Lyra and Shadow moved through the village slowly and cautiously, checking every house, every corner for survivors of the attack carried out by the White Wolf Clan.
It was a clan known for its silver-white fur, its razor-sharp claws, and its keen murderous instincts — warriors who would not hesitate to challenge even the mightiest god of the Abyss.
Shadow broke the silence.
"Lyra, have you noticed anything strange since we came into the village? There's something off about this place."
The nauseating stench carried on the wind reached his nostrils from far away. It was unmistakable — a smell he had never encountered before, and yet, inexplicably, one that filled him with profound loathing.
It was corrupted mana.
Lyra let the butt of her spear strike the ground. A small metallic clang rang out against the cracked earth.
"I think the smell is coming from over there," she said.
A chill lingered in the air. Without hesitation, she added, "I don't think this is good."
As they pressed onward, their footsteps echoed through the abandoned village, carrying to its farthest corners. The darkness of night swallowed their path no matter where they went. Every corner they looked into was so unsettling that anyone passing through would have chosen to turn back without a second glance.
That dense, clinging energy trapped them both in a sea of unanswered questions.
*Where was this macabre power coming from?*
Lyra glanced from side to side, unease tightening her features, and advanced cautiously with one hand resting on her spear, ready to strike.
With every step, more corpses of innocent people appeared. Children. Elders. All of them slaughtered, regardless of age or sex.
Fifty paces ahead, the houses were splattered with blood. Pools of it. Mutilated human remains, laid out one by one, without a trace of remorse.
Shadow stared at the scene in horror, and the words spilled from his mouth.
"I can't believe a world like this harbors heartless monsters who kill without a second thought. It's a tragedy that so many innocent lives ended this cruelly."
The wind blew again, dragging that unbearable stench with it.
But this time, it wasn't only the smell.
There was something else.
A whisper, almost imperceptible — as though the village itself were trying to tell them something.
Or warn them.
Lyra frowned.
"Did you hear that?"
Shadow fell silent, sharpening his senses.
For a moment, there was nothing.
And then, again.
A faint creak.
It wasn't the wind.
Both of them turned at the same time toward a half-collapsed house at the end of the street. Its door hung from a single hinge, swaying slowly for no apparent reason.
*Creeeak… creeeak…*
"There," Shadow whispered.
Lyra gripped her spear firmly. Her stance shifted in an instant, from caution to full readiness.
They advanced step by step, the sound of their boots breaking the dead silence of the place. Each step seemed too loud, too conspicuous — as if something.
Or someone.
Were waiting for them.
As they drew closer to the house, the stench intensified.
It was so thick they could almost feel it against their skin.
Shadow raised a hand to his nose, holding his breath for a second.
"This isn't normal…" he whispered.
Lyra didn't answer. Her gaze was fixed on the darkness inside.
Then—
A dull thud.
From within.
They both stopped dead.
Silence.
Another thud.
Louder this time.
**THUMP!**
Something was dragging itself across the floor inside.
Something alive.
Lyra stepped forward.
"Get ready."
Without waiting for a reply, she shoved the door open with the tip of her spear.
The wood gave way with a long, agonizing creak.
The darkness inside seemed deeper than the night itself.
Shadow narrowed his eyes.
"I don't like this…"
Suddenly, something moved at the back of the room.
Fast.
Too fast.
A hunched figure emerged from the shadows, dragging itself across the floor with unnatural movements. Its limbs were twisted, as though they had been broken and poorly put back together.
A gutural sound escaped its throat.
It wasn't human.
But it wasn't quite a beast, either.
Lyra reacted instantly, raising her spear and leveling it at the creature.
"Stop!"
The thing froze for a second.
Its head turned slowly.
Too slowly.
Until its eyes met theirs.
Black.
Empty.
And then—
It smiled.
An impossible smile, split open all the way to its cheeks.
A chill ran down Shadow's spine.
"Lyra… that isn't a survivor."
The creature let out a piercing shriek that tore through the air.
And in that same instant—
From the other houses nearby—
More answered.
Lyra's brow furrowed. "We can't let them surround us. We need to find a way out of here."
"Stay close to me. Don't split up, Lyra. The only exit is straight ahead, and to get through it, we have to bring that monster down."
"I'll try to reap it."
"*Total Darkness.*"
"Quick, Lyra. Run!"
Shadow's ability reaped the creature for ten seconds.
Even so, reaching the exit proved difficult for them both. With every passing moment, more creatures closed in around them.
"What do we do now?" Lyra asked, fear creeping into her voice.
"I think it's time we attacked."
With fierce, deliberate movements, Shadow and Lyra cut a path through the creatures pouring out of every corner. The shadows seemed to come alive, writhing around those deformed bodies as they hurled themselves forward without the slightest trace of fear.
Shadow moved ahead, his silhouette flickering and vanishing at intervals in the gloom.
"On my left!"
Lyra reacted instantly, spinning her spear in a precise arc. The tip punched through one of the creatures' torsos, but it didn't fall immediately. Its body shuddered, letting out a tearing, anguished sound before it collapsed slowly to the ground.
"They don't feel pain!" Lyra shouted, stepping back.
"Then don't give them time to move," Shadow replied coldly.
A creature leapt from the roof of a ruined house, falling straight toward Lyra.
Shadow appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye, intercepting it. With a swift motion, he deflected its charge and slammed it into the ground with brutal force.
"Keep moving!"
The earth cracked beneath their feet as they ran toward the village's exit, barely visible through the dark mist swallowing the place.
But the path was narrowing.
And the creatures were multiplying.
Whispers.
Broken laughter.
Shuffling footsteps.
Everything was coming toward them.
Lyra struggled for breath, her knuckles white around her spear.
"We're not going to make it if they keep coming!"
Shadow clenched his teeth. His eyes swept the surroundings, analyzing everything.
Then he noticed it.
"Lyra… the houses!"
"What about them?"
"That's where they're coming from. They aren't appearing at random."
Another creature burst through a window, landing in front of them with a heavy crash.
Shadow raised a hand.
"We have to cut off their path."
"How?"
For a second, Shadow said nothing.
Then he spoke.
"Give me ten more seconds."
Lyra looked at him, hesitating.
Then she nodded.
"Do it."
Shadow closed his eyes.
The air around him began to grow heavier, darker — as though the night itself were gathering into a single point.
"*Total Darkness…*"
But this time—
It was different.
The darkness didn't merely blind.
It spread.
Like a wave.
The creatures began to writhe, screaming as their movements turned erratic and uncoordinated.
"Now!"
Lyra didn't hesitate.
She surged forward with everything she had, dodging bodies, leaping over wreckage, cutting through anything that blocked her path. Her spear moved with brutal precision, carving a direct route toward the exit.
Shadow followed close behind, holding the ability active for as long as he could.
"Don't stop!"
The exit was close.
Closer with every step.
But then—
The ground trembled.
A different sound rose above all the others.
Deeper.
Heavier.
The creatures stopped.
If only for an instant.
And then—
They parted.
As though something greater were about to appear.
Shadow and Lyra skidded to a halt.
Before the exit, the darkness began to condense.
A silhouette emerged, slowly.
Tall.
Imposing.
Its eyes gleamed silver against the blackness.
White fur.
Stained.
And claws that caught what little light the night had left to offer.
Lyra tightened her grip on her spear.
"Shadow…"
He didn't answer right away.
But his expression changed.
"Now I understand…"
One step forward.
The figure revealed its face.
It wasn't one of those deformed things.
It was something worse.
"A White Wolf…" Shadow murmured.
The creature tilted its head slightly.
And smiled.
"You're too late."