The first beast broke from the treeline with a howl that shook the night. Its body was a grotesque parody of a wolf—spine twisted, jaws too wide, eyes burning with crimson light. Behind it came more, their claws gouging the soil as they surged toward the village like an onrushing tide of shadow.
The villagers scattered. Mothers pulled children into doorways, men scrambled for weapons, but most simply fled, screaming into the dark. The square emptied in chaos, leaving only three figures standing between the horde and the heart of the village: Eldran with his staff glowing like a beacon, Serenya with her bow drawn taut, and Kael with his cleaver gripped in both hands, his cursed mark blazing across his arm.
"Hold the line!" Eldran barked. His voice carried the weight of command, steady even as the ground quaked beneath the beasts' charge. "Do not let them breach the square!"
Kael's throat was dry, his heart hammering against his ribs. The whispers inside him screamed, urging him to yield, to open himself and let the covenant's power flood through. He clenched his teeth until his jaw ached. Not yet. Not unless I must.
The first beast lunged. Serenya loosed her arrow, the shaft hissing through the air to bury itself in the creature's eye. It shrieked, staggering, but momentum carried it forward. Kael met it with a roar, cleaver arcing downward in a brutal swing that split its skull clean through. Blood—thick, black, reeking of rot—splattered across the stones.
He didn't pause. The second beast was already upon him. Its claw raked across his shoulder, tearing fabric and skin alike. Pain flared white-hot, but Kael twisted, driving the cleaver upward through its ribcage. The impact shuddered up his arms, and the beast collapsed in a heap at his feet.
"Kael!" Serenya's voice cut through the din.
He turned in time to see three more charging her flank. She loosed another arrow, piercing the throat of one, but the others kept coming. Without thinking, Kael surged forward, the world narrowing to the pounding of his heart and the fire in his veins.
The whispers surged. "Yes. Strike deeper. Let us through."
He gritted his teeth, forcing his body to obey his will, not theirs. The cleaver swung wide, biting into the first beast's neck. Its head tumbled away, and Kael pivoted, driving a boot into the chest of the second. It toppled backward, and Serenya's arrow finished it before it hit the ground.
The third beast lunged at her exposed side. Kael caught it mid-air, both hands locking around its jaw. Muscles burned as he wrestled against its snapping teeth, its foul breath washing over him. The mark on his arm flared brighter, strength surging through him in a flood that made the beast feel suddenly fragile. With a roar, he wrenched its head sideways, bone snapping like brittle twigs.
The corpse fell limp in his arms. Kael dropped it, chest heaving, sweat and blood mingling across his skin. His eyes flicked to Serenya—she was steady, bow raised, her face streaked with soot but her gaze unbroken. She met his eyes, and for a heartbeat, the world stilled.
Then the ground shook again.
More beasts poured from the forest. Dozens now, their glowing eyes painting the night in rivers of crimson.
Eldran raised his staff, runes blazing along its length. "Stay behind me!" he roared. The staff struck the ground, and a dome of radiant light erupted outward, forcing the nearest beasts back. They howled and clawed, their shadows hissing as they struck the barrier.
The old mage's face was pale, sweat glistening across his brow. "I cannot hold this long," he warned. "You must thin their ranks while I still can."
Kael nodded, swallowing hard. His cleaver dripped black ichor, his arm trembling with the strain of both battle and the whispers clawing at his mind.
Serenya's voice steadied him. "We fight together."
He looked at her, then at the horde pressing against Eldran's barrier. And for the first time, he didn't feel like a pawn in some cruel game. For the first time, he felt like a warrior standing in the breach.
"Together," he echoed.
---
The battle descended into chaos.
Arrows whistled past Kael's ear as Serenya loosed shot after shot, each one finding its mark with deadly precision. Beasts fell one by one, but for every corpse that hit the ground, three more took its place. Eldran's barrier flared and dimmed, the light weakening under the relentless assault.
Kael waded into the fray, cleaver rising and falling in brutal arcs. Each strike split flesh, shattered bone, spilled black blood across the stones. The mark burned hotter with every kill, flooding him with strength, with clarity, with hunger.
"More," the whispers urged. "Do not resist. Take it all."
He could feel it—the pull of the covenant's power, promising victory if only he would surrender. His arms no longer ached. His vision sharpened, every movement of the beasts slowed, predictable. He moved like a storm, cutting them down in waves.
But with every surge of strength came something else: shadows clinging to his skin, his reflection in the blood darkened, monstrous. His heart pounded, not just with exertion, but with the creeping fear that he was losing himself with each swing.
"Kael!" Serenya's voice rang out again. He looked up, meeting her eyes across the battlefield. There was no fear in her gaze, only trust. That trust anchored him, kept him from letting go entirely.
He forced a breath. Not theirs. Mine.
---
The barrier shattered.
Eldran staggered, blood trickling from his nose, his staff flickering with dying light. The beasts surged forward, unbound.
"Fall back!" he gasped, but Kael was already moving.
He leapt into the breach, cleaver raised high. The nearest beast lunged—and he met it head-on, driving the blade clean through its chest. Another came from the side; he twisted, letting its claw graze his ribs as he split its skull in a single brutal strike.
Serenya was there beside him, loosing arrows so fast they blurred. One struck a beast through the eye, another through the throat. She moved with fluid grace, every shot buying Kael another heartbeat.
Still, the horde pressed closer.
A massive beast towered above the rest, its shoulders hunched, its mouth splitting into four jagged jaws. Its roar shook the square, rattling the bones in Kael's chest.
"That one," Eldran rasped. "It commands them."
Kael locked eyes with the monstrosity. The whispers inside him howled, urging him to unleash, to give in, to become the monster needed to kill the monster. His grip tightened on the cleaver.
No. Not yet.
He glanced at Serenya. She gave the smallest nod, her bow already aimed at the commander beast's eye.
Kael surged forward, cleaver raised. The beast met him with a swipe of its massive claw. Pain exploded across his side as he was hurled backward, crashing into the cobblestones hard enough to shatter stone.
The mark flared, power rushing into him like fire through his veins. He groaned, forcing himself upright. The beast loomed over him, jaws opening wide, rows of teeth glistening.
Kael's vision blurred. The whispers screamed. Shadows licked at his skin, begging to be unleashed.
And then—an arrow struck true. Serenya's shot buried itself deep in the beast's eye. It shrieked, staggering.
"Now, Kael!" she cried.
He roared, cleaver flashing upward in a final, desperate strike. The blade carved through its throat, splitting flesh and bone in a spray of black ichor. The beast convulsed, choking, then collapsed in a heap that shook the ground.
The horde faltered. Their howls broke into discord, confusion rippling through their ranks. Then, as though bound to their commander's fall, they turned and fled back into the forest, vanishing into the shadows from whence they came.
The square fell silent.
---
Kael staggered, the cleaver slipping from his hand. His knees hit the blood-soaked stones. His body shook with exhaustion, the mark still burning like molten iron beneath his skin.
Serenya dropped beside him, catching his shoulders. Her hands were warm, grounding him. "You're still you," she whispered, her forehead pressed against his. "You're still Kael."
He wanted to believe her. He needed to. But the whispers did not fade. If anything, they laughed, delighted.
Eldran limped toward them, leaning heavily on his staff. His eyes were grim. "This was no random attack. The covenant tests you. And it will not stop until it has claimed you."
Kael closed his eyes, Serenya's grip the only thing keeping him upright.
He had won the night. But deep inside, he knew the battle for his soul had only just begun.
---