by Virlyce
“Are you upset that the bishop didn’t ask if anyone objected?” Prika asked from beside her with a grin. “I bet you would’ve and stole Vur from under Tafel’s nose.”
“I’m not upset,” Lindyss said with a snort. “I’m just starting to feel old.”
Prika laughed. “You’re almost a thousand years old and you’re just starting to feel old now?”
“Shut it,” Lindyss said and scowled. “He’s really all grown up now, huh?”
44
“So quiet,” Gale mumbled to himself as he lay on his bed with his arm draped over his forehead. His face was flushed, and an empty wooden keg lay on its side on the floor nearby. “It’s nice.” He let out a sigh and closed his eyes before rolling onto his side, causing his bed to shake. He grunted.
“I must’ve gained weight,” he said and yawned before scratching his naked belly. The bed shook again. “Stop shaking.” He thumped the bed with the back of his hand. A minute passed with only Gale’s rhythmic breathing breaking the silence.
An ear-piercing screech rang through the room.
Gale let out a groan. “Stop,” he said and covered his ears with his pillow. “That’s too loud.” The bedframe rattled as one of the legs supporting the bed splintered, causing the mattress to tilt.
“Dammit, bed!” Gale yelled as he rolled onto the floor. “You never listen!” He clambered to his feet and placed his hand on his nightstand for support. He tilted his head and stared at the broken bedframe before narrowing his eyes and kicking it.
Gale swore and clutched his toes while hopping around before he crashed into the empty keg and fell over backwards. He whimpered as a familiar feeling built up in his throat. A torrent of acidic-smelling alcohol sprang out of his mouth and painted the carpet in front of his face. He attempted to stand up, but his knees buckled and he fell onto the pile of vomit.
Gale sighed as he rolled over onto his back and stared up at the marble ceiling. “It’s alright. Everything’s fine,” he said and closed his eyes. “Only a bad dream.”
Gale’s chest rose and fell as ten minutes passed in silence. He shivered and clutched his shoulders as his eyes moved from side to side underneath his eyelids. Whimpers escaped from his lips as his body spasmed in the puddle of puke. “No. No more. Please.”
While Gale suffered through his nightmares, the runic formation in the temple’s basement emitted multiple colors, alternating between dark purple and light yellow. The walls shook and dust rained down from the ceiling. Creaking noises echoed through the room as the floor twisted and bulged, causing cracks to form on the surface of the runes.
Ear-piercing screeches split the air every time a rune gained enough cracks to shatter into pieces, revealing a pitch-black surface underneath. A mist, which smelled like rot and morning breath, streamed out of the surface, coalescing into a sphere above the formation. As time passed, more runes shattered and the sphere continued to grow, gradually taking a humanoid form.
A pair of eyelids formed as the last runes disintegrated. The floor became less opaque as more and more mist joined the humanoid figure. When the floor cleared, revealing a mirror-like surface, the humanoid figure’s eyes shot open. The temple shook as the figure yelled, “I’m free!”
The figure cackled as it spread its arms up towards the ceiling. “Come at me!” it yelled and spread its legs apart. “I know you’re there, you stupid piss-colored orb!”
It waited with its arms spread out for thirty seconds. “Seriously. Come,” it said and frowned. “I’ve been biding my strength for a few centuries. I’d like to see you try to seal me now.” There was still no response. It put its arms down.
“Hello?”
“…”
The figure scratched its head before walking towards the door. It hesitated before kicking the lock, causing the metal to erode. The door creaked open as the figure stood with its arms raised in front of its body, ready for a fight. “I know; you’re waiting to ambush me, aren’t you? Well, bring it on,” it said and puffed out its chest as it stomped up the stairwell on the other side of the door. It reached another door at the top of the steps and eroded it away in a similar manner. It peeked its head out of the doorway and looked both ways before stepping into the hall.
“There’s not even one guard?” It swiveled its head around a full 360 degrees without moving its body. It crossed its arms over its chest and frowned. “I bet you’re laughing at me right now, aren’t you?”
