"Devon, what is that?"

"It looks like bound souls. The impression of them," he answered coldly.

Alice stepped forward, and I noticed the crimson ring around her eyes instead of blue. "Why are they still here?"

"Most likely forgotten."

"Why can we only see them with mana running through us?" I asked.

He glanced my way, and I saw that his eyes were normal. "Learn to keep a constant thread empowering it and have your eyes adapt."

I watched him move to stand directly underneath the floating ghost children. Their bodies were little more than silhouettes of glowing red and black lines. Bound around their necks was a string of gold frayed at the ends.

Their bodies smacked into one another as the rope swayed with an unfelt wind pushed at their backs. Each face looked horrified, silently screaming with petrified expressions.

Devon stepped onto the fountain's lip and then leaped. He swiped down using his spear, and I watched the iron blade cut through the thread. As he landed, the children's bodies began to sink once the thread started to lose its form.

Individual strings floated free until the ghostly wind blew away the particles.

The ten children began to sink into the ground. Their forms sizzled, physically pushing the ash away, and their faces ballooned in size until they burst apart in a shower of sparks that lit the surrounding in scarlet flames. Lasting only a second, the flames died, leaving more black ash behind. It spread like water, tainting the ground around it. They didn't catch alight but pooled together and then crusted over, emitting the scent of rust and blood.

Devon lowered his spear and then looked down at his feet.

No. Not feet. Something's rising from the water.

Bubbles pushed the ash topper away and splattered his boots. He ignored it, flipped his spear around, and aimed it below him.

Something breached the surface; I couldn't see what at first, but as I leaned forward to get a closer look, I tugged at my cloak and looked away.

A very small skull had breached the surface. Its eyes were gone, as was its flesh, leaving behind blackened bone sporting baby teeth with a single gap in the front.

More bubbles rose from the bottom and breached the surface, bringing along child-sized skulls. And even as the bubbling began to aggressively spread from the center, Devon stayed still, holding his spear at the ready. When a lone arm sprouting black leech-like tendrils shot out and grabbed his foot, his spear rocketed downward.

Clang!

He pulled up and flicked off the shattered pieces of skulls stuck to his blade. More limbs began to rise, and he systematically destroyed the creatures before they could fully form. One by one, I counted ten skulls shattering into pieces before the bubbling rose above the lip of the fountain's bowl and spilled down the sides. Where they met white ash, the grey-white lost its luster and shifted to black. I summoned flames into my hand and held it at the ready while Alice hefted her battle axe into the air.

Devon turned to face me. "Cain."

"Yes?" I answered.

"Test your strength; crush the bones, make sure to destroy the skull. Do not use your summon."

"And me?" Alice cut in.

He regarded her and pointed to one of the still-standing buildings. "I see more thread; go around the village and hack them apart."

Usually, I'd argue if testing myself was appropriate, but honestly? I felt rage burning a hole in my chest. My mana came so easily, responding with fervor. After pulling back my sleeve, I let the flames spread up the sides of my arm and stopped it once it reached my elbow.

As the black began to spread, it reached the first lump buried beneath a blanket of ash.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Crack!

Bones shifted, adjusting themselves.

They started to move, and I walked forward, holding my new axe ready. A leg lifted into the air and then dropped back to the ground. I readjusted my grip and lowered my hand down the shaft for better leverage.

Two wet arms clawed the air. A flailing mass of black goop brought a gnashing skull toward my chest. I swung. The stone head connected and then shattered the skull. Pieces of bone rained down, scattering ash into the air, but I ignored it and stared.

It was easy, and even as the headless corpse swung a set of grasping fingers my way, I pulled back and sliced through the spine, shattering the ribcage.

The black goop pulsed and then shriveled up, leaving behind scattered remains that turned to dust.

I looked behind me and watched Alice leap onto a nearby wall before racing out of sight. Devon remained next to the fountain, watching me. He nodded with a dead expression and pointed to my right with his spear.

Purge! Corruption! Hunt!

Extending my arm, I concentrated the flames toward the pile of limbs that began to break free from its cover.

With a whine, the fireball zipped through the air and exploded between the ribcage of one of the corpses. A scream filled the village. The pile exploded into a rain of shrapnel. Stray chunks hit my shoulder, but my cloak cushioned the hit, and the rest I tanked on my arm.

