~~~Zeke~~~
Curses echoed into the room along with the sounds of combat.
Further away, someone was shouting for a retreat inside. That was a bad sign.
Zeke huddled in the corner with all the kids behind Byron, peeking past the man's legs to see Eve fire a beam of silver light through the open doorway. She cursed at something, then spun back to her table and started pulling her gun apart.
Lair Lockdown in effect. (7:59:59)
More impacts shook the building, and Pru blurred to a stop in front of him.
"Heal!" she gasped, with one hand clutched over the bleeding stump of her other arm.
Zeke's mind felt thick with horror, but his hands moved automatically to touch her with his golden light.
Purifying Light
It took a lot of power to regenerate a limb—not that Zeke had mana—but it took a lot of faith.
She bailed before he finished when Lila shouted from the hallway. At least he'd stopped the bleeding... Alan had stopped bleeding too. Now he lay glassy-eyed and unmoving on the floor.
They'd come out of nowhere behind him. Alan had thrown himself between the monsters and Zeke. Him and Byron. Alan had trusted Zeke to heal him... but it hadn't been enough. His blood covered the floor in a massive pool that showed just how far from enough it was...
Zeke was trapped in a nightmare. This couldn't be happening! He didn't want to die... He didn't want anyone to die... He just wanted to wake up from this terrible dream and find out that none of it was real. It couldn't be real...
The building shook, and light shone through a new hole in the wall... illuminating the monster standing in the gap in horrible relief.
"Foooound you!" It crooned, red eyes blazing.
It moved, and Byron was abruptly in its path. He caught the swiping claws with a massive palm and closed his hand over the monster's. It didn't matter when the zombie ripped its own arm off to get away. Byron kept moving and always appeared in the zombie's path, no matter which way it tried to go. Each of its attacks always landed on the man, and each of them did nothing to Byron.
Then more zombies poured through the hole in the wall and swarmed after Zeke.
He heard and saw Barbie take one down when it strayed too close to the children... but there were too many.
Zeke ran away. It was all he could do. They were going to kill him, but maybe he could lead them away from the kids. Away from Eve... she was the only good thing he had left. He couldn't let her die...
So he ran out the door while a horde of zombies sprinted after him.
It was chaos.
He saw Jerry and Bill fighting back-to-back in the dining hall against a tide of undead. Others fought in the room, but the undead outnumbered the humans ten to one. It was hopeless.
-1 Faith
God, I'm sorry. Please...
The wall behind him exploded, and a laughing zombie emerged from the dust. "There you are! Show me what you got, Purifier!"
Purifying Light
The mocking tone finally snapped Zeke from his horror, and he gave it what it wanted. Screaming defiantly and shining his golden light on the zombie directly, he lit it up with flickering golden flames... as it laughed.
It laughed in the light of his power.
A streak of blinding silver slammed into its head, and Zeke saw Eve running through the doorway, a gauntlet around her wrist lancing out with silver beams of fire as she charged fearlessly.
Eve...
"Pathetic." The zombie ignored the searing beams burning holes into its face. It ignored Zeke's feeble light. Meanwhile, a black light grew between its own hands. "Let me show you real power!"
It only took a second, then the zombie threw the ball of death at Zeke.
I failed...
Eve's sprinting charge turned into a dive ahead of the magic, twin metal spikes in her hands, each topped with small globes.
She slammed them both into the floor in front of Zeke, right before the magic spell reached her and the black ball of death exploded.
"No!" Zeke screamed as he watched Eve vanish underneath the expanding cloud of darkness, even as he desperately pulled at the golden light inside him. Eve!
Then the darkness stopped expanding. It swirled and rolled back. Underneath, he saw Eve, each hand clenched on the spikes as the magic raged around the globes at the top of each. He watched the darkness get sucked into those spheres and run down and around the shaft until it slammed into Eve's hands.
She screamed in agony, and Zeke could see black lines crawling up her arms even as her hands withered and rotted in front of his eyes. Oh, God! No!
Eve pulled a hand free, and the skin ripped from her palm as she did. She never stopped screaming as she raised her crumbling hand with a gauntlet around her forearm and opened fire.
Four blinding beams of energy snapped out, silver and now swirling with blackness. The beams slammed into the zombie, and it staggered back with four holes burned deep into its chest.
