Driven by immense curiosity and growing anxiety, Latori sprinted downhill to the bluff, but by the time he got down there, the figure was gone. Did they notice his presence? Where did it go? Latori drew his sword and cautiously entered the cave. He abruptly turned at every corner with Excaliburn at the ready in his hands. He stood in his braver stance, taking small calculated steps around the cave.

Maybe it was an apparition; the soul of a dead sailor restlessly clinging onto material reality. He had no idea, and his imagination haunted him the most.

What Latori was met with when he entered the cave was nothing that he had expected.

By his storage shelf outside of his hut, Latori found four wolves chomping down on rabbit meat stew he had prepared for when he had gotten back. Saliva covered the beasts’ maws. Their rib cages were visible beneath their fur. Bestial noises of growling stomachs and gorging mouths bounced around the cavern walls.

As Latori approached, the sounds of the feast ceased suddenly, and all that was left was the noise of water dripping in the recesses of the cave.

“Ex, what should I do here?”

“Try to scare them off, boy. Make yourself look imposing. This is not a fight we should risk taking.”

The small irises in the feral eyes of the wolves lasered in on Latori’s throat and swordhand. Without a peep, each of the wolves rose to stand slowly. Their backbones and fur grew elevated. They closed their mouths at the interruption of their meal, but the wolves’ appetite was long from being sated. In unison, they took vigilant yet unflinching steps towards the boy. The two closest towards Latori approached him and formed a congruent triangle between the distance of the three of them. The other two fanned out, prowling around their prey. Latori backed up to create space to breathe and buy himself time. One wrong move could mean his life. The wolves were almost curving around each of his sides already. Their deadly saunter seemed agonizingly patient yet quick.

“Boy, you need to act now. They are closing in on us.”

Latori did his best to posture himself as an intimidating adversary for the wolves. They weren’t falling for it. The wolves had the numbers. Had it not been for the sharp metal stick in his hand, they would have already made their lethal pounce onto the boy. Latori inhaled powerfully. His sword of fire was ready.

He spun his blade around in an intimidating manner. The boy swiftly took two aggressive steps forward, an act of false bravado to give himself an advantage. The two wolves directly in front of him backed up; bewilderment replaced aggression in their eyes. The tides turned ever so slightly by change of circumstances and the altered demeanor of the swordsman. This was all Latori needed.

The wolf to his left had closed the gap too soon. It didn’t account for the flames when taking into account the weapon in the boy’s hands. The boy fluidly shifted his stance to face it and sliced his braver beak in the wolf’s direction, channeling the ferocity of a braver. Singed hairs on its face caused the wolf to yelp and leap back. The two wolves leading the assault creeped back even further as insecurity and doubt became seeded in their minds.

Latori turned his head and pivoted his braver position to the wolf to his right. He knew this attack wouldn’t land a good hit, but he also knew the wolf would panic due to sudden danger. Latori pivoted his claws and did his braver three hit combo towards the wolves, letting out an aggressive and bellowing battle cry as he finished with the spin attack. The wolf stumbled backwards on its hind legs and sniveled like a domesticated puppy, tripping on a rock behind it.

The two wolves in front of Latori tried to regain some ground by growling and proceeding forward with their heads ducked down and their hair raised as if electrified.

Thrown off by the sudden change in pace, Latori made a clumsy swipe forward with Excaliburn. Aware of his loss in tempo, the previously frightened wolf received an adrenaline rush from the anger it felt at being intimidated by a weaker opponent. It jumped forward with its jaws exposed and took a chomp at the boy’s left leg.

“AH, FUCK,” Latori brandished his blade for a counterattack, but it was too late. The wolf dug deep into his flesh, and Latori’s worn khakis were roughly torn on his leg.

“Shit… ah fuck that hurts…” Latori glanced at the wound. Blood dripped down onto the floor below. A cold sensation formed around the injury.

Taking advantage of the moment of weakness, the two wolves that were squatted in front of Latori closed in. They pounced simultaneously, leaving no opening for Latori to guard against both. He knew he was going to take a hit no matter what, so he allowed the one to his front-left to slip through. The attacking wolf plunged its fangs into the boy’s abdomen and shook its head back and forth, tearing at the boy’s flesh as if it had sunk its fangs into a live chew toy.

