He could smell the dirt beneath him. The dust still blocking most of his vision. He first looked at the hole in his chest where his beating heart used to be. Touching it, he was unsure why he was still alive. The last thing he remembered was the battered remains of One as Two stood over him. It took a minute before he stood up, using all the strength he could manage. Instantly a ringing in his ear disoriented him, causing him to lose balance. He used his outstretched hands to shield his face from the fall. Lying next to a few rocks as well as several dead bodies around him, Khal took a deep breath before looking around. He trembled abruptly at what he saw next to him. There laid a perfect copy of himself, unconscious.

Before he could utter a sound, he saw a shadowy figure moving in the distance. It slithered closer to him slowly. Was this hell? Khal couldn't tell but it was only now that he realized how still and quiet the place was. He could see Kitten and Red at the corner of his eyes with their backs against the wall, flinching while Two's tentacles were mere inches from their faces. Khal would have been fascinated to see them frozen in time if it wasn't for the creature that made its way closer to his face.

The first thing he noticed was how black its head was. The long fin that ran down its enormous body glistened in the moonlight. Wait, when did the ceiling collapse? Khal wonder. The creature showed its fangs as it stood before Khal, staring him down. Khal noticed how smooth its skin was. Its body dripping with what Khal could only guess was water. An ominous presence pervaded Khal's body. He could tell that the creature before him could kill him instantly.

"We finally meet, child," the darkened creature said gravelly. Khal tried his best to speak but there was a majestic force preventing his mouth from moving. If he could compare this force with the one his grandfather used at Crystal Lake, it would be like a drop of water compared to an ocean. "My apologies," it added before Khal feel the pressure dissipated. "I sometimes forget that mere mortals could only handle so much, even after we've given them so much."

"What are you?" Khal found himself saying in awe.

"I go by many name young warrior, you can call me Segiet The Forsaken."

"What do you want from me...Segiet?" Khal asked.

"What from you? Haha, how presumptuous you mortals have become. I need nothing from you boy, I'm only here to offer you a deal. One that would save you and those you care about."

"Save me? I think I'm beyond saving now. As you can see, there lies my body." Khal pointed to the corpse that laid next to him. It felt surreal knowing that he was no longer alive yet freeing him of any fear he would otherwise have from talking to this creature.

The creature paused before staring at Khal's dead body. "You underestimate me boy. Look!" The creature commanded.

Khal watched a murky shadow engulf his corpse before reanimating it. He, along with the creature watched his body come to live before rushing towards One. His corpse screeched painfully before quickly cladded his fist. A dark tint covered the orange cladding slowly before mixing completely. Khal watched on in horror as his corpse shoved its open hand into One's body, grabbing his heart and ripping it out of him. Without any hesitation, Khal watched his corpse affix the heart into his body before a watery goo plastered the wound. It slowly healed, visibly before the corpse screeched out again.

Two, noticing that something was wrong, turned his vision to the screeching, only to open his eyes widely in terror. He tried his best to attack the corpse from every angle with his tentacles but unfortunately the corpse wind-walked between each attack before simply grabbing one of the tentacles with its darken hands. Instantly, the tentacles corroded quickly while the corpse wind-walked towards Two. "Wait, don't!" Two screamed out as he begged for his life. Expressionlessly, Khal's corpse fired a solid punch directly on the head of Two, exploding it into large chunks of flesh that scattered everywhere.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Khal asked in a panic. He could see his corpse holding Red by the throat, gripping tighter with each passing second. The corpse tilted its head to the side as it watched the life being sucked out of Red.

"I offer you a deal young one. I have risen you from the dead and now I'm taking care of your enemies."

Khal stood up, despite the ringing in his ear, "Stop, he's not my enemy!"

Segiet scuffed in dissatisfaction, "Your mind is still weak. Your mercy today might become your death tomorrow."

Khal watched his corpse release Red, allowing the man to gasp for air at his feet. The corpse then sat on the floor, cross-legged without making another sound. Red and Kitten watched on, frozen with fear as the silent body made no further effort to attack.

"Why would you help me?" Khal asked, now that the attacks were over.

"You will know in time, boy," Sagiet said quickly before wrapping his tail around Khal. The creature slithering forward with Khal firmly between his tail, towards his corpse. Sagiet quickly collided with the corpse while his voice faded, "For now, keep impressing me. Maybe then you'll be useful."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Khal felt a strange splash of water before he found himself back inside his body. Just as he opened his eyes, his body trembled before plummeting to the ground unconscious.

---

Cloud pulled the mask off his face as he sighed in frustration. Four months had passed since the incident that happened in the Hollows. Of the many that were there, only three remained alive. The first two were so freaked out that it took close to two weeks before he found out what had happened. For the first time, the Hive had been infiltrated. From the looks of it, the situation was already under control. Whoever "Five" was had already taken care of them.

