The night was quiet, yet the wind whispered the promised words of death. The unfortunate souls who decided to linger well into the night were damned. This was their time to feed.

Ari's gaze was set upon the sky, letting the cold raindrops plummet onto his face. He shook his blade free of black blood and pushed onward. The weight of the rain bearing against his cloak slowed him in more ways than one. Without their scent, he would not be able to track the rest down.

"Ari, the others?" Freir boomed as the downpour worsened.

"They have gotten away from me!"

He searched for Freir's face in the darkness, to no avail. The clouds blocked the light of the moon, leaving him in a perpetual darkness so profound he could not make out his own hand from in front of his face. It spoke of an ominous night.

"Let us find shelter. Outside is growing to be more and more disadvantageous," Freir bellowed. "Rein will come to the same conclusion."

There were no towns or inns around for many days. After all, they were in demon territory. All that he could make out was an old, rotting home in great disrepair. The wood of the beams were decaying from the inside and could collapse at any given moment. In truth, that was how Ari's legs felt.

Once inside, Ari fell to the floor exasperated. Blood oozed from a cut he took to his left side and another on his ankle. He hissed before exhaling, distracting himself from the onset of pain.

The cold dampness of the room brought out the smell of mold, decay, and death. It came from the walls, dripping into the hardwood floors and crept onto their skin, burying deeper and deeper into their bones like a maddening sickness. That is what the Taint did.

Ari managed to drag himself near the hearth as footsteps approached. By the weight of them against the wood, Ari knew they belonged to Freir and relaxed. Freir was armorless with worn, wet clothes sticking to him like a second skin. Water continued dribbling from his graying red hair leaving Ari with the image of a drenched, hefty cat. He was a stocky man in comparison to Ari's smaller, leaner form.

After two fruitless attempts at rubbing sticks together for a spark, Freir slammed them down and rummaged through his pockets for his tinderbox. Soon a fire was lit in the fireplace giving way to much-needed warmth and light.

"Keep your wits about you, boy. They are out there. They are near." Freir's lip curled which caused the long, diagonal gash going across his face to disfigure him even more.

The trees banged against the frangible walls of the house. It spread caution and weariness throughout the emptiness of the room. Already the noise coming from the rain made listening for their approach impossible. Now it was the wind they must battle with.

"We are like chickens in a hen house with wolves surrounding the outside," Ari murmured as he sat upright.

Ari moved his wet, black hair from his face and did his best to rise once more to remove his armor. His armor clinked and clamored with the movement, but Ari went on and unfastened pieces bit by bit until they dropped to the floor. It caused Freir to put his hand up, stopping Ari as his last piece of armor fell.

Plip.

Plop.

The sound of the drops of water dripping from Freir's hair down onto the floorboards resounded through the room. It was too quiet. Ari steadied his breath, reaching for his sword. Slowly, Freir crept to the door and pressed his ear against it.

"Down to the lower level now, Ari!"

Freir ran towards the stairs leading down to the basement as the first demon burst through the door. It was all black and white of body with long, sharp teeth already drenched in blood. Water dripped from its matted fur stained with mud from outside. Its eyes were red—alight with rage and fire. Two then three more came in and circled Ari with the intent to kill. They stalked around him like great predators and waited for the most opportune time to attack.

Wyhils.

As one lunged for his throat, Ari took a couple steps back and countered with a sharp swing of his sword. One jumped, allowing for him to cut above its belly. It fell back onto the floor in a lifeless heap of flesh. Before more could come, Ari hurried down the stairs. Yet more demons were down there and Freir was holding them back as much as he could. There were far too many, and only more came down from the entrance.

Ari gritted his teeth and steeled his resolve. He latched onto one of the demon's backs and plunged his sword into its neck. As it fell to the ground, he jumped and rolled off of its back. He sliced two of the four legs from another demon's body and thrust his sword into an incoming demon's chest.

Freir cleared a path towards the door and Ari was quick to take it. Hurriedly, Freir threw open the door engulfing them into darkness. Ari could not see a thing.

"Keep running, Ari!"

Freir was behind him and, by the sound of it, so was the onslaught of demons. Unlike them, wyhils could see well into the night, but as if Oliya was smiling down upon them, the clouds gave way to the moon and its light.

Ari turned around as another half a dozen demons came into the distance. Their shadows loomed across the muddied field making for a harrowing image. Out they came, crawling on all fours. Their bones were nearly protruded out of their skin. They popped and twisted once they stood. Their eyes were nothing but black pools contrasting with their tearing, pale flesh.

Ceeres! A wave of panic rushed through Ari. It was rumored that these demons could suck the very soul from your body as they consumed your flesh. What were wyhils and ceeres doing in the same place?

Ari took a step back. Still, they crept forward.

"What are we to do?" Ari breathed.

The deluge of rain continued, causing the ground to become muddy and hard to run on. In some parts of Dantic, the slickest mud could prove to be deep mud pits and sink them into it like quicksand. Ari was in no condition to run due to the deep cut on his ankle. All the weight he put on it with each step caused a surge of pain that he was barely able to contain.

His gray eyes, filled with strain, watched as Freir clenched down tighter onto the hilt of his sword. After a second, Ari's back pressed against his.

