Chapter 5 - The end of one nightmare and the beginning of another

The sight before him was utterly terrifying. Even in the semi-conscious state that Adam was in, he could discern the creature standing in front of the man. It was an extremely thin and tall figure, too tall to be human, clad in what seemed to be a tattered, ancient-looking nightgown. Its arms and legs protruded, resembling gray, wrinkled limbs like those of a corpse, and the truth is… That's what it probably was.

The creature seemed to pay no mind to the student's presence and remained in place, hunched over with its head nearly touching the motionless Teo. Its long, black hair fell over the unfortunate one without him being able to do anything about it. This scene didn't last long, as after a few seconds Adam's head began to throb again, feeling a strong dizziness and nausea to the point where he couldn't help but collapse face down on the floor, struggling desperately not to vomit. Each time he tried to lift his gaze forward the discomfort returned with even more force.

It seemed that the mere sight of that specter caused cognitive damage to him, making it impossible for him to even attempt to directly observe everything that was happening. Nevertheless, despite the sensation that he was about to puke his whole stomach out, the boy tried once more to lift his gaze, only to watch in horror as the creature raised both arms and placed them on both sides of the man's head, covering his cheeks and his scar.

“Eh? … Eh?”

It seemed that Teo still couldn't move, and by this point, he was crying, only managing to babble incoherently while feeling a touch so icy that he could feel the pain in his bones. It wasn't possible to see what happened next due to their position, but suddenly, and before Adam had to lower his gaze again due to dizziness, it could be noted how the trapped man's body began to lose color and thickness rapidly as if it were a balloon from which the contents were being drained.

The poor man's flesh began to contract rapidly, and just a few seconds later, it had completely disappeared, leaving behind all his belongings which fell to the ground and scattered around. It was something that did not go unnoticed by the blurred sight of the boy, who despite everything could notice how the strange box, which had been summoned seconds before, fell to the ground. Within it, a slightly shiny object emerged, rolled through the ground, and stopped between him and the specter.

What was that? Perhaps it was not the best time to think about it, for everything that had once been Teo had disappeared, and only his skull remained in the ghost's necrotic hands that had killed him so cruelly.

[Ph'nglui n'ghftnahh mgepog, ahagl n'gha ah ah'lw'nafhagl,

nafl'fhtagn hai, orr'ee, hup ymg' epshuggog.

bones ot departed, heed ya uln,

nafl'fhtagn hai, nafl'fhtagn yogor tall!]

Almost like a whisper, a strange chant could be heard emanating from that horrifying figure, words in a cursed language that resonated in Adam's ears much like the roar of the demon-type did, only this time causing his eyes to start darting uncontrollably from side to side while an unbearable pain surged through his head. His state was such that he couldn't even utter a scream; he only managed to bring both hands straight to his face, squeezing it tightly, to the point that he was sure the warmth he felt on his face was blood or saliva or both, caused by his abrupt reaction.

Only when the words ceased did the young man lower his arms and open his eyes, extremely exhausted and pondering the miracle of still being conscious after everything that had happened. The scene before him was hellish; the skull of who had just moments ago been Teo was floating while some kind of liquid covered it and shaped around it until it reformed, this time with an appearance that would give nightmares even to the bravest of men. Instead of a human figure, there was a mass that barely resembled a person, with four arms, a huge and thin tail similar to that of a lizard, without hair, and devoid of facial features.

Adam had no strength to do anything else; he could barely maintain his kneeling position, and his vision was darkening by the moment, something that did not go unnoticed by the entity, who turned towards the boy, finally revealing its face.

The creature finally moved from its position and advanced a few steps, enough to stand face to face with the last conscious living being that remained in the vicinity, revealing that its visage was nothing more than a wrinkled canvas with no formations other than three large holes where its eyes and mouth should have been. By this point, the young man felt nothing; perhaps the damage he had received had been so great that his mind no longer perceived the pain caused by merely looking at the entity. He didn't even know in what state he was, yet his mind remained somehow active, even as his body struggled to breathe.

“Interesting.”

Suddenly, a guttural voice with a faint hint of femininity could be heard emanating from the hole that served as the mouth of the specter.

“You are still conscious.”

Just as it had done with the man moments ago, the entity lifted one of its long, spectral arms and placed its right hand on the student's face.

“Your brain seems accustomed to information overload; it has managed to keep functioning after all–you will make an excellent lich… Hm? What is that? Such defiant eyes, you are barely alive yet still exude life force.”

Although the ghost's face had no mouth, I could have sworn that the hole was contorted so much that it appeared to be a very creepy smile.

“Unlike your companion, a living being who voluntarily accepts to submit to me can become something much more valuable than a simple undead... Tell me, little one, do you agree to join me in the death you are about to experience anyway?”

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Adam did not answer, as his condition was far from even being able to articulate any words, nevertheless, his thoughts were clear and logical, he understood that his end was near even though he was no longer in pain, so it really didn't matter if he decided to accept or not, however...

“I can hear the voice of your mind, you understand that there is no alternative, and yet you still think about... Them.”

As he said that, the specter looked up to the group of survivors and companions spread out on the ground, haunted by a huge group of small ghosts that had begun to arrive but had not dared to approach yet.

“Although not really, you just think it's your “duty” to worry about others, such nonsense. Well, if you agree to submit I promise I will let them go.”