The figure snorted as it stomped down the hallway, leaving a trail of eroding footsteps in the carpet. It wandered through the whole floor, unable to find traces of any humans. “You think I need a body to cast magic, so you had everyone leave, huh?” the figure asked as it placed its hands on its hips. “Well, you’re right. Come out and fight me like a spirit, mano-a-mano.”
It waited in the middle of the hall, standing akimbo. “Please?” it asked as its shoulders drooped. It waited with a lowered head. “Can you at least talk to me? I haven’t had decent conversation for at least a hundred years.”
It sighed as its pleading was answered by silence. “I guess I’ll go to the holy tomb and possess a corpse,” it said and cocked its head. “It might not be as good as possessing a live person, but you don’t want your bodies to be desecrated, right? You better come out and stop me if you don’t want me to do it.”
It walked outside of the temple and headed towards the cemetery. It frowned as it passed through empty streets. The city was completely silent except for the whistling of the wind. “Could some kind of disaster have happened?” the figure asked as it rubbed its chin. “Maybe the humans were wiped out and that’s why the formation was abandoned? But the city is still intact; what could’ve happened here?”
It entered a few houses along the way towards the cemetery, but the only organisms it found were rats and cockroaches. Finally, it reached the cemetery with the mausoleum at the center. “If I remember correctly, that stuck-up Magnus guy is the guardian. He wouldn’t abandon his post unless something really terrible happened.”
It walked past the rows of tombstones and kicked open the door to the mausoleum. “Yo, Magnus,” it said, voice echoing through the chamber. “You here?”
“…”
“I got a delivery for you.”
“…”
The figure sighed and sat down at the entranceway. “Maybe the parasites devoured everyone,” it said and buried its head in its hands. “Wait. That can’t be right. The plants are still fine and the mana levels are still high.” It raised its head and nodded before clenching its hand into a fist.
“For now, I need a body,” it said and walked towards the stairs leading down. “Then I can use some magic to locate people. I’m really going to do it. This is your last chance to stop me.” It waited and shrugged before opening the door and descending the stairs.
It rubbed its chin when it saw footsteps in the dust, leading down the stairs. “Someone’s been here recently,” it said and smiled. “That must mean the world hasn’t ended yet.”
It whistled and sauntered over to the nearest glass sarcophagus. “They weren’t grave robbers,” the figure said as its head swiveled around, taking in the view of the tomb. It wandered around the floor, looking at each preserved corpse.
“Ah, perfect,” it said and nodded at the well-built body in the sarcophagus beneath it. “Now I just have to press this over here and slide this glass off.” The glass lid shattered as it crashed to the floor.
The figure smiled as it stepped on top of the side of the sarcophagus and reached down to touch the corpse’s face. The corpse’s eyes shot open. The figure froze as the corpse blinked at it and smiled.
“HOLY DRAGONBALLS!” the figure yelled and punched the corpse in the face. “AAAAHH! MOTHER OF GOD! IT’S STILL MOVING.”
The figure fell over backwards and scrambled to its feet. It froze as the sound of glass scraping against stone filled the air and thousands of sarcophaguses opened.
“Mommy!”
> It bolted towards the stairs and dashed up the steps, five at a time. It slammed the door shut behind it and lowered the latch. Its body shook as it trembled and sat on the floor before burying its face into its hands. “I feel so lonely.”
After a while, the dark humanoid figure picked itself off its feet and left the mausoleum. It sighed as it wandered down the streets of the human capital, dragging its feet as it walked, leaving behind two parallel lines of dust in the road. It shuddered and shook its head as it recalled the zombies chasing after it in the mausoleum.
“Maybe it’s just an isolated incident,” it said and nodded as it raised its head to look at the sun. “It must be. The town’s still in pristine condition. I really do wonder where that self-proclaimed god went. You hear me, you imposters?”
Its question was answered with silence as a tumbleweed blew past its feet. It hung its head and sighed again. “I guess I’ll have to go to the temple and break a few of your crystals. I’ll make you show yourselves and explain everything to me.” It kicked a rock in front of its feet, reducing the stone to a pile of dust.
