Xander and Ben lay on the damp sand. The grainy specks seemed to writhe and burrowed deep into the openings of their clothes while the salty humid air aggravated their wounds.

Despite the feeling of their aching and bruised bodies, it was imperceptible compared to the overwhelming sense of dire alarm and intense revulsion at the amalgamation of aberrant flesh.

The emaciated Thrall was no more and in its place was a mess of crimson viscera that was taller than Xander by a foot.

The skinless creature stood tall on two spindly legs. Visible bones protruded out in a painful orientation. Above, where the gut once was, instead gave way to several clawed limbs that swiped and snapped the air like newborn crocodiles.

The upper torso seemingly fused muscle and bone into one coherent mass where rows of spikes arced across.

The creature had asymmetrical arms—one minuscule limb hung limply on its left, and the other monstrous arm stretched down to the sand, ending in a club-like stump.

However, the most appalling aspect was the drooping amorphous blob that was its head.

What was once a human face and well-defined skull was now a horrid mockery.

It looked like a deformed mud-brown sea sponge with numerous burrowed deep holes. Within those many holes contained bloodshot eyes that held only contempt for the lifeforms within his sites.

Staring at the bobbed mass invited malevolent thoughts that itched the brain of the two Conscripts.

The thing should not be. Its anatomy was poorly thought out and should have structurally failed from all the wrong muscles and joints. Yet somehow, this thing stood upright like natural, and its presence was potent—like a savage bear trap that will lash out the moment you touched it funny.

It had no mouth, but the excruciating cacophony of incoherent voices emanated from it was clear it did not need one.

Xander and Ben, petrified in front of the eldritch abomination, could only stare as it continued its butchery of the human tongue.

“AaAhHAHhhh! N-notT coMpLeETe! InEpT wORm! pAthETic! dEFeCTIVE!”

The two humans clutched their ears in pain at the noise that scraped at their minds.

The monstrosity thrashed in agony as its flesh seemed to expand and contract. Its many limbs flailed as it clutched and dragged what parts it could grasp.

As Xander sat on the ground, shocked at the repulsive display but unable to look away, a warning chime resounded in his mind.

Unable to respond mentally or verbally to the call, the robotic voice of his ONIM Aide resounded in his head.

[ Warning! Senior Acolyte detected! Power level comparative to a high Tier II. Threat Level: Severe! Recommendation: Immediate tactical withdraw— ]

However, before his Aide could finish its counsel, the familiar polite and accented voice of Harby unexpectedly intervened.

[ Conscript Xander! This message shall be brief but vital! The Thrall essentially forced the summoning ritual and used his body as a catalyst to bring forth the Acolyte. Its form is weakened and flawed. Slay it now! ]

Argh… H-Harby… easier… said… than… done…

Xander gritted his trembling teeth as a war of two conflicting instincts occurred within his inner self.

Xander wanted to run—to flee with Ben, Anna, Enzo, Chico, Georgy, and everyone else.

He wanted to cower away from the vile thing that should not exist. Xander wanted to hole up in his parents’ house, barricade every window and door, and forget the Senior Acolyte’s monstrous visage.

Simply looking at the many holes that dotted its blob-like head seemed to perforate his psyche.

A dark fog gradually descended on him, and something akin to the swarming of locusts echoed around him.

For the first time, Xander’s mind was sieged by the same signal broadcast that infected the minds of the human cultists. The Acolyte wasn’t the center source but acted similar to an amplifier.

Suddenly, a terrible primal fear beset the lowly human.

Shadows seemed to pop out of the corner of his eyes, claw at him and wail in torment. Xander began hyperventilating as his will began to weaken, and the soft low hum of an alluring song of salvation started to whisper into his ears.

He caught a glimpse. A promise of comfort—solidarity within a congregation that spanned the cosmos. A chance at redemption for his sinful form and tremendous insight into the universe's inner workings.

Temptations abound that sought to tug the darkest depths of his heart. A vision of him immortalized as a man of greatness, a champion, a scholar of renown. A warm dream of him and Anna cultivating the next generation of believers.

He felt happy.

He wanted to feel happy.

Xander wanted to close his eyes.

Resistance felt tiring, and Xander was weary.

What’s the point? No… Must… Must fight… But… Why? Why should I fight… I… I want—

Deep within the recesses of his mind, Xander barely felt a tight grip clutch his forearm.