Cloud remembered "Five", he was the Spiderling that was punished for mentioning Lord Fang as well as speaking out of turn. Maybe Five did have some relation to him after all, Cloud could only speculate. He knew that it would be difficult to remain quiet on the matter. He had sent Rain with word to Master Claw as soon as he found out, but it seemed that Master Claw was more interested in Five's state than anything else. Rain's preliminary report had flagged many of the Recluse members belonging to the other faction. Cloud was sure that they had already gotten wind of the situation. If they couldn't control Five then they would surely kill him.

Five had been in a watery cocoon for four months without budging. Sustaining himself on world energy for the most part. Mater Claw had called this the ascension to Vulcan, something no other person in the Hive had managed to do. Five would become a great asset to the Hive, causing the entire situation to become more troublesome than Cloud would want. He was ordered by Master Claw to send Five into hiding along with the other two new Recluse. Whoever had tried to infiltrate the Hive could not be working alone. Luckily the two new Recluse had sworn allegiance to Lord Fang without prompt, alleviating any doubts Cloud would have had otherwise.

Cloud washed his face slowly before typing the mask firmly in place again. It had already been three days since he sent Five and the other Recluse towards the North. Only Master Fang could protect them now after all.

-Knock Knock-

Cloud slowly walked towards the door. It was time for Rain's report. The man was faithful to the cause, even though he had never found any clues on the whereabouts of the invitation. Hopefully, today would be different. Cloud needed some better news, maybe that would cure his pounding headache. Just as he opened the door, Rain rushed inside without his usual respect. Cloud was about to reprimand him when he noticed Rain's bloody uniform. The man was finding it hard to talk with all the blood clogging his airways. The arrows sticking out of his back and the slashes on his arms were a testimony to whatever danger lurked nearby.

"Speak!" Cloud ordered, feeling a tinge in his heart as his loyal subordinate put his mission before his life.

Rain handed the invitation to Cloud before blurting "Lord Totem is-". Without managing to say more, Rain breathed his last before dying in Cloud's arm. Gripped with the frustration of the unknown, Cloud screamed out. It was all he could do. He quickly grabbed his few belongings before brandishing his fist towards the door. He laced his arm with his cladding before covering it in a faint blue flame. He opened the door before sending the blue fiery orb towards whatever lay in wait. He didn't wait for the delayed explosion. Cloud quickly used his secret passage towards the outside of the Hive before the entire hive shook.

---

The first thing Khal noticed when he woke up was the bumpy ride. In fact, he had only awakened after hitting his head on the floor. It reminded him of the first time he was brought to the Hive, Wait, where am I? Khal got up from the floor before looking at the wet vegetables and fruits near him. He could tell right away that he was at the back of a carriage. Sighing to himself, he contemplated what could be happening. He did a quick survey of his body to realize that his chest was completely normal. Maybe it was a dream? He couldn't be sure.

He quickly used cognizance on his surroundings. Instantly, he knew that there were just two persons at the front of the carriage. Khal quickly picked up a carrot before using Trace and cladding it. He slowly made his way towards the front of the carriage. Without much resistance, Khal placed the carrot at the throat of the driver. "Where are you taking me!" he demanded.

"Wait, you're awake?" A young woman next to the driver blurted out. Khal turned to her in his confusion, unsure where he knew her from. "You don't remember me? It's Kitten."

Khal dropped the carrot instantly before taking a step back. "Kitten," he muttered to himself. "Red?" he asked after some time. It was the first time seeing them without their masks. Kitten had a mature face with freckles lining the sides of her nose. Her brunette hair was cut short, almost reaching her ear. She was at least three heads shorter than Red. He was a huge man with broad shoulders and a scary face.

"Alive and kicking," Red responded, waving with his stump and a smile that was scarier than his regular face. "We were ordered by Cloud to take you to the Northern Keep. It's no longer safe for you at the Hive."

"Oh," Khal said, a little surprised, "How long was I out for?"

"Hmm, about four months, give or take," Red responded before turning to face the road. "They're calling you Zero now since all the numbered are dead. Well, officially that is."

"And unofficially?"

Red's mouth twitched a little, but he remained quiet. "Well? What are they calling me?" Khal asked again.

"Heartseeker," Kitten eventually said.

Khal looked to the floor regrettably. He knew that there was nothing he could have done to save One. "Fitting," he said with a forced chuckle. "If they fear me then maybe they won't follow us. Where exactly are we anyway?"

"Braxton, the Hive is somewhere in the Galleon Forest a few miles away. You should know when you were asleep a lot has happened." Red paused before looking at Khal again. "The two factions are more divided than we thought. Lord Fang has the majority of his faction at the Northern Keep. Besides Cloud and Rain, there are only a handful of Lord Fang supporters at the Hive. It's a dangerous situation."

There was an eerie pause as Khal listened to Red. He wasn't sure whether he should be happy to escape the place or upset that he was now on the run.

"We should use our real names for now. We need to blend in less we raise suspicions," Kitten reminded.

"Khal"

"Arzela"

"Ewin"

Khal stared at Ewin before breaking out into a hearty laugh. "I expected a scary name, something that fits your personality Red."

"Yea well I didn't expect you to be a fucking child either."

The trio laughed as the horses pulled the cart along the road.