstrong. I could see the village had calmed down. Not for the right reasons though.
“No, I really saw it. So did this boy! Please just listen to me!” I was talking desperately but doubt started to cloud my mind. What if it really was just a corpse that scared the both of us and even if it was real, why was I freaking out? There was only one after all. What if I hallucinated the whole thing due to stress? Or that I subconsciously only wanted to find away to gain the villagers trust?
“Liar. Pick a side folks. You can decide to believe his words, or mine.” He sounded very malicious and confident there. Like he had already won and was deciding how to deal with the losers.
The townsfolk were split between me and the crusty looking guy. I could get the feeling that neither of us were liked very much but when I saw the majority of the village walk near him, I knew who was hated more.
Beside me were mostly the sickly, elderly, mothers and children of the village. It made sense because if there was an actual threat, they would be the most in danger and it was better to be careful.
Reasons aside I felt happy that people actually came to my side. I tried to make the most of the tiny bit of good that came to me by motivating myself.
“Thank you for believing me, hide yourselves in your homes. Hide your scent and don’t make a noise. Once the corrupt arrive, they would try to find you using any possible means.”
A few of them nodded and the rest looked at me like I was crazy. Even though they walked to my side. They still listened to me, and I was happy that they did, but being treated like a maniac isn’t fun.
After watching them leave I started to realize my words. The corrupt, they. Those words were plural. I only saw one, but the feeling I had told me otherwise. The bad omen. It filled me with determination and brushed away the doubts in my mind. Anyone would find it easier to trust the fear growing inside of them than any doubt that was crowding their mind.
The only people left beside me was a man who looked to be a blacksmith and about three other men. “What’re you doing, why’re you going back to ur home?” The crusty man spoke up, the women were steadfast and ignored his taunts. After realizing that they had made up their minds, he turned his attention to us.
“John, George, Feng, Kun. Tsk Tsk, why’re you on his side? I thought you would be more sensible Feng, I mean almost half of your storage was taken by his family.”
The man dressed as a blacksmith shifted a little. He was trying to take the few people on my side! Picking on the weak like a vulture. Just his demeanor made me dislike him. I can see why some people were hesitant to join his side.
The crusty man, seeing the discomfort in those beside me began an Aspersion against our side. Criticising them for their choice.
I had two options now, fight with that crusty man or give up on the town. Giving up is a way easier option right now but if I left this town then all the townspeople would die, and I would only disgrace grandfather for believing in me. The second option was much harder and longer, but I can’t give up on this town. On these people. I just can’t.
I chose to fight. As I made my choice a sudden fact popped up in my head. It didn’t quite match up.
“You didn’t see the corrupt right?” I asked the rusty man questioningly.
“Well o’course not, it don' even exist!” He answered as if I was stupid.
“Then how did you know that the corrupt had a axe?” I stared at him intently, trying to pressure him.
“W-well, when you think about undead ghouls, you would see them wielding an axe right?” He sounded unsure and carefully treaded with his words now. I noticed something else too. His accent became a tiny bit weaker. Some people from his side started to think about it as well. A tiny number actually walked over to my side. Hope crept into my heart and another realization came to me.
“Actually, when you think about corrupt, you think of sword-wielding skeletons. Not axe-wielding ghouls.” Confidence filled my voice, and it showed. I heard murmuring from his side.
“Pfff, who cares. Axe, sword, its all the same. It doesn’t matter that much does it. Both used for killing.” The whispering from his side started to die down. Not for long. I realized something else that didn’t quite match up.
“It does matter, especially when you get the weapon in question correct. You could have said any other weapon, but didn’t. You said it was an axe wielding ghoul. In fact, when did I ever say it was a ghoul?” I could clearly tell he was lying about something now. He had seen the corrupt soldier before, that was for sure, but for what reason would he try to cover it up? Wouldn’t he alert the villagers when he saw it? Unless…
His eyes widened in realization and he started to stutter. “I-I, don’t know what your talking about. You’re just trying to confuse us.” His accent started to fall away. Enough so that anyone could see that. When he was trying to prove his innocence, his accent seemed to be almost gone. A question popped into my mind. If all of the village has an accent, who was this man?
The villagers started a commotion again, most from his group walked over to my side. They started to demand answers. Soon, it was the crusty man who was left alone.
He stood there silently. We stood there for a good few minutes.
“HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH”
He started laughing like a maniac. The entirety of the village instinctively backed away from him. His very presence changed and an evil air wafted throughout the area.
“That was an impressive feat child. I shouldn’t have underestimated you. To Actually find faults with my disguise, this body bag…” His accent was completely gone and he talked with a cold and sinister tone.
The villagers were shocked by the sudden change in his voice. There was confusion in some of the villagers eyes. This guy was probably the hermit of the village. Being alone and grumpy may have given him a bad reputation, but he was still a apart of the village. A few villagers try to call out to him. Words refused to come out of their mouths. His sudden change unnerved them too much.