It headed back towards the temple it was sealed in, drawing funny faces on all the buildings along the way. It entered the temple doors and rubbed its chin. “I’ve already wandered around the first floor and haven’t found any crystals,” it said and tilted its head. “I guess they’re held upstairs then.” It nodded and pumped its fist as it headed towards the stairwell.
“So what do you think happened?” it asked out loud while walking.
“A zombie outbreak is the most likely scenario. The humans lost the war and their dead was converted into minions for the necromancer.”
“Please don’t say such ominous things to scare me like that.”
“But I’m you. Ignoring that, what do you think happened?”
“I’d like to believe that they found a way to cleanse Fuselage and everyone returned peacefully.”
“I didn’t realize I was such a pansy. Those centuries of isolation really took a toll on me, huh?”
“Nah. It couldn’t have. I’m still perfectly sane.”
“Sane people talk to themselves?”
“It’s fine as long as no one responds.”
“…”
“See. Perfectly sane. Of cou—“
A snore interrupted the figure’s conversation with itself. It froze mid-step and held its breath. A few seconds later, another snore resounded through the stairwell. The figure let out a gasp as a few shadowy tears dripped from its eyes. “I’m not alone!”
It sprinted up the rest of the stairs and ran towards the source of the snoring. It stopped in front of a pair of double doors and placed its ear flat against the wooden surface. Snores, interrupted by whimpers, reverberated through the wood. The figure pressed its hand through the door and eroded the lock.
The door swung open without a sound, and the figure stepped inside. Gale lay on the floor with his body covered in his own vomit. The figure frowned and pinched its nose as it approached the sleeping pope. “Psst,” the figure whispered and nudged Gale’s shoulder. “Hey.”
Gale whimpered. “Stop, you damned skeletons,” he said and turned over. “Leave me alone!”
The figure froze. “Skeletons?” it asked and held its breath. It fell backwards, landing on its butt. It crossed its arms as its brows furrowed. “Could he be a survivor? Was there really a zombie outbreak?” It raised its head to stare at the naked man covered in his own vomit.
“If I possess him, then I’ll really be all alone,” the figure said and shook its head. “I can’t let that happen. I can’t just rudely wake him up either; I need to make a good impression.” The figure snapped its fingers as a lightbulb shone over its head. “I’ll sing a song for him to wake up to!”
It cleared its throat and sucked in a deep breath. It closed its eyes, opened its mouth, and sang a dirge in a low tenor. Gale stopped snoring as his body stiffened. His eyes shot open, and he screamed like a little girl. “Never again!” he yelled and threw a ball of white light at the black figure.
The figure opened its eyes in time to see an expanding ball of holy energy fly towards its face. The energy smacked it in the forehead and slid downwards like a snowball. The figure spluttered as Gale chanted. “Wait, wait,” it said and waved its arms in front of its body. “I’m not going to hurt you; I swear. And that exorcising spell won’t work on me; I’m not an undead.”
Gale stopped chanting and rubbed his bleary eyes. He blinked a few times at the humanoid figure. “You’re trying to trick me again!” he said and gritted his teeth. “I saw what you did to Opfern! Don’t think I’m so easily fooled. What do you want from me this time, you undead rascal?” He stood up and edged towards his staff, located next to his broken bed.
“So it’s true then,” the figure said and sighed as it wiped the holy energy off of its face. “The undead really have taken over.”
Gale froze and tilted his head. “Huh?”
“Where did all the humans go?” the figure asked. “The capital’s empty. You’re the first person I’ve found.”
“The skeletons took them all away,” Gale said and moaned. He placed his hands on his temples. “I feel sick.”
“The skeletons? What do you mean?”
“You don’t know about the skeletons? They were everywhere,” Gale said with his eyes shut tight. “Where’ve you been? Wait, no. Who are you?”
“I’m, uh, just a normal person,” the figure said and nodded. “Yeah. Perfectly normal. Can you tell me more about these skeletons?”
