The Genesis of the Dead

Zoran found himself in an unfamiliar forested area, walking in steady rhythm with those he had almost forgotten. At one point, these people had been his lifelong friends, his closest comrades, he had even considered them his brothers. Now, everything was different. They were gone, and the naïve boy who had marched with them was gone as well.

The armor, though cold and heavy, felt as natural as a mother's embrace as they marched, unaware of the horrors that would soon unfold. The frigid air and oppressive darkness were all Zoran could think about as they arrived at the place that would become all but one of their graves.

There it stood, grotesque, with blade-like appendages, a Fleshripper, an Awakened beast. To the unawakened like them, such creatures regarded humans as nothing more than snacks, insignificant and fleeting.

In an instant, his friends, comrades, and brothers were reduced to writhing, agonized figures. Blood poured from every orifice as their once-vivid eyes grew hollow and lifeless. Their guttural screams were harrowing, echoing with unbearable agony as flesh was torn apart layer by layer, consumed before Zoran's very eyes. A searing pain erupted within him, and a familiar scar etched itself onto his once-unmarked face. He was going to die.

He looked up at the merciless night sky, where three moons and countless stars seemed to mock him, for his efforts, his stubbornness, and his wretched, pitiable existence. It was too dark. It was too cold. But then, a fire ignited within him, a surge of energy and adrenaline coursing through his veins with every pounding heartbeat. He wouldn't succumb, not until he silenced the tormenting screams.

The Fleshripper collapsed at his feet, lifeless, as Zoran too crumpled to the ground. He had done it. He had accomplished what needed to be done. Exhaustion, injuries, and grief overwhelmed him, and he offered no resistance. After all, what was there to live for? As his consciousness slipped away, he felt someone moving him, their desperate screams piercing the haze.

For a fleeting moment, he opened his eyes and saw someone, someone to whom he owed everything. Not only had she saved his life, but she had also given him a reason to keep living. "She's beautiful," Zoran thought as he willed his battered body to endure, just a little longer.

When he opened his eyes again, his savior was gone. What remained was another lifeless corpse.

"Huff!" Zoran awoke with a sharp gasp, his heart racing as he emerged from the depths of his nightmare. He took a moment to reorient himself, his surroundings slowly coming into focus. Outside, the sound of heavy rain filled the usually silent shack. Though it was morning, the dense, dark clouds made it feel as though the night still lingered.

Without thinking, Zoran got to his feet, grabbed his spear, and, for the first time in years, did not begin his day with training. The rain struck his face and body relentlessly as he moved toward the village center and ascended the watchtower he often visited. From the top, he surveyed the area, his eyes scanning every corner. Everything was fine. Everyone was safe.

The nightmare had felt so vivid, so real, that he had been certain something terrible had happened. But aside from the relentless downpour, all was well. He exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, steadying his rapidly beating heart. Though his worries about Silvia lingered, he took solace in the relative calm.

Just as he was about to descend and begin his training, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. In the dense thicket of the woods, he noticed movement, subtle, almost imperceptible. Though uncertain of what it could be, he decided to investigate.

As he approached the source of the disturbance, an overwhelming sense of trepidation washed over him. He recognized the feeling instantly, the unmistakable presence of mana. Zoran's instincts went on high alert. Crouching low, he advanced cautiously, his every step deliberate and silent.

Meanwhile, a certain purple-eyed skeleton had spent the past several days waiting with growing unease. Its master had departed days earlier to infiltrate a settlement and gather basic information about the unfamiliar land they now occupied. Additionally, the master had created an opportunity to move their forces discreetly into position. However, despite the passage of time, the skeleton had yet to receive orders to proceed or attack.

This made it worry about the situation its master had found himself in. Through their connection, it could tell that he wasn't in physical danger, but it was confused and curious as to why they had been waiting for such a prolonged period. Of course, it wouldn't move without its master's permission, and so it spent a significant amount of time waiting to be called into action.

Something happened that genuinely surprised it, their numbers had grown. Over the last few days, a few unfamiliar zombies and skeletons had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and joined the main force. With the arrival of these new recruits, the purple-eyed skeleton felt it had uncovered its master's plan. Its master was waiting for reinforcements.

With that realization, the skeleton turned its attention to finding a way to assist its master. The problem, however, was that it didn't know how to help. After pondering the matter, and perhaps a little out of boredom, the skeleton began to use its ability to examine the peculiar colors it perceived. After intense observation, the skeleton discovered that there were actually minuscule traces of these colors everywhere. From the trees to the rocks, the air, and even the raindrops, everything contained almost invisible amounts of these hues. Further scrutiny revealed that even it and its fellow comrades possessed small traces of the colors.

What these colors were, the skeleton wasn't sure, but in the same way it instinctively knew how to use its ability, it understood that the colors were significant. It spent some time closely examining the colors within itself. They resembled its vibrant purple eyes, and even without conscious effort, the skeleton found itself reaching out to them. This subconscious action caused the colors to shift slightly within its body.

"Fascinating!" it thought, as it watched the colors move. It experimented, shifting the colors from its arms to its legs, then to its head, and finally concentrating them in its eyes. At that moment, its vision changed dramatically. The previously faint and elusive colors became clearer and more defined.

The skeleton began to theorize that these colors were the source of its ability. By focusing the colors on its eyes, it could enhance its power. This realization led to a new question: what else could the colors be used for? Over several tireless days and nights, the skeleton discovered that by concentrating the colors in its hands, it could release them in a form of shockwave.

The effects of the shockwave were minimal at best, but the skeleton noticed that the more it practiced this process, moving the colors before releasing them, the better its control over the colors became. It continued this practice until nearly all the colors within its body were depleted.

Uncertain of what might happen if it ran out of color entirely, the skeleton exercised caution and retained a small reserve within itself. After some time, the colors gradually returned to their original levels and even showed slight growth. The increase was minuscule, less than one percent, but the skeleton's sensitivity to the colors allowed it to notice the change.

This small success motivated the skeleton to repeat the process endlessly, watching the colors leave its body, waiting for them to recover, and starting the cycle again. It wondered what might happen if it directed its shockwave at an enemy. The idea intrigued it, but without its master's orders, it remained confined to practicing alone.

Meanwhile, Zoran continued approaching the source of the mana fluctuations. Once he was close enough, he carefully concealed himself within the surrounding foliage, trying to pinpoint the cause of the disturbance. When he finally saw it, he wanted to scream. The creatures before him were far more terrifying than he could have imagined. Several ivory-boned skeletons stood at perfect attention, flanked by grotesque, moving corpses.

Two figures stood out among the group. One was a strange beast with elongated arms and no eyes. The other was one of the bleached skeletons, but unlike the others, this one had a vivid purple light emanating from the abyss where its eyes should have been. Zoran watched as this second figure clumsily released raw mana, creating a crude shockwave. He immediately recognized it as the source of the fluctuations and realized that this creature must be Awakened.

Without making a sound, Zoran began to retreat, careful not to draw the attention of these unfathomable beings. He needed to warn the others and collaborate with Maveth to address this impending threat.

Unaware that it had been seen, the skeleton continued its training. The ghoul, however, with its exceptional hearing and keen sense of smell, discerned that their presence had been discovered.