The ghost empress' “smile” only contorted further as a soft giggle could be heard coming from it, it was just like listening to a mischievous little girl as she crossed her fingers after a promise. It was clearly a lie, but it was still the only thing Adam could think of doing given his situation, so he accepted it in his mind.

“Excellent.”

[Llll consent ymg' goka, n'ghft ymg' ahmgr'luh....]

Adam's face was released, and after a few seconds, the apparition began to perform a second chant in that strange tongue, while the boy could only be engrossed in his thoughts as he awaited its end.

“What a relief, I hope I’m the only one who has to die, even if there’s a chance that they can return to their families… If I had known this was going to happen, I would've signed up for more classes this semester”

[l' hup nafl'fhtagn n'gha'agl, Iiahe uh'eog, nafl meek....]

The enchantment continued its course and a black miasma began to climb up his clothes and body, slowly and without resistance, yet it was at that moment that the image of his parents came to his mind. It was something that shook him completely, as if from one second to the next he had remembered something very important.

“Mother… Father… Wait!”

It was at that moment that his mind hesitated, an instant when the black bonds, which up to that moment had crawled smoothly down his body, felt as if they were red hot. The searing, crushing pain was insane, and had he been able to do so Adam would have been screaming at the top of his lungs right there. He felt his consciousness drowning in a sea of agonizing emotions while, at the same time, he could hear the ghost continuing her incantation amid choked laughter, enjoying every second of pain.

“I don’t…”

[Embrace n'ghft, ymg' mgah'ehye orr'e ahehye....]

“I don’t want to die… Of course I’m not okay with this… “Duty”? What nonsense! I have a family too! I don’t want to die either! I’m not relieved that I’m the only one that has to die! Who am I kidding?! I’m such a hypocrite! I don’t want this to be the end! … I don't want to die!”

[Iiahe mgepogor lich…]

“One more chance… If I could just have one more chance…”

With pain so indescribable that it threatened to take away his sanity at any moment, Adam's eyes went wild and rolled all around until they landed on that small luminous spot on the floor. He knew instinctively what that thing was, but at the speed of thought a memory came back to his mind. The window that had appeared in front of Teo said “Mcguffin”, a trope used in literature to... Right.

Using the last vestige of willpower he still had within him, driven solely by the desire of every human being to cling to life, even in his last breaths, Adam's body lunged forward a few inches as his right arm extended toward his target. However it was not enough, his fingers fell short of the object before finally the boy completely lost consciousness with the most bitter regret.

[...llll kadishtuor vulgtmo…]

The ghostly voice and laugh were interrupted in the final words when it detected something unusual. Between the fingers of the young man, something was faintly glowing, something that just an instant before was still away from him.

“How? … Why do you have that?”

Without wasting any more time, the creature used its limbs to lift the unconscious young man's arm... A small metal locket with a golden chain dangling freely below his hand, emitting a faint blue light.

“How? … How?!?”

The ghost exclaimed, finally losing her composure and raising her voice as her hair and clothes bristled violently, the surroundings began to tremble as if caught in a miniature earthquake. Only moments before she found himself rejoicing in the pain she was causing her victim, and while she had been surprised by the last bit of strength the boy was able to muster despite his dying state, it was nothing she should be worried about. Still, she could not understand the outcome before his eyes.

“This…”

The boy's weak hold on the locket loosened after he lost consciousness, allowing it to open and reveal its contents. This left the specter completely paralyzed as if lost in her thoughts. That said, something extraordinarily bizarre happened next. A tear welled up from the hollow cavities that served as her eyes, then another, and another, until before she knew it, the spectral abomination was silently weeping.

Still holding onto the unconscious boy's arm, the ghost used her other free limb to bring it to her face, noticing how the liquid continued to accumulate in her palm, produced from her eyes—something she thought would never be possible after the... Incident.

“The cruelty of destiny has no limits, two beings intertwined for just an instant of bad luck, an eternal agony imparted in an involuntary container.”

At that moment, following those unsettling words, the already large number of specters materialized around their empress began to grow: small ghoul-types as far as the eye could see, large quantities of feral-types snarling in the vicinity, two more demon-types that had answered their lady's call, as well as many other aberrations that the survivors had not managed to see.

[Ya hatred ephaiah ymg' ulnah]

The wave of specters began to dissipate, their bodies turning into a large, thick mist that started swirling around until finally converging at the center of everything, being absorbed by none other than the locket in the hands of the unconscious Adam. Just before disappearing entirely, the ghost of what had once been Teo followed suit, and finally, the main specter too. Before vanishing completely, she began to laugh uproariously.

Finally in complete silence, the student's body was left alone on the ground, leaving him sprawled with the rest of the group while the cursed locket began to move of its own accord. It wrapped its chain around his arm like a serpent, melding into the flesh until it became a tattoo that ran along the entire limb, down to the palm just to disappear seconds later.

The desolate and silent atmosphere didn't last much longer, because after a second or two, another of the digital-looking windows appeared out of nowhere, although this time it contained a weird message and seemed more akin to a chat application message.

image [https://i.imgur.com/6XlnIba.png]

It was very strange, almost as if someone else had made a quick comment. Nevertheless, that abnormality vanished as quickly as it appeared and was replaced by a big billboard, much larger than the previous ones. The robotic voice of the system began to read the content, something none of those present could hear.

image [https://i.imgur.com/PD7r3YN.png]

Unfortunately unnoticed by everyone present, a bright flash illuminated the place, leaving behind only the bodies of the survivors lying on the ground, as the members of the foreign group had vanished entirely.