Gale furrowed his brows and frowned. He looked down and wrinkled his nose. “I smell terrible. I need to take a bath to clean myself and clear my head,” he said and gathered his robes and towel. He walked towards the door and stepped past the sitting figure but stopped himself. He glanced at the smoky fellow that suspiciously looked like an evil version of his god and froze. “Are you…?”
“Yes?” the figure asked and raised its head. “Coming with you? If you don’t mind, sure.”
Gale broke out into a cold sweat as his face turned pale. “Yeah,” he said and nodded. His hands trembled. “Feel free.”
“Tell me more about the undead,” the figure said as it walked behind Gale towards the bathroom. “Why did they round up all the humans?”
“They were kidnapping people to force them to attend a wedding.”
“Forcing people to attend a wedding?” The figure’s brow furrowed. “Don’t tell me they’re going to be used as a blood offering. I think we should get out of here before they discover us.”
“What?” Gale asked and almost dropped his towel. “What do you mean?”
“Undead are scary. Who knows what they plan on doing,” the figure said and shook its head. “Chances are, we’re going to be the only ones left once they’re through with their barbaric ritual. Don’t you think we should escape together before they discover us?”
Gale fell silent. “Are you afraid of the undead?”
“Me? Afraid? No way,” the figure said and raised its chin. “I would never be afraid of something as lame as a zombie.”
“There’s a ghost behind you,” Gale said and pointed over the figure’s shoulder.
“Where!?” the figure shouted and leapt behind Gale while glancing backwards. When it saw nothing there, it glared at Gale. “You tricked me.”
Gale shrugged. “I could’ve sworn I saw one. What were you saying about the undead? They weren’t scary?”
The figure frowned and crossed its arms. “Don’t give me that,” it said. “I know you’re frightened of skeletons. You almost pissed yourself in your sleep while screaming about them.”
Gale shuddered.
The figure nodded. “Just as I thought,” it said. “We should get out of here as soon as you finish your bath. We’ll go to Fuselage and look for survivors there. There must be some people who survived that didn’t escape to this continent.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea…”
>
“Nonsense. I’ll take parasitic worms over an undead apocalypse any day. Trust me,” the figure said and thumped its chest with its fist. “You and I. We’ll be friends forever.”
***
The humanoid figure carried a black sack as it walked alongside Gale who carried a similar bag. The two were on a trail in a forest, heading north, away from the human capital. The figure was humming while swinging its arms, the complete opposite of its reluctant travel buddy who hung his head and dragged his feet.
“Hey,” the figure said as it stopped humming. “You never told me your name. I can’t just keep calling you ‘hey’ or ‘you’ this whole time.”
Gale sighed and kicked a pebble. “My name is Gale.”
“Gale,” the figure said and rubbed its chin. “Interesting name. Then you can call me Breeze. We’ll be the two wind brothers. Yeah, I like the sound of that.”
The only response was the crunching of leaves underneath Gale’s feet as the two walked along the path. Breeze whistled as he stretched his arms towards the sky.
“Where are we going?” Gale asked.
“To Fuselage, of course. That was the plan, right?”
Gale frowned. “But the portal to Fuselage is towards the northwest, not the northeast. Aren’t we going the wrong way?”
“Don’t be silly. We’ll probably run into civilization towards the northwest. I’m not going to risk encountering another zombie. Once we hit the coast, we’re going to build a raft to sail across the ocean.”
“Is that really going to work?”
“It is. You’re a laborer of sorts, aren’t you? You should know how to build a raft.”
“Why would you think I’m a laborer? I’m the pope. I’ve never built anything in my life.”
“What?” Breeze asked and raised his eyebrow. “No way. I found you in a pile of your own vomit with an empty keg of alcohol next to you. You should come up with a better lie if you don’t want to do manual labor. If you really were the pope, then I’d have to kill you in case you decide to summon that golden boy.” Breeze patted Gale’s shoulder, eroding away part of his jacket.
