The creature lunged.
Rael barely had time to draw his sword before the twisted form of the half-Devoured slammed into him, sending him crashing through the barn doors. Splinters flew, and Rael rolled onto the grass, gasping as pain flared in his ribs.
"Rael!" Mira's voice rang out as she and Darius sprinted into view.
The thing that had once been a man screeched — its mouth now a torn maw lined with jagged teeth. Tendrils writhed from its spine, twitching like seeking limbs. Its blackened fingers curled into claws as it charged again, this time toward Mira.
Darius moved first, drawing his longsword and meeting the beast mid-charge. Steel clashed against bone and sinew, but the creature didn't fall. It hissed, backing away, its skin steaming where the blade had cut.
"Magic-infused," Darius growled. "Keep your distance. Aim for the heart — if it still has one."
Rael pushed himself up. The hunger stirred inside him, deeper now. Nyxthar's whisper slithered through his skull.
"Let me in. Let me help. Only a taste…"
His hand trembled on the hilt of his blade. The fight blurred around him — Mira casting flame-laced daggers, Darius parrying another charge. And the Devoured was adapting, faster, more aggressive.
Rael stepped forward. "Enough."
The mark on his chest burned, and shadow bled from his skin. The world slowed. His heartbeat thundered like a war drum. Tendrils of void-black energy coiled around his arm — his blade vanished in a shatter of shadow.
He raised his hand — and the darkness erupted forward like a lance.
The tendril speared the creature through the chest, pinning it against a tree. It howled, black blood spraying. Another tendril ripped upward, splitting its torso apart.
Silence.
Rael stood there, chest heaving, the shadows still writhing. His skin was pale. His eyes… flickered with an inhuman glow.
"Rael." Mira's voice was soft but firm. "Stop."
He blinked — the power receded. The void trembled, then retreated like a tide.
The corpse hit the ground in a broken heap.
Darius approached slowly, blade still in hand. "If you ever lose control like that again," he said coldly, "I'll kill you myself."
Rael didn't respond. He couldn't. His hands were shaking.
Mira touched his shoulder. "You saved us. But he's right — that power... it's terrifying."
They regrouped inside the chapel. Dust covered the pews, and the altar was shattered. Beneath it, Mira uncovered a hidden passage — a stone staircase descending into the dark.
Symbols lined the walls, glowing faintly. Abyssal runes.
"This wasn't just a village," Mira said. "It was a place of worship. But not to the gods of Varenthia."
Rael knelt beside a broken statue. It was eyeless. Its mouth stretched wide in a silent scream.
"They called to something," he murmured. "And something answered."
They found a journal — pages stained in blood. The final entry chilled them all.
"The voice from below promises rebirth. We have torn the veil. The Whispering One stirs."
Rael looked toward the stairway.
Whatever waited below wasn't done yet.