A myriad of twinkling diamonds lay scattered in the boundless sky, and in its center the moon bathed the world with silver light. The wind blew silently, carrying with it the stench of decay and death, grey ash swirling in the mix. An eerie calmness permeates the land where the village of Darac once stood, and following its destruction, three individuals were left.
However, it was only now that Soren's eyes settled on the young lady lying motionless on the ground behind Louisa.
Her cloak was ragged and torn just as Louisa's, but she was in a far better condition, with only the ashen floor slightly discoloring her hands and legs. She seemed to be sleeping, her hands helplessly lying by her waist. On the side of her neck was blood, drops of it that had already begun hardening. The source of the blood was two tiny holes present there.
His gaze lingered on her for long moments, then he slowly raised his hand and caressed his bloodied chin. He could feel the blood on his skin slowly hardening as well. It felt lethargic. Despite knowing that he was the one who put her in that state, he did not feel anything about it. He had felt melancholic for a moment, but the emotion was all but gone now.
Noticing his gaze, Louisa turned around and followed it to the young lady. She remained motionless for a moment. Then, she sighed and turned back, pushing herself up from the ground. She dusted herself off and calmly walked toward the sleeping lady.
Soren watched as she lifted her up and placed the mage above her shoulder. Her voice echoed in the silent night a second later.
"She's alive… and you're something in-between… You saw it yourself, did you not?"
Soren turned away from her gaze, still trying to find the right emotion for the moment. His mind wandered to what she had told him about the Heart of the Plague and her surviving with the mage… It all seemed too convenient to be a coincidence, and from her reaction, only his strange transformation remained the abstract factor.
But one thing remained undeniable. This body, this heart… none of it was his. It felt as if someone had taken a perfect measurement of him, crafted a perfect clone, refined and polished it to perfection, biologically altered it, and then placed his soul within it. And they had done that all without leaving a trace.
'What am I even thinking?'
Just then, he heard the sound of Louisa's footsteps, swiftly growing distant as well. It took him a moment to realize that she was heading northeast, toward the mountains in the distance—the only path out of the village.
Not knowing what else to do or where else to go, he wanted to follow her, but he had a problem. This body of his… this new body of his was completely bare, with not a single piece of cloth covering his jade-white skin. While he had been able to see most of her, the night prevented her from seeing him in his current state.
Honestly, he was thankful for that, even if he couldn't show it.
In the end his caution began to feel a little bit pointless, so he ran after her regardless. The moment he shot off, though, what met him was a mistimed footing and a tumble to the ground. However subtle, his muscles had changed, but the change in his speed was even more staggering. He had covered a good distance of the village and was now out of the range of the walls… where they once stood anyway… but ended up with his back on the ground, deep in the throes of pain.
Groaning, he stood up and staggered forward, choosing to speed walk toward her instead. Louisa stopped by the edge of the mountain chain, where a single path led through the forest out of the village, thereby giving him some time to catch his breath. It wouldn't have been any different if she had continued walking, really. He was back in good shape after limping for a few seconds.
Soren continued to dwell on the strange changes that had occurred to him as he approached her, doing well to keep his distance. She turned and stared at his silhouette without saying a word, the sleeping enchantress resting peacefully atop her shoulder. It looked like she was about to say something but chose not to at the last moment.
He stood barely two meters away from her, looking around at the inky mountain slopes and decayed—now burnt—trees. The remnants of the fog had been thoroughly excavated, and all he could see was its aftermath.
Looking at the dreadfully marvelous sight, he thought back to a fleeting thought he once had, right before his death.
"Did we win… this time?"
His thoughts echoed in silence, but the sound of Louisa's voice snapped him out of his daze.
"Yes we did. We won, Soren, we did."
He flinched at the sound of her words, slightly by the suddenness of it and also by the fact that he had voiced his thoughts out loud. However, he did not allow it to perturb him too much, allowing himself a brief moment of respite.
