The wasteland stretched before them, an endless expanse of cracked earth and skeletal remains of the old world. The sun, a pale and distant thing, cast long shadows across the land as Reven and Kaela moved eastward.
Reven's grip tightened around the hilt of the Forsaken Blade. Though the runes along its edge had dimmed since the ruins, he could still feel its weight differently than any weapon he'd wielded before. It wasn't just steel—it was something more, something ancient.
Kaela led the way, her movements confident but cautious. She was used to traveling through these lands, reading the terrain, sensing danger before it came. Reven, though a survivor in his own right, wasn't as familiar with the Beast-Kin's way of navigating the world. He watched her closely, taking note of how she shifted her stance with the wind, how she adjusted her path when the ground beneath them grew unsteady.
"She's done this a long time."
"Keep your eyes open," Kaela murmured without looking back. "The wastes don't stay quiet for long."
Reven didn't need the warning. He already felt it.
Something was watching.
They reached the remains of an old settlement by nightfall. What was left of it stood in silence, crumbling buildings half-buried in dust, streets overtaken by twisted roots and scorched debris.
Kaela knelt by what had once been a fountain, fingers brushing over the dried cracks.
"Black Hollow was never a great city," she muttered. "But it was a place people fought to hold onto."
Reven scanned the ruins, his instincts sharpening. Something was wrong.
"Doesn't look like they won that fight," he said.
Kaela's golden eyes flicked up to him. "No one wins against time."
The wind picked up, carrying the scent of ash and decay. Reven's grip tightened on his blade.
Then, the whisper came.
Low. Unnatural.
A voice that didn't belong to the living.
"You should not have come here."
Reven turned sharply, sword flashing from its sheath. Kaela was already moving, her bow drawn, scanning the darkness.
The air grew heavy, thick with something unseen.
And then, from the hollowed-out buildings, they emerged.
They had once been people. Once.
Now, they were something else.
Their bodies were twisted, gaunt figures draped in rotting cloth, their eyes hollow and burning with unnatural fire. Their movements were wrong—disjointed, staggering yet fluid.
Kaela didn't hesitate. An arrow flew.
The first creature collapsed, its form shattering into dust before it hit the ground.
Reven moved as the next lunged. His blade sang, cutting through flesh that felt more like smoke than bone. The Forsaken hissed as it fell apart, its form dissolving into the night.
But there were more. Too many.
"This isn't right," Kaela muttered as she loosed another arrow. "The dead don't just rise on their own."
Reven exhaled sharply. Then something was calling them.
The ground trembled.
Beyond the ruins, from the dark of the hollowed city, a figure emerged.
Taller than the others. Cloaked in remnants of old armour, its face hidden beneath a veil of shadow. Its presence was different. Stronger.
It raised one skeletal hand—and the dead obeyed.
Reven barely had time to brace before the Forsaken surged forward again.
The battle was chaos. Reven moved on instinct, the Forsaken Blade cutting through the wraith-like creatures, but for each one he struck down, more took their place.
Kaela's arrows flew with precision, but the dead weren't slowing.
"We can't fight them all!" she shouted.
Reven knew she was right. They had to move.
Then, the leader of the Forsaken raised its hand again.
And this time, the air itself grew heavy.
Reven's breath hitched as his limbs felt sluggish, as if the weight of the blade was suddenly too much.
Kaela stumbled, her golden eyes flickering with frustration. "It's trying to bind us!"
The Forsaken Knight stepped forward, its presence pressing down like a suffocating shadow. The runes along Reven's blade flickered.
A whisper, deep and ancient, echoed through his mind.
"The blade remembers."
Reven gritted his teeth. Then let it.
With a sharp breath, he forced his strength forward, gripping the Forsaken Blade with both hands. The runes ignited.
A pulse of light erupted from the sword's edge—just for a moment, but it was enough.
The Forsaken Knight reeled, the pressure lifting. Kaela moved instantly, loosing an arrow straight into the figure's chest.
The creature let out a piercing shriek.
Then, like the others, it crumbled into dust.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Reven exhaled, his grip loosening on the blade. Kaela lowered her bow, scanning the ruins warily.
"What in the void was that?" she muttered.
Reven shook his head. "Something powerful. Something that knew this sword."
Kaela's gaze lingered on him, on the way the blade still pulsed faintly in the dim light.
"Looks like you're carrying more than just a weapon," she said.
Reven didn't answer.
Instead, he turned his gaze toward the road ahead. East.
The ruins of Black Hollow had been a warning. If the dead were stirring, then something was waking them.
And whatever it was, it knew he was coming.