Ben, who was in a similar struggle, used all his remaining strength to drag himself toward Xander.

Despite all the shenanigans the young man partook with his little sister, Ben honestly always considered Xander as part of the family—his little brother. Ben would rather damn himself than allow such corruption to take root in those he called kin.

And so, with what will he could spare, the athletic man grabbed hold of Xander’s arm and hoped.

It was enough for the other instinct inside of Xander to flare up in a second wind—an instinct that roared for battle!

Xander felt rage and resentment at the insidious mental incursion! The young Conscript scrunched his face in concentration as he consolidated his waylaid thoughts.

It was no wonder so many were taken in and converted into the corrupted.

Such Intense terror that was followed by a promise of safety and ended with the irresistible pull of happiness, greed, and ambition, was a recipe for an easy scam. And that it came from this detestable being in front of him further fueled the anger within Xander.

He wanted to stand up and spit at its siren song and bash its bulbous face in with his hammer until it ceased drawing breath in his space. But the mental attack was still present, and the war continued as Xander tried to bare his teeth and steel his will at the siege within him.

At that moment—for a split second—something within him coursed like a hot summer wind.

It was a new sensation, one that was minutely familiar. So much so that Xander confused it with a rush of passionate emotions he felt in the past. But this felt more solid.

It was not like the pull and plucking of strings that Xander faintly caught when he activated his energy shield, which he deduced was the manipulation of Psi that had never encountered before.

What he felt was different from that.

A universal and fundamental force wasn’t introducing itself, but energy intrinsic to all life made itself known. Xander guessed what it was.

His soul.

Anima.

It was weak, laughably so compared to more grounded Aspects like Body and Mind. But it was there, like flickering candlelight. And for a moment, without any conscious thought, it responded to the outside influence trying to take over its temple and responded subconsciously by seeping a drop of power into Xander’s mental defenses.

With his Aspects working together and synergizing, Xander pulled himself up and more than welcomed the flood of peace, serenity, and calm that showered his being. And like levies, he gathered stone and plugged the holes of his mental bastion.

The fog cleared, and his hastily built defenses brought down the noise of the corrupting signal from an intrusive force to a mild annoyance that pricked the back of his brain.

Xander glanced at Ben sprawled on the sand fighting his own battles from the sheen of fog in the athletic Conscript’s eyes. Xander was indebted to Anna’s brother, and the young man scowled at the source of their tribulations.

“You… You’re not allowed here,” Xander slowly spoke, mind still raw.

With sore muscles, Xander reached for his back pocket and pulled out a small cylinder that unsurprisingly survived all the punishment from Xander falling flat on his rear.

The Conscript opened his hand and revealed the combat medicine he had purchased from the Lumina Shop.

Without any further deliberation, Xander stuck the Stimulant Injector on a meaty part of his thigh, similar to taking an EpiPen.

The sudden rush of the drug coursing through his bloodstream momentarily surprised Xander before he felt a soothing warm feeling that enveloped him. If Xander weren’t so focused on the damaged Senior Acolyte, he would have seen his more minor bruises and cuts heal, and his more extensive injuries regenerate damaged tissue.

After half a minute, Xander felt like he had returned from the services of an expert masseuse. The stimulant reinvigorated his body, and his stamina rose just enough to get the job done.

“You don’t get to touch my—or anyone’s head!” Xander snarled as he hefted his battle hammer with his two hands. Its glowing blue Lustrous Steel hammer’s head shined bright in the night.

The Senior Acolyte paused its anguished writhing and slowly turned toward the offending voice.

Something akin to a growl and metal scraping escaped whatever passed as its throat as it bared its spikes and limbs at Xander.

“Uuergh..! NeeEed mOoORe FLESH! MuUust bEeE WHOLE!”

The monster bolted from its spot at a shockingly fast pace. Xander barely raised his hammer to block the swipe of claws coming toward him.

“Shit!”

Blood splattered on the sand, and the ringing of metal striking metal-like claws resounded across the beach.

Elsewhere, a group of humans was frantically running for their lives as two dog-sized creatures hounded at their heels.

Though, much to the distress of everyone bearing witness, the creatures were nothing like their cherished canine companions.

The best description for the monsters chittering across the sand in a swift rush was that they looked like tumors on four spider-like legs.