"All that we can do," Freir said.

Cries tore from the creatures and soon, they came running, jumping, and clawing. Ari took out the first one and before long, they came so quick he lost track.

Ari's sword plunged into one of the wyhil's fleshy necks. As he unlatched it from its neck, he swiped at the next one with outstretched claws coming from the pale beasts. Another lunged at him from behind. He was quick to counter it. More came before he could take his sword out of the demon's skull.

Soon one sank its teeth through his leather under armor and into his chest. He muscled down his scream and continued to bash the creature's skull with his knuckles. His other free hand fell down to his leg and reached for a hidden blade. The moment he had the blade in hand, he rammed it into the inside of its eye socket and kept stabbing and stabbing. The Ceere was relentless. He took the blade, and, this time, lodged it into its neck until it fell away from him. However, another and another came in its place.

Bloodied, Ari rose from the muddied ground and regained his balance. He grabbed his sword and swung it until he faced them once more. Two heads came flying in the air and landed on the murky ground with a splash. It caused the oncoming wyhil's to back away. They bared their fangs and let out growls of protest, yet they did not dare to come closer.

He scanned his surroundings, searching for Freir and spotted him not too far from where he was. He was heaving as well as Ari.

The attacks began once more. This time, they were more timed and calculated. No matter how much Ari tried to get to Freir, they blocked him in every instance. They cornered him and tried to pressure him into attacking. As one went for his neck, another targeted his sword hand, and another his leg.

Ari shoved his sword through one of their mouths. Before he could reach the other one, he felt its canines sink into the flesh of his sword hand. A cry tore from his throat as the pain ripped through his body. He grabbed for another one of his hidden blades and kicked away the demon who was trying to lunge for his leg. He felt the hilt of the blade around the palm of his hands slick with blood. Ari plunged it into the beast's eye socket until he could feel the blade enter into its cranial cavity.

Ari's focus turned to the wyhil ready to lunge for his weak spots, but Ari threw his blade distracting it. Using the moment, he grabbed his sword and sunk it into the flesh of its body until it laid unmoving. He surveyed the area for more of the demons, but there was none to be found. The ones he did see were on the floor, their blood like water to the soil.

Freir struggled to keep upright. Ari himself felt his legs growing weak. Still, Freir continued to rise and tried to make his way to him. Freir kept falling over the bodies of the demons and losing his balance.

Ari tried one step and fell to his knees. His ankle became inflamed. He could not bear the pain. His adrenaline had numbed him to the pain, but now he could feel the entirety of it all. New bursts of pain from new wounds only worsened it. Even his vision was blurring.

"Ari, no. Do not rest now. The demons!"

Ari heard the howl from a wyhil and soon heard another right after. The sounds grew louder and more haunting. Again, Ari tried to convince his body to rise and ignore his affliction. He stuck his sword into the ground and used it as a crutch to help him rise.

"That is it, Ari, my boy."

As soon as Ari had raised his head, his eyes widened at the sight that lay before him.

A human... No, a demon! Its teeth lodged into another demon's neck, causing it to yowl before it gave way to silence.

"Freir—!"

Before Freir could turn around, it had him on the ground with a single flick of its wrist. Ari wiped at his eyes as it drew near.

It grabbed Freir by his neck and raised him up until its nose was buried into the nape of it. His words stayed lodged in his throat as the demon threw Freir away from itself and approached him.

"Ari, you must run!"

Though he heard Freir's words, his body froze in place. It looked human. He did not understand..

Ari unhinged his sword from the ground and swung. However, it only moved around him and squeezed his already injured arm. A cry of pain tore from him. Its grip only grew tighter until Ari had released his sword, letting it fall onto the ground. His heart was rampant, breathing sporadic. Truly then, Ari felt the fear that had been so far removed from him.

Its nose pressed into his neck which caused Ari to instinctually move his head away. He struggled to release his other hand, but it was fruitless. The demon had a hold on him so strong he could not move a muscle.

"Ah," the demon spoke.

The demon pressed Ari's neck further into itself. The blood around its mouth smeared across his skin making his shudders worsen.

"So this is its origin... "

Its voice carried the guttural tone of an animal. Yet, when it spoke its words were smooth and whispery, heavy with an accent.

"Demon, leave him be! Have me if you will!" Freir said.

Its head peaked from Ari's neck to look at Freir. However, it only placed its nose back onto his neck this time with a knowing smile splayed across its lips.

Ari shivered at the touch of its fangs slithering down to the nape of his neck. He closed his eyes trying to make a feeble attempt at suppressing his growing restlessness. Ari gasped, feeling teeth puncture into his skin and seep into his neck.

"Demon," Freir roared.

It tore into Ari's sensitive flesh like a starved animal, causing another cry to rip from his throat. The pain sharpened to the point where tears pricked at his eyes. Ari attempted to wrangle and wrestle out of its tight grasp, but its fangs only sank deeper like a snake's grip on its prey. Its nails pierced through to his wounds giving way to fresh pain in seconds.

Ari felt his life beginning to wane and wax. He choked on air. Splotches of black and white speckled his vision, and all he could see was the moon. Soon Ari succumbed to the darkness that night always brought.