Meanwhile, Latori drove his metal braver beak forward straight into the other wolf’s mouth, penetrating it all the way through to the other side. The light in the wolf’s eyes was blown out mid-flight. It swung back and forth onto the blade while its attacking partner dug its fangs further into the boy’s leg.

“FUCK. Get the hell off of ME!” Excaliburn’s flames roared as Latori flung the wolf off his blade and stabbed the sword straight into the attacking wolf’s spine. The wolf wrongly assumed that it was safe since the boy’s sword was seemingly deprived of mobility. The dog wailed as it fell to the ground. Latori stabbed the sword further in as he fell to his knees. He held himself up by propping his weight onto Excaliburn.

The fire crackled on top of the dying dog as the cave grew quiet once more. The two wolves on Latori’s flanks became even more cautious. They weren’t sure anymore what the boy was capable of doing. Latori shot at his eyes and tilted his head at each of them repeatedly before releasing another blood-boiling battle cry. At that, the two living beasts conceded this battle and scampered off. Excaliburn’s flames dissolved, and Latori let out an exhausted sigh, thankful that he was able to get away with his life.

“Latori, are you alright?”

“Shit… Fuck, Ex, my leg is really bad. I don’t think I can get back up…”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“… It will be fine, boy. Drag yourself over to the pool over there and clean your wound.”

“I’ll try my best.” Latori slowly pulled the blade from the carcass of the beast. He yelped in pain as he pried the wolf's teeth from his body. Blood gushed out and trickled onto the floor. He dropped the corpse onto the ground and started to crawl his way to the pond in the middle of the cave.

“Baby steps… Urg… I got this…” Latori whispered to himself.

“Do you need help?” A voice from the entrance of the cave asked.

Latori perked his head up, startled. Who was it? It wasn’t Hundan. It sounded like a… woman.

The boy turned onto his back and lifted his head up to face the source of the voice. He readied his sword. His arm quivered as he lifted it in front of him. The boy’s strength continued to deplete.

In front of him stood a girl. Blue veins ran clearly across the girl’s ghastly, chalky, gray skin. White, silky hair fell down at the girl's hips, stopping at the end of a tattered blouse that she adorned. The ends of her tresses curled like the fingers of witches. Two shimmering, chlorinated pools filled her eye sockets. Her nails were chipped, white, and dirty. Faded acne scars covered her face; everything from botched home remedies to professionally developed salves were used in an attempt to hide those scars. Her thin, narrow eyebrows were in a natural furrow. Her resting face conveyed a false annoyance towards anything and everything.

“Do… do you need help?” The girl repeated. She bit her lip and swallowed.

“Oh, Ex… I think I’m going to cry, man. I already have one foot in the grave. I’m seeing ghosts. I’m gonna die, Ex.” Latori dropped Excaliburn to the ground and started wiping his eyes.

“Boy, that’s a Gonshu. Sit up. We are not going down without a fight.”

Latori picked Excaliburn back up and attempted to balance himself up on his uninjured leg. He winced and fell to one knee. He took a deep breath to ignite Excaliburn and started to rise up once more.

“Alright… Time for you to… Be GONE, GONSHU! Ack..” The boy erupted into a coughing fit.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I’m not a Gonshu, either. I’m just… An unlucky person,” The undead girl’s voice fell to a mutter at the last sentence.

“That sword…” The girl continued. “Can you drive that sword through my head?”

“You wanna die?” Latori managed to say through strained breaths.

“Yes, well, I’m already dead, but I want to be at peace. If I heal you, can you kill me, please?” There were hints of desperation in the girl’s voice.

“Sure, you’re an undead, anyway. Just hurry up already before I die first.”

The girl nodded and ambled towards Latori.

“Careful, boy, she might be trying to get a preemptive attack on us.”

“... I don’t think so. I think we’ll be fine. Besides, you and I both know that I might not wake up in the morning with these little numbers on my body.”

