In the far North, the Tel’vane Empire slowly rotted away. A plague of undead brought ruin and they continued to move with no clear purpose. The only option for most was to flee as any attempt at defense proved ineffective. Only those cities built on mountainous regions were able to withstand the assault. It was lucky since the undead never continued a pointless attack and would move on if no progress was gained within a few days.

The rumor spread that as long as you could hold on for two or three days you’d be safe and cities closed their entrances to their fellow countrymen. The unlucky ones were forced to search for shelter wherever they could and one such group was currently on the move.

Haggard and tired faces filled the ranks of the fleeing group. Their eyes were alert but they remained silent, focusing on the slightest of sounds within the still forest.

“Hey,” Someone spoke.

“What?” Another answered.

“I’ve been seeing crows every few miles or so.”

“And?”

“And there the only bird I’ve seen so far?”

“If you don’t have anything to say I’d suggest keeping quiet,” A man wearing armor spoke sternly. He had an irritable look on his face that suggested he would lash out at anyone who dragged the group down.

“I think we’re being watched...The crows haven’t made a sound they’ve just been….watching us.”

“What did I say?” The man in armor narrowed his eyes while reaching for his sword.

“I’m sorry but we should–”

A twig snapping interrupted the conversation and the group dove into the brush while steadying their breathing.

A putrid smell filled their senses and the source made itself known. An Undead Lord with taut skin which exposed its decayed teeth appeared in the area. It rode on a steed which was slowly decomposing, it’s dark entrails dragged along the ground but it didn’t seem to mind. Lower ranked undead followed the Lord like dutiful servants. They sauntered on under its command without a single thought of their own.

“Heeuh,” The Undead Lord groaned while surveying the area. Suddenly a crow flew toward him and landed on his shoulder. Its beady black eyes were lifeless but its head swiveled in an alert manner around before flying off toward a branch.

The Undead Lord passed without discovering the ones who were hiding close by. It was miraculous when considering that higher ranked undead could see living creatures. It meant the group had to have some sort of method or item which allowed them to go undetected and one would be right to assume so. Although the Tel’vians didn’t place too much emphasis on religion, the Angel that appeared changed their mind. That paired with the clerics, paladins, and priests that visited in the name of Gavreel before the country ended up in dire straights, their stagnant belief was reawakened. Blessed items became a rarity even more so when the religious pilgrimages lessened due to the unrelenting horde of undead.

As soon as the group thought it was over the stench grew unbearable and someone nearly retched but prioritized survival over discomfort. Hundreds of undead appeared along with Liches and more Lords. A murder of crows flew overhead and mindless drones of lesser undead staggered forward. All the while a faint white fog covered the ground they walked on.

The immense amount of fear in the group was almost palpable but they kept their wits about them as running would do more harm than good.

Inwardly, they asked if they deserved such a curse upon their lands. It was simply a coincidence but they didn’t know that. The ones responsible had already died so those who had nothing to do with the invasion on the Grenitian Kingdom felt the aftereffects. Though they weren’t against razing an innocent kingdom until it came around to bite them.

Suddenly, a woman could be seen within the center of the undead. It was easy to spot her due to her chalk-white skin and empty white eyes. She wore tattered brown robes that were torn just enough to expose the black orb implanted into her chest. Her long fluorescent blue hair hung at her sides. The strangest thing was the cup of milk she held in both her hands. She licked the surface with a look of delight without realizing the peculiarity of her actions.

Suddenly her head snapped toward the direction of the group and they held their breath as an unreal sense of pressure rained down on them. Her eyes, unblinking, focused on their hiding spot and the hundreds of undead stopped.

The members of the group trembled and held their mouths shut until their lungs began burning.

“I wonder if this army is strong enough to protect this fragile body,” said the mysterious woman to herself.

The Will of Purgatory could clearly see the souls of the ones hiding no matter how obscure they were. But they were too weak to draw her interest so she decided to let them go. After all, the lower ranked undead wouldn’t be much help in the long run. They couldn’t follow complex instructions and if they moved too far from her they just roamed off on their own. Those with powerful souls made good material for higher ranked undead and were the ones she sought the most.

The massive army of undead continued on and allowed the group to breathe easy once again.

So the Will continued on, eager to surround herself with bodyguards that could prevent her body from being injured. It was just that as a being that hadn’t faced much danger before, she didn’t know when to stop.

…

Unaware of the Will’s actions, Ira remained in the Underground City with his children and enjoyed his moments of peace. Inside the garden, Ira sat under a tree comfortably with Zephyr asleep on his shoulder. Raveria and Valeryn were playing around and Harper was sitting next to Ira. Avery was busy checking Sylvia’s condition which became slightly more worrisome by the day. It was to the point where Sylun brought in every skilled healer she could but none of them found the cause of Sylvia’s exhaustion.

“I’ll pay a visit to Cibylla today,” Ira said aloud.

“She’s the one who stood out?” Harper asked.

“Yeah, she wanted a pair of special eyes before and I think I might let her have them. She deserves something after all,” He replied.

“Special eyes?” Harper questioned.

“I’m not sure what they do since we haven’t used them yet but they have to do something, right?” Ira shrugged. He was referring to the turquoise eyes of the Lares that he collected during his trip to Yeramesh with Raveria.

Speaking of Raveria, she ran circles around Valeryn while taunting him but he stood with a stoic face while trying to track her movements.

“No one’s faster than me, Ryn,” Raveria taunted. She zipped in and out of sight leaving no possible way to track her. It was to the point where even the enthusiastic Harper had given up on catching Raveria.

Valeryn stretched his hand and pulled his saber from his palms before lifting it over his head.

“Be careful, Valeryn,” Ira said.

Valeryn nodded and then stood completely still. Raveria felt that her brother was up to something so she increased her speed until she was sure he couldn’t track her. A Temporal doppelganger appeared and the two Raveria’s began poking fun at Valeryn even more.

“Try and catch me.”

“I bet you can’t.”

They spoke at the same time showing that Raveria was still as proud as ever about her speed. They became blurs in Valeryn’s vision but the silk-like threads surrounding them remained. The threads that only he could see.

Suddenly, Valeryn grinned and slashed into the air before Raveria could realize what happened. Her speed was somehow cut apart and her clone vanished while the real Raveria tumbled on the ground. She became speechless at once while Valeryn became tired. He stored his saber back inside of his body while his chest rose up and down sweat dampened his forehead.

“Caught you,” Valeryn mumbled before he fell over but before he could hit the ground, Ira teleported him over. Valeryn gently landed on Ira’s other shoulder and instantly fell asleep.

“...How?” Raveria uttered with a look of pure bewilderment. It was the first time someone other than Ira caught her. The only other person fast enough to keep up with Rhys and that was only when Raveria didn’t move at her full speed.

Ira brought his finger over his lips and shushed the distraught girl who, until that moment, was untouchable.

“But...Dad,” Raveria pouted.

“Come here,” Ira waved her over and she walked with defeated steps.

She wasn’t sore about losing but she felt that her duty as an older sister was to be stronger than her brothers. It was quite the dramatic overreaction but it came from a good place. She wanted to be what Ira was to her to her siblings. Raveria walked over and laid her head on Ira’s chest.

“You’ll have to be more serious when training,” Ira said with a chuckle. He found it funny because he felt a bigger sense of crisis whenever he felt his own strength wasn’t enough. When Raveria had her nightmare he felt like the end of his world was in sight and he still wasn’t completely sure that he was strong enough. At the current point, all he could was let time decide.

Unfortunately, the point where he would be tested wasn’t far off.