The abomination had a hard dome-shaped shell that protected it with an opening in the front for its many rows of misaligned needle-like teeth. Its cover had many craters across its surface and a few holes that burrowed through the hard covering and allowed a squirming tentacle to lash out a few feet from the creature’s body in a whip-like motion.

Enzo yelled in a panic as one of the foul beasts caught sight of him and rushed toward him. The young man raised his Slugger at the creature and fired multiple slugs that distressingly missed.

Despite its quickness, the monster kept moving in erratic patterns and threw off Enzo’s aim.

“God! Stay! Still! You filthy thing!” Enzo shouted in dismay before he ran out of bullets. The man felt the cold shadow of death darken him and froze in place.

As the creature was but a few meters away from the young man—making ready to pounce on the unfortunate human—a shot rang out, and the monster yelped in pain as a Lustrous Steel slug threw it back across the sand.

“Enzo! Hurry!” Anna’s strained voice shouted through the air and brought Enzo out of his shock, “Restaurant! We’ll make a stand there!”

Enzo used what will he had remaining to force his legs to move and bolted towards his friend’s voice.

He managed to catch up to his fellows and quickly joined Anna, Chico, and Georgy. The last two gently carried Alan, a grievously wounded classmate they rescued from the cultists.

With them were a few other friends who joined their rescue party.

All had varying degrees of injuries.

Seven humans—minus Alan—less than half of what they had before the fight, ran toward an enclosed building with wall-sized glass windows. The group had no time to search for the rest, nor did they have any other thought than to run away from the alien monster that popped out of space.

Anna, cloth covering her blown-off ear, felt myriad negative emotions, from the partial failure of their mission to the alien abominations hunting them. But most of all, she had no idea where Xander and her brother were. Last she had seen them, they were battling it out against the Thrall.

As the beleaguered group entered the resort restaurant, everyone began toppling the table when Enzo started piling up a defensive fort in the center of the dining area.

“Tables here, facing the windows! Someone head to the kitchen and grab some knives! Check each room for anything useful!” Enzo continued to order everyone—in contrast to the fear-stricken man before. He tore off a piece of his shirt and bandaged a wound he incurred on his waisT, “There’s two! Just two! They’re fast, but we can use that against them!”

Unwilling to stay idle, Anna began laying down a table cloth and setting down Alan. Another classmate of hers came forward. The girl had on hand some table and alcohol.

“My sister is a nurse, and I know some basic first-aid. W-we can redress his wounds while everyone else is…”

The young woman, Irene, spoke in evident nervousness. She hadn’t fought the cultists during the beach brawl, choosing to stay at the back. Anna moved toward her and gave Irene a comforting hug.

The Conscript patted her back and calmed her down, if just a bit.

Irene pointed at Anna’s ear after they broke the embrace.

“We need to check that too.”

“Hold on. I have something,” Anna replied while fishing something out of her hoodie pocket, “look.”

When she purchased a Slugger from Harby and gifted it to her parents, her mother handed her and Ben one Stimulant Injector each. Anna brought it up and hesitated. She looked over at Alan and everyone else who was injured and undecided on whom to use it.

Enzo saw her in her indecision and snapped his fingers at her. The young man had briefly inspected the item in her hand with his ONIM.

“You’re taking that, don’t be dumb. You’re our best marksman, and you saved my life—that was without being able to hear in one side,” Enzo stepped forward and closed Anna’s fingers on the small cylinder, “so take it, and save everyone else.”

Anna sighed as she followed Enzo’s suggestion. Her close friend was right, after all.

After feeling the rush of the combat medicine within her, she removed the cloth she had on her injured ear and looked toward Irene.

“So, how does it look?”

“It’s… like someone took a bite out of it, chewed it up, and spat it back out… I think there’s still a bit missing, but it looks healed?”

“Is that a question?”

The young woman only sheepishly mumbled back, and Anna resigned to having a messed up ear. The important thing was that her hearing returned despite feeling rather fresh and fragile.

Irene had to apply a bandage gently and clean the area just in case.

And it was just in time, as the humans inside heard the pained scream of someone outside.

Everyone stood to look through their hasty set-up table fort and saw a classmate slam against the glass door.

The seriously injured man had a massive gash across his chest, and his left arm uselessly dangled at his side.

“Argh… Help… Please!”

Anna, Chico, and others jumped over the barricade and rushed toward the door. Enzo shouted in warning.

“Wait! Stop! Don’t—”

Chico reached the door before Enzo could finish and opened the entrance—allowing their injured classmate to stumble in and fall to the floor.