Latori sat back down and relaxed. At this point, he didn’t really have any other choice but to trust the girl. Once the girl was at arm's length of Latori, the girl bowed her head down and rotated her right hand slowly. She began chanting an incantation.

“Diyuwan… Spiritfarer and source of wisdom for lost souls, provide me with your power as I offer this prayer to you. Oh, Diyuwan, spirit-farer and guidance of the dead, I turn to you as someone in need. Lend me the power to heal,” The girl murmured.

Latori stared at her, entranced.

The girl knelt down next to the boy and touched Latori’s wounds with each of her hands.

“Ah… Damn.. That hurts… The pain is going away a bit, though. Thanks,” Latori’s breathing began to steady as the pain washed away.

“... Diyuwan? The last primary lender for healing magic I remember was Uzam. Maybe the undead cannot call on her and they must turn to Diyuwan’s magic instead.” Excaliburn telepathically told Latori.

“Diyuwan is not a deity, but his strength is able to rival one. He lends his magic to undead that offer him prayer. Although he is known to be benevolent, he has no personal interest in who uses his magic, so those with evil intentions can still make use of it. Anyway, had you not encountered this girl, you might have awoken to him guiding you to the afterlife by the morning.”

“If you’re not a Gonshu, then what are you?” Latori asked the girl. “I remember Ex mentioning in passing that Gonshu are the only tier of undead that can talk coherently and retain their sense of self.”

“I’m a shaman. My name is Malidy,” The girl introduced herself. “When I was alive, I was always really neurotic. I crafted my own warding charms and wore them at all times. I died on a shipwreck near this island. Before I knew it, a necromancer that lives here tried resurrecting me. One of my warding charms protected against necromancy curses. To my surprise, I still was resurrected, but I negated the effects of the curse that would have put me under his control. I don’t really have anything to live for anymore, so I think I would just want to rest in peace.”

Malidy dusted off her blouse and sat on the ground across from Latori. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

“Well, ready for that hole in your head?” Latori cheered, bouncing to his feet.

“W-wait, give me a moment,” Malidy stood up and clenched her fists. She closed her eyes as tight as she could and waited for the blade. “Okay, I think I’m ready now.”

“Alright here we go…” Latori set Excaliburn aflame and readied a thrust in wolf stance. “HyaAAAAHHH-”

Malidy chewed into her ashy lips. Her whole body quivered in fear and anticipation. She braced herself for whatever came next, even if it meant an oblivion of nothingness.

“-SIKE. Hahaha,” Latori stopped the blade right in front of Malidy’s forehead and busted up laughing.

Malidy opened her eyes and let out a mix of a squeal and a groan.

“Grrrrooohhh-What did you do that for?!” The undead girl yelled.

“HAHAHahaha.. Okay, sorry, sorry. Let me go one more time,” Latori mustered up half of his remaining energy just to halt his laughter. “Here we go for real this time. Don’t worry, poor soul. Latori shall bring you peace… HYAAAAHHHH-Kidding. BAHAHAHA-Hey! Ow, that hurts.”

Malidy proceeded to kick Latori in multiple parts of his legs in retaliation for his cruel prank.

“What’s wrong with you? Can’t you take a joke?” Latori whimpered as he guarded his legs.

“You’re. So. Damn. Rude! I’ve never met someone so rude in my entire two lives!” Malidy bawled. With each word, she landed a kick onto Latori’s shins.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry, geez. I’ll do it for sure this time. I promise.”

“Now I’m not mentally prepared to die anymore. See what you did? I hate you so much.” Malidy continued her assault on Latori’s legs. “I save your life and this is how you repay me? What kind of person are you? I should have left you to die, you ass.”

“I said I’m sorry! Damn. Fine, I’ll make it up to you somehow. What do you want me to do?”

“... Well, if you want to make up for it, you have to help me mentally prepare me to die again.”

“Sure, I’ll do that. What do you want me to do, Milady?”

“EW, don’t call me that. Just listen,” Malidy sighed. “I want closure before I move on. I thought I just wanted to pass, but I realized that I’m going to have even more regrets if I die now with unfinished business. And the first thing I want to do is to confront the person that put this curse on me, the necromancer on this island.”