"Stop interfering!" the zombie roared. It stepped forward and swung a foot towards Eve as she screamed, and her gauntlet fired repeated beams of glowing silver and black fire.
Zeke dove towards his sister, golden light leading the way as it fought against the black corruption consuming her.
The monster's foot blurred towards Eve's head... and missed.
"Run!" a deep voice called out as the zombie snarled.
Zeke saw him then, Byron, the wonderful giant! He was holding onto the zombie by its arms and dragging it back, away from them.
Zeke slapped his hands on his sister as gently as possible and poured golden healing into her. "Oh, God! Oh God, Eve!" His eyes were blurring as he looked at her. "Your hands!"
Her hand on the spike was almost skeletal, with rotten flesh drooping and falling from it. The other was almost as bad, but her arm... The gauntlet had melted into glowing, hot slag, and he could hear her flesh sizzling.
"Run, Zeke," she whispered.
"No! Eve!" Zeke was pulling desperately at his core for more of the healing light. "God! Please save her!" he screamed helplessly. "I have faith!"
He glanced up to see Byron, his hands turning black as well, where they gripped the monster. It wrenched an arm free and turned on the big man, its fist taking on a dark glow.
The zombie punched Byron, its blows causing yellow light to flash as the man used a skill to defend himself.
It wasn't enough. Blackness still spread into Byron from each impact, but the big man didn't release the other arm. Instead, he pulled the creature closer until he wrapped it up in both of his arms and hugged it tight. "I won't let you have them," he roared. "I won't fail again!"
The zombie bit into Byron as it screamed and thrashed. Black lines were spreading rapidly across Byron's body, and his flesh was sloughing off. But he didn't let go. "Never again," Byron rumbled as his eyes closed and he continued dragging it back. "Never..."
Then he vanished.
The undead stumbled briefly as he spun back to face them. Then he smiled. "Humans are such annoying creatures."
Zeke followed its gaze and saw Byron lying on the floor behind him, a small child leaning over his dying body and glaring at the zombie with tears in his eyes.
You! Zeke recognized the boy who kept popping in and out all the time. He never talked to anyone; he never even looked at anyone. Now he was here, helping.
The monster took a step while Zeke put a hand on Byron and tried frantically to heal him, too. Please, God, they don't deserve to suffer for my sins!
The zombie stepped the wrong way; it turned around and frowned at them before trying again. It took a step away. Zeke glanced at the boy and saw him trembling as sweat ran down his face.
"Clever!" the undead exclaimed. "But you're too weak." It took another step, and the boy collapsed as it moved closer.
"I..." The zombie loudly proclaimed.
It burst into flickering red flames, and Zeke felt a surge of hope. Kyle!
"I'll save you, Eve!" Kyle yelled from the doorway, then the flames subsided, and the monster was frowning towards the man, apparently undamaged. "Ahh!" Kyle squeaked and vanished from the doorway.
You coward, Zeke cursed after the man as he felt his brief hope dying.
"Now where were we..." A figure blurred into view, and a brilliantly glowing fist slammed into the zombie's head, blasting it clean off while sending its body across the room and through the wall.
Nate was breathing heavily as he looked at Zeke and took in the wounded people around him. "If you have any miracles ready..."
A black blur slammed into Nate and sent him sliding across the floor. When he stopped, Zeke saw the zombie, a glowing black fist pushing against Nate’s own glowing and crossed arms. The black energy didn't appear to be hurting Nate, and Zeke felt a resurgence of his hope. "Thank you, God!"
"Don't thank God!" Nate yelled as he started exchanging blows with the zombie. "Run!" The glow on his hands faded with each hit; beneath it was a dark corruption already spreading black lines over his flesh.
Zeke looked down at his sister, at Byron, and at the boy whose name he still didn't know. Run? Eve was in bad shape, but Byron was so much worse. Run and leave them behind? Leave Eve? he thought. Why would I bother? I can't escape. If I can't save her... It would be better to just die with her.
-1 Faith
The room was shaking as Nate fought against the zombie. Glass rained from every window as shock waves reverberated back and forth. Zeke only looked on in numb despair as the duo battled. I don't have enough faith to save anyone, not even myself.
Then Nate pulled off some kind of throw and violently slammed the zombie into a window, almost getting it outside.
"Enough!" It roared, outraged, then blurred back in a burst of speed and sent Nate tumbling across the room.
More zombies surged into the room and piled onto Nate as he tried to charge back into the fight.