Anna and Irene moved forward to drag their classmate back to the barricade while Chico slammed the doors shut and locked them.

The interior went quiet apart from the pained moans of their friend. Enzo furiously beckoned at Chico as he looked out of the barricade.

“Hurry over here, you fool!”

“Alright! Alri—” Chico spoke before being cut off by a vexing screech from the outside.

Everyone froze briefly and hectically scanned the outside through the windows. Finally, Chico rushed back over to the center and drew his sword.

Apart from the moonlit greenery being brushed gently by the ocean air, the perpetrator was nowhere to be seen.

Everyone raised their weapons a stuck together closer.

Anna breathed heavily as she scanned the surroundings with an eagle-like focus.

For a moment, Anna went inward and inquired.

Aide! What the hell are we facing!?

The female robotic voice resounded in her mind after a chime.

[ You are currently facing a Malformed Voidling. Power level comparative to a high Tier I. Threat level: Moderate. Recommendation: Fight with caution. Use firearms. Target softer underbelly or mouth. ]

Malformed!? -ling!? Are we fighting a baby or something!?

Anna grimaced at the absurdity of it all. A group of seven armed humans was cowering at what was essential newly born offspring. But everyone was treating the two beasts as apex predators.

The group silently continued to be guarded with twitched nerves. Georgy was about to suggest something before a loud crash came from their right.

Suddenly, a large stone the size of a basketball crashed against one of the tables and pushed it back violently.

The human behind it stumbled back and fell to the ground with a yelp.

Everyone turned around and faced the broken window when the two Malformed Voidlings finally entered the restaurant. The wicked spider-like legs covered in obsidian chitin and blood quickly chittered through the floor before Enzo shouted toward Georgy, holding a kitchen blowtorch.

“Now!”

“Eat flame, you stupid—!”

The intense fire from the torch touched upon the puddle of various liquors spread outside their barricade.

The blasting heat instantly infringed on the two void beasts, inflicting severe burns!

“Light ‘em up!” Enzo shouted as he fired his Slugger at one of the monsters.

As one, various guns were blasting at the Malformed Voidlings and perforated them while some threw make-shift spears and kitchen knives.

The smoke began to fill the space, and everyone ceased their attack. The humans crouched low and backed away from the spreading fire, making sure the things were dead.

“Yeah, they’re not getting up from that.”

Everyone exited the burning building in exhaustion.

In the end, the things were just beasts. Throwing rocks to shatter windows was likely the extent of their intelligence. Then again, they were babies and referred to as malformed, so Anna took it with a grain of salt.

The young woman turned to her compatriots in haste with a worried look as they stood outdoors. The faint light of pre-dawn was beginning to touch the horizon.

“We need to find Xander and Ben."

Everyone turned to look at her in confusion. Anna scowled as she explained further.

"They were fighting the Thrall by the water. We have to go there now!”

“But, we need to get these people out of here and to a hospital, Anna!” One of their classmates spoke out and received a glare from the Conscript.

"They came here to save your sorry ass! We should at least do the same!"

“He has a point,” Enzo surprisingly said before he had to raise a hand and stop Anna’s protests, “the two of us should go find them. Chico and Georgy should be capable of taking a car and driving them off. Georgy brought his own after all.”

“Yeah, we are!.. We are?” Chico spoke as he pointed the finger at himself.

Everyone rightfully ignored him and deliberated on their plans.

Anna and Enzo nodded to Chico and Georgy, and proceeded to leave the group and ran toward the beach where they last saw Xander and Ben.

Xander grimaced at the Senior Acolyte's tremendous force brought to bear with its damaged body. It had both speed and power!

Xander needed to exploit a weakness soon. Otherwise, his resistance would have been for nothing.

Xander had to dodge and step back from the furious swipes.

The monster's single massive arm had soared through the air like an executioner’s axe, and Xander barely managed to use the shaft of his battle hammer to redirect the blow toward the ground.

There!

It was a small moment for a counterattack that Xander quickly took. Sacrificing a heavy blow in favor of a quick hit, the Conscript stepped forward and struck with his hands closer to the head, allowing him better control of the clumsy weapon.

The area where Xander struck was where he believed the shoulder blade should be, a vital bone that connected various back muscles and shoulder muscles. Xander trusted that this monster, as abominable as it was, had to follow some rules of biology.

