Lilithia ran through the trees, blood trickling from her shoulder, her black hair covered her eye. The forest held its breath.
She stumbled and leaned against a slanted tree trunk. Her panting was heavier than it should have been.
Then Something cut through the forest's silence.
A faint whisper brushed against her ear, a voice neither human… nor demonic:
"Lilithia… Isn't it time?"
Her body froze. She gripped her sword and spun around sharply
No one.
But something at her feet caught her attention.
At her feet lay a small black stone, absorbing light. When she touched it, it pulsed, sending warmth up her arm. She wrapped it in a cloth and tucked it into her pocket.
Why? She didn't know.
Footsteps. Light… deliberate. She turned instantly, her sword raised:
"Calm down."
The voice was familiar.
"Villiam…"
He emerged from between the trees, white hair catching the dim light, his coat torn, a wound on his arm he hadn't bothered to hide. He wore that calm smile, one that didn't belong in a killing field like this.
"Were you planning to finish the mission on your own? That's insulting."
She tried to respond, but The ground trembled.
The earth split open before them, a massive skeletal hand bursting out then another. Giant skeletons rose, coated in sticky black ooze, as if someone had rebuilt death itself.
"Get ready!" Villiam shouted.
The first blows came crashing down. Lilithia sliced the skeleton in half but the bones fused together again.
"They're reforming…!" she shouted.
Villiam didn't answer her. He fought differently. Fast.
Fierce.
He slipped under a strike, drove his sword into the skeleton's chest, and then He shattered the formation.
He struck a single, precise point. The darkness exploded. The skeleton fell motionless.
"Cut the second joint!" he shouted. "Don't waste time!"
More skeletons emerged. Then Red imps. Demons with blazing eyes. They chanted in unison, distorted:
"…Dragon… Dragon…"
The stench grew stronger.
Rot. Blood. Corrupt magic.
Lilithia tore through one, then another but a claw pierced her arm. She screamed.
And at that moment The shadow moved. From behind her, the darkness gathered… and took shape.
A human man. His features unnaturally calm. His eyes pitch black. He raised his hand. The air compressed.
"Lilithia!" Villiam shouted.
He lunged forward. He didn't think. He didn't hesitate.
He struck the ground with all his strength, closing the impossible distance, and stood before her
The black mass pierced his chest. But it didn't bring him down.
He drove his sword into the ground, bracing his body, and smiled at her despite the blood beginning to flow.
"Run…" he said, his voice eerily calm.
Then he looked at the mysterious man.
"It's her turn now."
A violent surge of energy erupted from his body one final blast that shattered the attack and pushed the shadows back.
Villiam fell to one knee… blood seeping into the dirt.
But he didn't fall.
Lilithia stared, the black stone in her pocket, It pulsed.
Stronger.
As if something had awakened. And deep in the forest, the mysterious man smiled...
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-To be continued...-