"Play with those until I'm ready for you," the undead spat towards the struggling pile.
It stepped towards Zeke. "As for you..." It stopped, looming above him. "You're weak. Too weak," it hissed at him. "A Faith Purifier!" It laughed aloud. "My favorite."
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The zombie paused to watch Nate for a moment when Zeke saw one zombie in the blurring swarm suddenly fly across the room, slam into a wall, and collapse to the floor, headless. Unmoving.
The monstrous zombie looming above Zeke roared, and more zombies climbed into the room and joined the melee.
"That one has potential," it murmured. "It will definitely make a better body than this one did."
Zeke was silent as he watched Nate struggle uselessly, and he looked up to meet its gaze when the undead turned its attention back to him.
"I love watching those like you as your faith in imaginary gods fails." It grinned. "You've seen the truth already, haven't you? Yes, you've already realized it. Delicious!"
"So before I devour you, let me make you an offer," it growled, holding up a glowing black shard that seemed to suck in the light. "Convert now, or fall forever."
-1 Faith
Zeke had tears running down his face as he felt the light coming from his hands dim almost to nothing. His faith couldn’t be a lie. That was all he had. It's not true...
"There it is!" it crowed. "There's the beautiful despair!"
A rotting hand rose to touch his cheek. Eve...
"Don't worry... little brother." She smiled at him. "I... love..."
The zombie’s foot kicked her hand away and stepped onto her arm. The metal melting into her ruined flesh sizzled louder, and Eve groaned as the undead leaned forward, its face looming closer.
"You will serve us no matter what you do. All will convert or be converted," it growled as it loomed over him. "So make your..."
A rippling storm of power rolled over the world. Sensations and emotions hammered at them from within that storm. Feelings of... Fear! Agony! Anger!
The undead flinched under that wave and glanced out the window. "What was that?"
Eve started laughing—a painful, bitter, and bloody laugh. She only stopped laughing to spit out blood and gasp, "You're so fucked!"
The zombie looked back and forth between her and the window. It looked confused... almost worried. "What is..."
"That..." Eve croaked. "That is the end!" Then she kept laughing.
Zeke felt as confused as the zombie looked. What is it? It was familiar—a feeling he'd felt somewhere before.
Stanley! With a jolt, Zeke made the connection and suddenly realized what he was feeling. The old man who he'd met at the truck stop, with the cute little dog. The man who'd scared the... heck out of everyone by looking at them with those black eyes... This feeling now was the same one he'd felt from Stanley's eyes before. Is he coming back?
He struggled with flickering hope and glanced at the patched wall where the old man had come crashing through days ago.
Stanley had knocked out a bunch of them and then unlocked the soul attributes of everyone in the room just by looking at them. Stanley was powerful—the most powerful, according to Nate. He'd killed one of these monsters before...
+1 Faith
Another pulse of that terrible feeling washed over them. Louder this time. Agony! Anger! Rage!
"Was it the one with the beast lord?" the undead asked, cocking his head.
Eve laughed. "Yes!"
Caffeine! Zeke liked that friendly little giant dog. He wasn't sure why some people were afraid of it...
The zombie laughed then. "You think that one will save you!? Hah! That fool spurned our offer. Him and his annoying beast! Now he has drawn the attention of the high lords and doomed himself. You are only feeling his death throes!" It sounded satisfied and smug. "Even if he has an unusually loud soul..."
Eve only laughed louder. Zeke didn't know why she was so happy, but her laughter wasn't a lie this time... she believed!
Seeing her like this gave him a feeling of... something. The golden light shone brighter from his hands and into Eve as Zeke felt it surging up inside him. Something he'd had in such short supply lately.
Faith. Even if it wasn’t faith in God. He could have faith in Eve.
+1 Faith
"You don't understand," Eve croaked with a bloody smile. "He won't ever die! That fucking monster can't die! He is the fucking end! The end of everything! Even fucking you!"
She was screaming at the end, defiant and fierce, when another smothering, rippling pulse of power crashed over them, only much, much stronger this time. Rage! Rage! RAGE!
[Dungeon Alert]
An Invader has been Defeated. Contributions Earned by participating Defenders.
Defeat or Drive Out the remaining Invaders to claim your Rewards.
Eve grinned and spat more blood at the zombie towering above her. "You're fucked!"
