THE BLACK THORN CODEX
Episode 57 — Selerion's First Horror
Date: November 18, 2023 — Time: 2:05 PM
A white light then burst from Borax, enveloping the two heroes. For the first time, they felt that Selerion could be understood, not just fought. The fight was no longer blind. It was a cruel lesson... but a necessary one.
The air in the depths of Selerion vibrated with a cold violence. Leander and Clarisse floated above an endless black sea, their bodies still seared from their previous confrontation. But the calm was deceptive. A shrill laugh, metallic and inhuman, echoed in the abyss.
From the void emerged the first horde of victims. Human figures, some half-dismembered, others still alive but with dead eyes. Their bodies were shells that Selerion's sorcerers used to fuel the possession.
The first victim stepped forward. Its twisted limbs, joints creaking, stretched into impossible angles. Its lips parted, revealing a black tongue that hissed:
"Your blood... your fear..."
Before Leander could react, the body rose into the air, bones crunching, and lunged at Clarisse. She shot out a blast of fire, but the flame encountered an invisible wall that instantly turned the fire to toxic smoke. The victim split, multiplying into two identical clones, each screaming like lost souls.
Leander felt his heart clench. The Codex vibrated in his hands, but this time, it wasn't to point him in the right direction: it screamed, echoing through the air as if the book itself were warning him. The bodies were now hurling themselves at them with supernatural speed, clawing, biting, tearing off shreds of flesh.
A second victim collapsed before them. Her eyes opened again, but this time, red and empty. She had been possessed by an invisible flying sorcerer. Her movements were strange, disjointed, but terribly precise. She struck Leander with an arm that lengthened like liquid metal, and the impact threw him against a rock floating in the chasm.
Clarisse screamed and concentrated all her power into her palms: a mixture of ice and fire exploded around her, slicing two bodies into black dust. But the terror was only just beginning. Each slain body immediately transformed into a new servant, bearing extra limbs or distorted faces, as if death itself fueled the sorcerers' magic.
The first real massacre began. The sorcerers hadn't yet appeared, but their possessed victims were creating a macabre ballet around the heroes. Human screams mingled with the mechanical howls of the transformed bodies. Clarisse's eyes filled with tears of blood as she struck a creature with a combo of fire, ice, and lightning, reducing it to ashes. But two others immediately appeared, faster, more twisted.
Leander attempted a mental counterattack. His mind expanded, trying to push back the possession. He felt ghostly hands trying to penetrate his mind, clinging to his memories, his fears. The shock made him stagger, but Borax, fused with them, whispered:
"Do not fear their strength. Turn their death to your advantage."
Guided by Borax, they began to observe: some bodies were susceptible to ice, others to lightning. They quickly understood that for each body killed, a different strategy was required. Clarisse focused her magic on the nearest bodies, freezing them so Leander could strike with electricity. The bodies shattered into black fragments, floating in the air for a moment before vanishing into a merciless nothingness.
The sight was horrifying. The dead bodies still screamed as they writhed to rise, sharp claws poised to bite. Every second was a dance of death, every attack a precise calculation to prevent their assailants from overwhelming them.
At the center of the horde, a different body emerged: larger, with incandescent eyes, and a dark aura. Sorcerers were beginning to manifest through this body. The real fight was about to begin, and Leander and Clarisse understood that killing these victims was not enough: they must learn to understand Selerion's law and the powers of the sorcerers behind them.