Suddenly, his body slumped to ground, becoming nothing more than a layer of human skin, hair and clothes. Empty eye sockets blankly staring at the crowd. All traces of life disappeared and standing were he was, was a purple cloaked man with his cowl so far over his face, only his mouth was visible. The cloak, bearing intricate, golden designs. He held a long, black staff. But what was truly shocking, lay where his face was. On the part of the hood where the rest of his face should be were eyes. Situated in a triangular pattern, one was fully open. The second, half-open, and the last, completely closed. Everyone knew that symbol. That was the symbol for the...
“Curse cultist!” One of the villagers screamed and the rest fell into panic. Some of the stronger looking people of the village walked to the front, grabbing nearby farm tools as weapons. Thankfully the children, elderly and mothers were inside.
When everyone was rushing to get ready, I was still stuck on the fact that he wore a body.
“Everyone, who can fight to the front, a few of you go behind us. We don't know how many of them there are, or how strong this one is! Everyone who can’t, get to river. Avoid the curse cultist and any corrupt you see! We don't know how many of them there are, or how strong this one is!” Feng, the blacksmith stood up and spoke to the crowd.
People scattered around the village, the crowd slowly shrinking before it was down to a few strong looking villagers. He spun around to those behind him and hand-picked 5 from the group. “Go to the nearest town, get help.” A few words, simple instructions, tremendous pressure. The group of 5 nodded and ran off into the forest, a great weight placed upon their shoulders.
I was frantic now. Thankfully, the village listened to Feng. Those who didn’t have the will or the power to fight fled, and we were left with the adults of the village and some teens who looked fairly confident arrogant. The adults quickly sent them running. Me, being as weak as I am fled to a nearby house, crouched down and looked at what was happening. I couldn’t escape as I needed to see this through.
Most of them enforced their bodies with force. Those who didn’t have a high enough power for that, enforced their weapons.
It was a silent standoff, the villagers were waiting for his move, as they were too cautious and scared to make the first one. After calming down a bit, I realized how orderly the villagers were. I was astounded at the villagers quick reaction and calm to the situation. They were freaking out before when I told them of the undead, but now as the threat lay a few meters ahead of them, they showed a sudden ferocity and brave that would surpass even the most proud of knights.
They could only draw my attention for so long before the cultist began to speak.
“We don’t have to fight.” Smooth, silky, alluring words flowed out his mouth. They would be impossible to resist if it were not for his sudden appearance and the cold, uncaring undertone beneath his voice. “This village was given the great opportunity to serve our master. Put down your weapons and come with me, or face a horrible, gruesome death.”
He gave us two options. A swift death, with time to resolve your life, the other, a much worse fate. A painful, agonizing death which doesn’t stop. Your body would be raised and you would be reincarnated as an undead. It was like a cage. No way out. At least I saw it that way.
The villagers saw something different. They saw a sliver of hope. A hope that you and your family could live a better life, that you continue your lives as normal, that you defeat the cultist and live freely. I wouldn’t know which option I would choose. Thankfully, I wasn’t the one making the choice.
The villagers held their ground and raised their weapons. Their will and determination holding steadfast.
“You refused the most merciful, gracious gift from our master. I hope in time, you realize your mistake. Since you’ll have all of eternity in undeath!” He smashed the ground with his staff. A pale blue-green light appeared around him on the ground.
There was a large rumbling. Beneath him, the ground started crack and holes appeared. Undead monsters climbed out of the ground and a black mist seeped from the holes. Skeletons, ghouls and those in between. Wielding rusty weapons of poor condition. They lined up were clumped together, their sheer number making a wall between us and the cultist. The villagers slightly recoilled. Not because of the sight of the monsters, but due to something else. I couldn't tell what though.
I was completely terrified, but the villagers stood firm. Even the younger adults looked on without fear. You could see it in their eyes, they were ready.
There was another moment of silence. But the cultist soon drew impatient. The cultist lifted his hand and pointed at the villagers. “Attack.” The undead reacted instantly and rushed at the villagers. The villagers held their ground and as the skeletons charged at them.
As the thundering of footsteps drew closer, my instincts told me to run, but I had to stay and watch. It wasn’t long before the first *clash* of battle was heard as the villagers and undead fought.
The villagers mowed through any skeletons that came their way, their powerful, energy enforced attacks completely destroyed the undead’s fragile bodies.
I was ecstatic to see the villagers take on multiple undead with ease. By the rate they were defeating them, I was sure that the battle would end soon. I watched on with confidence and a hope rising in my heart. I watched and watched, and kept on watching. The battle… wasn’t ending.
“Aaargh”
A sudden cry from one of the villagers brought me back into reality. I was so absorbed by the hope in my heart that I fell into it, ignoring the truth of the situation.
The villagers may be stronger, but the undead had numbers. Thousands upon thousands of those undead creatures kept crawling through the holes in the ground.
I knew who was eventually going to win this fight. The villagers would keep hacking away at the skeletons until they could hack no more and fail from exhaustion. I looked back at the fight. They were sweating and panting. I could see visible signs of them getting tired. Their energy reserves must be depleting, and their gift’s must be getting overworked.
