Drawn into the weight of the moment, the nomads stumbled back to their feet in awe.

The shadows that saturated the air condensed until it resembled an elf. Its form rippled and pulsed with energy, distorting its appearance. What Ruvan knew at the core of his very being, those bottomless piercing blood-red orbs that were staring at him would be his demise.

Nothing would ever change that fact. For good or ill, his god would devour them all. It was his very nature.

Eyes closed, he whispered, “May we all find comfort in death's embrace, for we shall find none in life.”

The ground shook till the earth split asunder, revealing a black obsidian monolith that shot up several meters in the blink of an eye. When the dust had settled, a solid black slab had formed at the base.

Hovering beside it, darkness pointed at his champion and spoke.

“To me, champion. It’s time.”

If he wanted to or not, Ruvan walked, presenting himself to his god. Quivering tears flowed down his cheeks for the first time. His thoughts spiraled deeper into the abyss of despair.

I'm afraid.

I don't want to die.

Please help me.

Mother.

Darkness slammed a fist, knocking the wind from his lungs, then tossed him into the air via a multitude of shadow tendrils, landing hard on the altar in a daze.

"My champion, you should feel honored." You exceeded all my expectations. I couldn’t ask for a better vessel.”

Stunned, Ruvan watched darkness shoot up and spiraled toward the ground around the monolith, diving straight into his mouth. Veins felt like they were on fire. Ruvan could only hear someone screaming, not knowing it was him.

The concept of a soul was foreign to the mortals of this realm, but not to an immortal god whose power came from the misery, pain, anger, and the death of others. If you let him get a hold of you, your soul would be forfeited.

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Food to be devoured.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

Silence filled the courtyard. Unsure of what happened or what to do, the nomad tribe stood paralyzed with indecision. Who they knew as Ruvan slid off the altar and addressed them.

“Welcome to the new era of darkness. Together, we shall swallow this land in my power. None can escape my wrath. Thanks to all your effort, I can now raise my army.”

As he spoke, Ruvan, the reborn dark lord, enveloped the surrounding dead with his aura, infusing them with mana and bringing them back to life.

Soulless corpses reanimated.

Undead soldiers for his army. They weren’t as powerful as the skeleton warriors from the previous war. They didn’t have to be. His hoard would multiply and crash down against any resistance he faced. He waited for this very reason.

Lulled into peaceful complacency, these mortals who scatted across the land could not resist.

Death would be the only future waiting for them.

The undead marched out of the gate, pooling around the entrance, dead silent to the world. A couple dozen nomad warriors and a handful of women and children remained. The dark lord pulled from Ruvan's memories and said, “Step forward and kneel, Feno, Jonik, and Falael. You three shall help lead my army.”

Hand pressed over Feno's face, the dark lord branded a black palm print. “Rise Feno, my dark knight. Second only to me, you shall lead my forces. Use these powers to lay waste to the land." Pressing a single thumb to the temple of the other two, he said, “You both shall work under my knight as captains. Rise and embrace the darkness.”

Inspired to craft a force that could sow chaos ahead of them, he called Nylian and Rhalyf forward. Before the latter could voice his concerns over the missing limb, the dark lord said, “Bring five of your strongest warriors to fight by your side.”

Feeding off the nomad's fear, he blasted dark energy through Nylian and Rhalyf spreading out to the other ten behind them. Writhing in agony, all twelve collapsed to the ground.

Bones snapped. Skin stretched and reformed until only beasts remained cloaked in shadows. Like what his counterpart did, these elves now coexisted with the souls of beasts, but his essence had corrupted these.

“Go forth and kill anything you find. Let the land flow with the blood of mortals.”

Consumed by hunger and compelled to do the dark lord's bidding, two groups of six beasts ran past the remaining nomads and the undead, going in separate directions howling with rage.

“I'm coming for you, Silvertree. I killed your mate, now I’m going to kill you too.”

…

The pulse of dark energy that spread when the dark lord had been reborn crashed into Silvertree's domain, alerting him. What he wished would never come to pass had arrived. Soon his mate’s killer would enter the forest for a third time.

I must ask Elwin for help once more. He may be reluctant, but Vanima will convince him it’s the only way. He is my champion, after all.

Unbeknownst to both sides, in the coming months, the forces of darkness would encounter those searching for allies against the dark lord. The time for reliving the past had ended.