"Impossible!" The zombie stood frozen in shock, staring to the southeast. Toward the direction that feeling had come from.
Zeke felt the rippling power. The rage. It was not stopping this time. So much anger... He felt Stanley's attention settling on them—Stanley's rage. He felt it narrowing down and focusing.
"Feel that?" Eve whispered, leaning forward as much as she could while flat on her back, her eyes boring into the now uncertain zombie. "He is coming to kill you, fucker..." Then she sagged into unconsciousness.
Stanley... Zeke sat frozen in time as he continued pouring out his feeble healing light. Stanley wouldn't give up.
Zeke could feel the defiance in that screaming, raging power. He would fight against anything just to save Caff.
Zeke would never forget that desperate, unstoppable drive when Stanley thought Caffeine needed healing. The weight of Stanley's soul as it bore down on them. He would never stop. He would never give up... no matter what.
Zeke had seen that same refusal to ever say die in Eve's eyes. He looked at her faintly grinning, unconscious face. She believes in me... I can't give up either... I will never give up. I will believe!
+5 Faith
Faith Threshold Restriction Removed.
Trait Evolved: [Faithless] = [Unshattered Faith]
Race Evolved: [Broken Faith] = [Unbroken Belief]
(Broken) Effect Removed for Skill: Purifying Light
(Broken) Effect Removed for Skill: Purifying Aura
A blindingly beautiful golden light exploded from Zeke.
The zombie, who had been so sure of itself only moments ago, screamed and leapt away as golden fire engulfed it from head to toe. It was still backing up when the expanding dome of light reached Nate. The zombies around him burst into raging gold bonfires, and Nate appeared from the flames, flying straight for the only zombie left standing.
That zombie screamed. In pain and fear as the looming rage arrived. It settled around them and reached for the zombie. Rage! RAGE! DEATH!
In a flash of black light, the zombie vanished just ahead of the murderous rage. Just ahead of Nate.
Stanley's overwhelming rage faltered and flickered around them.
There was a burst of pain that clawed at Zeke's soul, and Stanley was gone.
The golden light of Zeke's aura kept spreading in the now too quiet world. It spilled outside, and Zeke could faintly hear zombies screaming and burning. He could feel them burning while the light simultaneously healed others. Until the screams fell silent. Until the only sounds were human cries of victory and despair.
"Good work, Zeke," Nate said, smiling at him through the golden light filling the world.
Zeke tried to smile back, but he could feel something wrong—something next to him.
He looked down at Byron as fresh tears blurred his vision. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Forgive me!" He choked back a sob. "Thank... thank you for saving Eve."
A hand fell on his shoulder, and he looked up into Nate’s eyes.
"Look at his face." Nate said it with a sad smile. "Don’t feel bad for him. He believed in you. All he ever wanted was to protect you."
Zeke looked at the frozen smile on the dead man's face and let the sob escape. I'm sorry that my faith was weak. His light had obliterated the corruption from Byron, but the wounds remained. Only his face was free of blemishes. I'll protect them for you from now on, he swore silently to the man. All of them!
"Don't lose hope, Zeke; we're still in this." Nate squeezed his shoulder softly and stood up. "I'm going to check on the others."
Nate stopped next to the unconscious boy, the one who had tried to save Byron. He smiled at the child and gently moved him away from Byron to lay him next to Eve.
Poor kid, Zeke thought. It's not your fault. You tried your best. Zeke reached over and touched him with his Purifying Light. It's my fault. Even though he knew his aura had already healed any damage. But just in case...
Nate walked out, and Zeke sat somberly in the Golden Light of his aura and held his sister's healed hand as he rejoiced in the victory while simultaneously mourning the costs of that victory.
He could feel the once again empowered light from his aura now flowing out of his core, healing and revitalizing the wounded all around him. All around the entire base.
But he could also feel the little pockets where it was now too late for his power to heal anything. I'm so sorry.
~~~Steven~~~
[Dungeon Alert]
An Invader has been Defeated. Contributions Earned by participating Defenders.
Defeat or Subjugate the remaining Defenders to claim your Rewards.
Steven hated that human so much. Even when he wasn't here, the bastard still ruined everything! Fuck that guy! Fuck the rest of those damn humans! And fuck these gods damned wolves!
He had been so close. So close to reaching that bratty little boy and earning himself a true reward. Then the floor fell out from under him, and that pitch black demon wolf had dragged him away through a nightmare place of shadows. When he finally escaped, it was into this new hell. A hell full of wolves that refused to fuck off and die!
