Eternal Undying Chronicles

The darkness was eerie, the stench of rot and decay accompanied by the disgusting air of blood, flesh, bones, and innards filled the building. Lily couldn't see in that darkness, all she could perceive were the noises and the moving shapes, unsure if they were the creatures or just the darkness playing at her fears.

She was afraid, so terribly so. The hero who had found her was strong, and she found some comfort in that. He had a long black sword, and from his back, she could see the faint violet glow of his eyes. She tightened her grip on him and remained silent, closing her eyes, wishing to wake up from this long nightmare.

She could not see very much, except when they passed by a window and the faint light from the outside dimly lit up the area. Even that only made things scarier as the shadows danced and grew from the faint light.

Alicarde didn't have that problem. He could see just fine. His heart was now full of fury, leaving no room for his fears to catch up, and he wouldn't let them. He kept a cool head, he had to. Anne must live through this nightmare, and he would make sure of that. Holding his sword tightly, he moved past the decapitated head of his foe.

He avoided the light, even though he knew it meant nothing. These creatures could see into the darkness as well as he could, but the embrace of the shadows still gave him some degree of comfort.

The walls felt close, and each step made the air colder, the decay sharper. Lily remained quiet, which was good. If she had made any noise, they would be so screwed. Not that it would matter much—the building was alive with the grotesque sounds of feeding, the hungry growls of the creatures feasting on flesh.

Alicarde felt the urge to run like hell, to just get out of there. But he couldn't. Who was he supposed to call? The police? They stood no chance against these monsters. He could call Carrisa for assistance, but that wasn't possible without his phone.

Going back to get help would mean leaving Anne to die.

'I can only press on and hope for the best,' he thought, suppressing his fears.

Who was he kidding? This place was an abattoir, a human slaughterhouse. The walls seemed to bleed. His nerves were taut, fear snapping at the edges of his mind. He pushed the doubts down. If he ran now, he'd never live with himself.

Could he abandon his friend just because he was scared? Never.

He crouched down, spotting three of the creatures. Their grotesque forms huddled over a human carcass, feasting. They raised their heads from their meal, red eyes gleaming in the dark as they turned their sights toward him. He held his breath and hid behind an open door, sword in hand. He could feel Lily trembling, her breath hot against his neck.

He focused, listening to their movements. One of them was approaching. No point in hiding now. He braced himself. The creature's long scythe-like claws scraped the ground, sending sparks as it neared the door.

Alicarde could have hidden in the small room behind him, but it was a dead end, too cramped to fight, so he stayed in the open.

The creature's misshapen legs creaked closer, and its grotesque head poked around the doorframe. Without hesitation, he swung his sword, decapitating it cleanly, then dashed toward the other two with a full-speed sprint.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Lily clung tighter to him as he moved. The creatures growled, their claws slashing at him, but he slid under the legs of the first, appearing behind it. With one swift motion, he plunged his sword through its skull. It fell limp, and before the second could react, he thrust his blade into its gaping mouth, driving it deep until it collapsed.

Its body hit the floor with a thud, twitching a few times before going still.

The battle was brief, the sickening quiet following the creatures' deaths. He exhaled, his relief short-lived. He hadn't attracted any attention... yet. His eyes flickered toward his shadow. Warth, the bicorn, stared back at him with cold, violet eyes, imprisoned within his shadow.

Ignoring it, he continued forward, deeper into the building. Three enemies had been easy, but soon he was meeting groups of six, stepping over the increasing number of human bones and rotting organs. Lily grew more agitated, her grip tightening.

They reached a room filled with the corpses of women. He checked, hoping none were Anne. The gruesome scene seared into his mind. The dismembered bodies, the bloated fetuses that had barely formed, grotesque parodies of human life.

'Were these women pregnant?' he wondered, bile rising in his throat.

He fought the urge to vomit. Lily couldn't. She slid from his back and ran to a wall, retching. Alicarde gently rubbed her back, suppressing his own nausea.

"Are you okay, Lily?" he whispered softly.

The little girl nodded, silent as promised. She looked into his glowing violet eyes, and he motioned for her to get back on his back. She did, and he quickened his pace, heart pounding with urgency. He had to find Anne before she became just another corpse in this nightmare.

Ahead, he spotted a small horde of creatures feasting by a massive metal door. Human screams echoed from behind it. He couldn't fight them all at once, not in the open with Lily on his back. He needed to lure them into the corridors, where their numbers would mean nothing.

"Hey there, you ugly sons of bitches," he yelled, immediately regretting the words, not because the creatures charged at him, but because he remembered Lily could hear him curse.

Still, it kept him calm as they barreled toward him. He retreated into the narrow corridors, where their size worked against them.

The first creature lunged, and with an upward swing, he severed its head. The next came swiftly, but his sword struck the wall in his haste. He cursed inwardly, wishing it were shorter. To his surprise, it shrank in his hand, morphing to match his needs.

He didn't have time to marvel. He thrust the blade into the neck of the third, following up with a swift kick to its corpse, sending it crashing into the others.

They tumbled under its weight, and Alicarde didn't hesitate. He leaped forward, slashing through the remaining creatures with swift, precise strikes, each swing finding its mark. Blood splattered against the walls as their lifeless bodies collapsed.

The fight lasted minutes. Lily had wrapped herself tightly around his waist and neck, her fear palpable. He had kept them from surrounding him, and it worked. They were safe for now.

"Let's go, Lily. We're close to finding your mom and my friend," he whispered. She nodded again, her small body trembling against his.

He made his way back to the metal door, walking past the dead. Blood soaked his shoes, and he was sure both he and Lily were covered in it.

He pushed the door open gently, revealing a massive production chamber filled with machinery. The faint sounds of the sea reached his ears. Creatures lurked within the machines, toying with the few remaining humans. A massive magic circle stretched across the floor, its symbols glowing faintly. He saw her.

Anne lay unconscious among the huddled survivors. His heart sank. The people he had thought were being toyed with stopped moving, one man grabbing his head and screaming as his skin exploded. His hands grew into claws, his face morphing into a monstrous form.

The others followed, their bodies twisting grotesquely, some failing and exploding into pools of blood. Alicarde turned Lily's head away from the carnage.

His eyes scanned the room. Most of the victims were pregnant women and children, the men either turned or dead, with a few exceptions. Anne was there, unconscious, moments away from becoming a monster or worse.

He didn't have time to hesitate. He had to act now.