I could see some of them try to pass the undead, but their numbers were to great. I watched as they slowly met their demise. Each second stood against them.
The situation seemed truly hopeless. But I think I knew a way. I looked past the horde, at the very back. I could faintly spot some purple before it disappeared beneath the bones and flesh.
What I was thinking was mad, but it was the best option we had. I stepped closer and closer to the stream of undead. Hopefully, they wouldn’t notice me and focus on the villagers. I had to prove myself. To my family, to these villagers and to myself. Even if I am weak, it doesn’t mean I can’t fight. With a burst of courage, I jumped into the stream of death.
My first thought was to get stable. I was quickly being pushed back by the undead. I went on all fours and grabbed the ground. I was trampled underfoot by a whole ton of undead. It stung, and the pain was immeasurable, but I couldn’t let go. I gathered my will, and slowly started to crawl forward. Inch by inch, I went forward. Luckily for me, none of the undead held their weapons pointed to the ground.
Soon, I could see the black smog again, and the pale green light. I kept going until I could see ground. I crawled through a par of dead legs. What lay in front of me was ground. Not undead feet. I could finally stand up again.
I stood up right away and stretched as far as I could, my back feeling much better. I looked forward, reminded of my task. There lay the curse cultist, right in the middle. I looked around. The undead had formed a wall around the cultist and the staff in the ground.
The cultist looked at me, I couldn’t tell his facial expression, but by his words I could tell he was surprised.
“My, it’s the child who saw through my disguise. Have you understood what I said, what I meant? Have you come to seek the truth?”
I stood there, standing still for a few seconds, I didn’t really think out a plan. I know how to stop the waves of undead, that’s simple. Take the staff out of the ground or knock out the cultist. It’s just how to do that, which is the problem. I didn’t have all day, and I had to think of something fast or his patient and my time would run out.
I waited a bit more. “Ahem” The cultist cleared his throat. I began to freak out and made a split-second decision.
“Ah, y-yes. I-I saw the wisdom in your words. Uh…” I got lost and I didn’t know what to say anymore.
We stood in an awkward silence for a moment.“That’s fantastic!!” He surpised me and I jumped back. He sounded happy, genuinely happy. “Another follower! Come child, we shouldn’t waste anymore time in this pathetic village. Aid me by placing your hand on this staff. I sense great power from you, and your quite intelligent too. You would make a fine apprentice. Come quickly now!”
I looked at him stunned. What just happened. I walk closer to him cautiously, before I remember something that would impede his plan. “But, I can’t emit energy.”
“Energy? Such an outdated term.” He whispered it under his breath so I couldn’t hear it. I still did.
“You can’t emit it? That’s absolutely fine! Watch.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the staff. He placed my hand on the staff, and I felt a sudden jerk from somewhere inside me.
Almost instantly, the undead started to double in numbers.
“Amazing potential. I’ve never seen such a strong mana reserve before! The council would be pleased!”
The undead continued to pour out of the cracks, pushing each other aside, they filled the village. I couldn’t let this happen. I looked at the cultist. He was busy talking to himself and dancing.
I put both hands on the staff. I felt the same jerk from before but nothing happened. “Hmm what are your doing, you can’t give it more mana.” The cultist sounded confused.
With some leftover courage, I jerked it out of the ground. Instantly, the cracks in the ground closed, the lights disappeared and the mysterious fog went away.
“What are you doing!!” The cultist rushed over to me. “You’ve stopped the production of undead! You fool!” He grabbed the staff from me and smacked me with it on the head.
“What have you done, what hav-“ He paused and just stared at me in astonishment. I felt my blood drip from my head. It was cold.
“Galazoaí…” He said it like a whisper, but the word creeped around my ears and sent shivers through my spine.
From out of nowhere, I bright flash of light appeared and a spear flew out of the sky. The cultist twirled around, only to find it pierce his body, going straight through him.
From out of the woods came a man in white and gold armor, followed by the 5 men Feng sent. He rushed up to the wall of undead and started to salughter them. He would be here very soon.
*Cough*. The cultist spurt out blood. Red blood? “Y-you, must find the council.” *Cough*, *Cough*. “G-go to Carthos and find the Blackwater Inn. Give them this…” He handed me a pendant from inside his cloak. It was a simple octagonal black pendant. It was oddly attractive. “You must find them, find them… and ask for the council.” *Cough* He coughed a few more times, spurting out more blood than a human should have. I heard his last breath. The life passed out of him as I saw the three eyes on his cloak become completely black.
He trusted me… until the end. No one has ever done that before... I decided to grab his staff. To keep... as a momento.
A few seconds later, the shiny knight broke through the wall of undead. Seeing me, he rushed over, picked me up and ran. The undead slowly following us.
“Wait here.” He placed me with the 5 men Feng sent and rushed back into the fight. It was literally less than 3 minutes before they cleaned up the remaining dead. The arrival of the knight gave the villagers enough strength to make one last push. Relief washed over me.
I felt the pull from inside me again. With no adrenaline or energy left to combat it, I slowly lost consciousness.
Memory 1 - End.