"Whatever you do, don't stop moving. That's the only rule," Devon ordered.

As if to reinforce his words, another wail pierced the sky, and I shifted to the left to swing at a leaping skeleton about two feet in height. It grabbed at my arm as I wrapped my hand around its face and smashed it into the stone.

Its legs thrashed at my feet and ripped an extended cut near my ankle, exposing skin. I released the mana building in my palm and set the corpse ablaze.

I couldn't watch its death as the rattling of bones drew my attention to the next target.

I'll set you all free.

***

I lifted the final skeleton into the air, ignoring the pounding on my chest as it desperately tried to claw at my heart. Only black dust remained around my feet, and I stomped on the fallen piece of bone beneath my boot.

A countless army had rushed toward the center, and each and every one had sought to tear through my hoodie and into my chest. I tested their hits; none were more powerful than an average punch, and that didn't hurt enough for me to care.

Some continued to attack without their skulls. Others bit the stone without their bodies; forced to use their teeth and tried to worm their way closer. Even with contorted appendages or missing limbs, they continued. Tearing through flesh and cloth, they brought themselves to me.

Men, women, children. I crushed them all.

My axe did well, effortlessly slicing through bone with its blade and smashing them to pieces with its body.

They clawed and ripped at the air, every new scratch I healed and returned.

I'll set you free.

After the twentieth kill, I began to burn the blood in my veins and sent the green flames into my weapon. It greedily absorbed the fire and sprouted them along its edge.

It added nothing to the damage, but the wails increased if I didn't immediately cut down the corpse. The flames would stick long after I slashed and purged the black gunk away, leaving nothing in its wake. I ceased the blood fire once I started to slow, but by then, I only had a trickle of corpses rushing from outside the village walls.

Alice hopped down and stared at the flailing creature in my hand, then at me. She inspected me from head to toe and frowned. "I don't think we have enough scraps to fix it all. Not if you want all black."

I tried to smile. It didn't work.

The skeleton continued to scratch. Blood dripped down, a strip of skin came free. But it was a scratch.

Mana roared in my ears as I stared into its rotten eyes. I released a torrent of fire into the skeleton's mouth. It exploded, and I wiped the dust away. "We'll reach the capital soon. There should be something there."

She didn't smile back. "Are you okay?"

No.

"Physically, I feel fine."

"Devon's waiting at the fountain. I got the last of the thread."

Good. They're free.

"Any stragglers?"

She shook her head. "No. I watched the road, but nothing came. You got them all."

Relief flooded in, but only for an instant. It drained away, and I felt hollow. Cold.

I stopped and examined the alleyway. Beside me was one of the demolished buildings; the remnants of a kitchen stood, but that was all. My eyes roamed from beneath the rubble to the scattering of disturbed ash below us.

"Alright. Let's go."

Alice tossed me a water skin, and I graciously accepted it.

As we made our way back toward the center, I stopped and turned down the side street to emerge out of another open square. This one was filled with the remains of a half-rotted wagon, with a stained sheet covering the top.

I made my way around its side and saw the broken skeleton of a horse still clamping down on a leather bit between its jaw.

Alice emerged from the alley and stared at the empty driver's seat.

"There was a body there."

I nodded. The wagon itself was covered in the ash except for the driver's seat. It had a lone spot in the center showcasing unblemished wood, untouched by the rot.

"Footprints. The corpse must have revived. There's the line of black leading to it."

I moved to the back of the wagon and pulled at the edge of the tarp before tugging it off in one go.

Sweet, sickly rot filled my nostrils, and I covered my nose. Squinting through the smell, I looked at the stone crates stacked inside the wagon.

Alice reached over and pried a lid free from one of the crates before tossing it aside.

"Oh… So he was here. He must have been one of the corpses," I said.

"Who?"

"The father of the woman who baked all the meat pies. Her father had been missing for a while."

"Oh."

She gently patted my shoulder and walked away.

After a moment of silence, Freki stuck his head out of the ground, and I rubbed his snout. He licked my palm and fully emerged from my shadow. I welcomed the distraction as I leaned into him.

"Wulf."

"Yeah. Let's go, Freki."