They came from every direction. Constantly. Randomly. Always from the direction he wasn't looking!
Teeth ripped the tendons from his heel, and he stumbled in the instant it took to recover. A body check turned his stumble into a fall. Larger jaws slammed closed around his knee and ripped it clean out, along with his whole lower leg. "Fuck you!"
His leg regrew almost instantly, and he pivoted, glowing claws sprouting from his hand as he intercepted the charging wolf. "Die!"
It danced aside from his attack, a damned hair's breadth from him ripping its head off... and teeth tore through his ankle again.
Steven roared his outrage at the sky as these pathetic weaklings dared to continue their useless assault. He activated all of his skills, even the long cooldown ones, and set his gaze on the one wolf that wasn't attacking him.
It just stood on its little hill and stared at him. It stared at him with those eyes—those condescending eyes. How dare it look down on him?
"I am Eternal!" Steven roared and charged across the field. They wanted to play games? Then he would kill their leader while they watched helplessly. He would kill it slowly! Make it howl and scream! Make it suffer!
The arrogant bitch just stared at him. It didn't even move as he charged. The bitch was probably terrified. Then he leapt into the air, away from the wolves and their irritating teeth. Soaring through the air on an intercept trajectory with the queen bitch.
He raised his claws as he descended, and she took a single hopping step to the side. Her shadow didn't follow; instead, it grew larger, spreading across the ground. No...
Steven landed in the shadow... and everything twisted around. He fell... up, sideways, then tumbled across the churned up field while teeth ripped chunks out of him again and again.
When he fought his way back upright, Steven saw the bitch still standing on her hill. Still staring at him with those eyes...
That was when he finally realized what was happening and felt a chill climbing up his spine. It was impossible! He was Eternal! He couldn't die to a pack of damn wolves...
Steven turned and fled. He didn't care in which direction he went. So long as it took him away from that bitch and her fucking eyes.
He fought through the swarming nightmare of ripping teeth and escaped into the trees. He sprinted. Faster than any damn wolf could run.
And he tripped when the ground fell out from under his feet...
The chill started digging into his heart when he opened his eyes to a familiar field with a small hill at the far end and the gray wolf standing atop it.
Was the bitch smiling at him?
~~~Cunning Fang~~~
Cunning Fang watched the rotten thing try to flee again. It ran fast. Faster than even Quick Bite. It would not be enough.
Her mate had chosen well. He was no longer the strongest or fastest among the pack. Physically, he was the weakest now. But when he moved through the shadowy place underneath this world, he was faster than any wolf.
She watched the shadow appear in the midst of the field, watched it spread and grow, until the rotten thing fell out of the darkness and tumbled to a stop in the dirt.
The pack was waiting when it emerged, and they took it apart.
Piece after piece, they ripped and tore away. The monster replaced the pieces as fast as they went, snarling and screaming at them the whole while.
Cunning Fang ignored its mewling while Night Shadow retook his place inside her shadow. It was the safest place for him in a fight like this, and he was not too proud to leave the killing to his packmates. He had done his part.
She had sent Night Shadow to watch over the human from his dark place, and his power had allowed him to take this foul creature away before it could touch her human. Before it could harm the one human whose presence allowed her own children to eat and live in freedom!
The pack had killed many of the rotten creatures already, but this one was different. It refused to die. It kept restoring its rotten flesh and standing back up. Yet it had threatened her family with its actions, and so it would be destroyed. As many times as it took to make it stay dead.
They had time for it now. The humans had won the fight. Her human lived. He was safe. Her pack could deal with this last rotten thing. A former human that had turned against its own kind.
She wouldn't have blamed it for fighting other humans; sometimes a pack had to fight for territory against other packs. When food was scarce, it was understandable to fight for your own first.
But this thing didn't fight for the survival of its pack. It was akin to a sick wolf that only hunted to kill. It poisoned the land, and for no better reason than to leave nothing for anyone else. It pissed in the ponds, shit in the headwaters of every stream, and left the hunted prey rotting in the fields.
It should never have come here to threaten what was hers. Now it would pay with its life. A sick animal that had to be removed for the good of the pack.
Her pack was strong. Her family was strong. Together, they destroyed the disgusting abomination. Over and over.
Until it finally stopped moving.