His moment of respite barely lasted, broken by his thoughts. He could still feel his emotions, though faint, and it was an even more difficult task expressing them physically. Now, however, a very familiar feeling continued to nudge at his heart, one he had become accustomed to.
Each time he thought about what he was now, he felt dread. He had no idea what he was, and neither did she, and from what she said, Captain Amger most likely didn't either. Though his transformation had not gotten too much of a reaction out of her, it did not change that she punched him in the chest some minutes ago.
Had it been anyone else, then he would be dead at this very moment. Dying twice did not sound pleasing.
'Let's see.'
Gazing emptily into the distance, he mentally went over everything he already knew about his new self. His fangs and his lust for blood were his biggest problems at the moment. Then there were his heightened senses and the fact that he had become more handsome.
'Am I a Shadow Creature, or something else…'
Perhaps something worse.
He was to heave a silent sigh, but instead suddenly frowned. That was because through the forest path far into the distance, he could see two silhouettes moving past the trees with frightening speed. Soon the faint ringing of hooves began to resound in his ears as well.
The vague shadows slowly became clearer the closer they came, and soon Louisa heard the sound of hooves too. Soren could easily tell that there were two horses swiftly approaching—one of them possessing a rider—from everything he could sense, but he was pleased to know that they weren't a threat based on her reaction.
Soon, the two shadows came into full view… at least for him, and a subtle frown settled on his face. Without saying a word, he took a few steps back, further away from Louisa.
The feeling of the cool night breeze—now devoid of the stench of rot brought by the Shadow Fog—caressing every inch of his skin would have been very enjoyable, but now all it did was make him weary and uncomfortable. He was fully naked after all, and Amger was swiftly approaching, having lit up a torch along the way.
The darkness… his only solace… was going to be chased away any second.
He gritted his teeth.
'Dammit.'
The steeds continued to swiftly approach the three of them, and he was able to get somewhat of a proper view of them. The least their speed allowed him to see.
Amger was not wearing any armor, dressed instead in a dark, flowing cloak that flared in the wind. The steeds, however, were menacing, their skin as black as the darkness that shrouded him. And while one possessed burning crimson eyes, the other… the one that Amger rode had two empty sockets where its eyes should have been. From those sockets, dark fumes continued to rise into the air.
It wasn't long before the spot where Louisa stood was illuminated by Amger's torch, and two dark coursers stood in front of her. One reeked of death and vile coldness, the other brimmed with life and warm energy, but none failed to show their fierceness.
Soren tensed as his gaze met that of the undead horse. The fumes escaping from its empty eyes seemed to have grown wild for a moment, and its body jolted.
Amger was already descending, noticed the courser's reaction, and raised his torch, peering into the distance at Soren's dark silhouette. Louisa followed his gaze; the warmth, and vigor of her blue eyes had returned.
She was the first to speak.
"Soren?"
He sighed and waved his hand.
"I'm here!"
Amger took a few steps forward, his deadpan expression remaining the same. There was not a hint of emotion present on the captain's face or body, nor were there signs of the dreadful war he had just fought, but he was curious regardless.
"Soren… I believe I've heard that name before."
Soren took a few more steps back, his voice drowned in urgency.
"Could you please... keep that light away from me?"
Amger stopped in his tracks and referred to Louisa with a silent question. She simply nodded her head. Maybe she was tired or simply didn't want to say anything to him. Either way, Soren let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that the captain had given up on coming close to him.
He spoke with Louisa for a bit and then helped her mount the alive courser. Soren and Amger watched as she sped off with the mage in her arms, and after a while of tense silence, Amger faced him and smiled.
That smile, however, seemed just as dry and void as the horse standing next to him. It didn't matter to Soren, though; he already knew Amger enough and had other pressing matters to deal with.
Taking a few tentative steps forward, he asked.
"Captain, sir… Do you, uh… have any clothes I can borrow?"