The effect was immediate, though not as crippling as he thought! Still, the Senior Acolyte shrieked in pain as a chunk of its flesh literally blew apart from escaping gasses and hot blood.

The creature stumbled back before restarting its wild attack.

“CuUuRse you! StoOp struUggling! AcCept us!”

“Go to hell! You’re not converting anyone with that ugly fa—shit!” Xander cursed as he avoided another strike from one of the creature’s gut limbs. Unfortunately, that guided Xander towards a spot where its massive arm lashed out and collided against Xander’s chest.

Xander groaned out in pain as he was thrown back. He brought a hand to his bruised chest and felt a rib fracture. Thankfully, his earlier attack managed to slow the limb and potentially saved him from what could have been a fatal blow.

Xander couldn’t ponder more as he had to roll out of the way of the Senior Acolyte’s bestial lunge.

The Conscript attempted to stand back up, but a meaty hand grasped his leg and squeezed.

Xander howled in pain as he the alien cultist dragged him back down and gripped his calf blue. Xander desperately swung his hammer down on the Acolyte’s hand and shattered bone.

The Acolyte’s grip slackened, enough to give Xander a breath but not enough to let go. And to the human’s dismay, the Acolyte began to rise and drag Xander toward the bonfire.

“Oh, hell no! Argh!”

Xander swung his hammer again but couldn’t quite reach. Finally, in a last-ditch attempt, he used the bottom spike of his battle hammer and plunged it into the sand. However, the ground made poor material for the handle to hold on to and only slowed the Acolyte.

The monster in question turned to what was delaying his act of cleansing the filthy sentient and pulled hard on Xander’s leg.

The Conscript wailed in pain as he felt his muscles pulled while he clutched onto his hammer stuck on the sand.

“STOP STRUuGLING! YOoU MUST SEE!”

The Senior Acolyte’s voice stabilized as it glared at the stubborn primate. However, before the alien monster could do anything, a burning log struck it from the back and plunged deep into its flesh, eliciting a pained shriek.

The Senior Acolyte let go of Xander’s leg—much to the Conscript’s relief—and quickly turned around to find a shirtless Ben who was removing another long log from the bonfire and using as a crude stake.

The alien cultist surged forth to tackle Ben!

“SALVATION!”

“No thanks!”

Ben shouted as he charged forth with a burnt log.

Unfortunately, the Senior Acolyte saw the slowed moved of the exhausted Ben and easily backhanded the crude implement from his hands before bringing its massive arm down on the athletic Tier I.

Ben managed to dodge the blow and the succeeding strikes without any chance to fight back, though Ben wouldn’t have damaged it anyway with his bare hands.

What did damage the alien cultist was the brutal blow to one of its spindly legs. Xander limped forward as Ben distracted the monstrosity and brought his hammer down on the knee joint.

The abomination howled in pain as it fell to one knee. Its arm swung back, caught Xander’s side, and propelled him back to the ground.

The monster attempted to stand with one leg but finally proved a fatal mistake.

Ben decided to give it a little push by drop-kicking its leg.

And like a felled pine tree, the Senior Acolyte’s defective form tumbled off-balance.

And straight on to the bonfire.

Ben stepped back as the alien caught fire, its limbs flayed about as it struggled to stand.

With its massive arm, it managed to lift itself out of the bonfire—destroying it—and flopped onto the sand as its limbs attempted to use the ground to extinguish the flames.

Once again recovered, but on his last vestiges of energy, Xander moved beside Ben. The two humans stood in front of the pitiful thing writhing on the sand.

The agony that escaped its throat was a sound the two humans would never forget.

Xander looked at Ben with weary eyes and nodded. Ben nodded in agreement.

Xander stepped forward, dodged a thrashing limb, and brought his hammer down onto the Senior Acolyte’s amorphous head.

One.

Two.

Three.

Xander swung four times and reduced the head into a fleshy mush.

The alien’s body spasmed for a few minutes before finally ending its movements.

Xander and Ben struggled for breath as their muscles throbbed in pain and exhausting. The two men stood their for a moment before both fell to the ground unconscious.

Without their knowledge, however. A trickle of ethereal golden vapor escaped the burnt corpse of the Senior Acolyte and wafted through the air before coalescing into a thread and entering Xander’s body.

And the frantic voice of Anna echoed across the beach as the light of dawn filled the sky.

"Xander! Ben!"