The night air was heavy with the stench of burnt wood and ash. Flickering orange glows from distant fires danced across the broken walls, throwing long shadows over the battered streets. Kiel moved through the ruins with measured steps, his eyes scanning every corner. The recent battle had left the city in shambles, but he wasn't here to mourn—he was here to find answers.
Behind him, Lira kept her bow drawn, the string taut, ready to loose an arrow at the slightest sound. "I don't like this," she muttered, her voice low but tense. "The smoke's covering their movements. We could be surrounded and not even know it."
"They want us to think that," Kiel replied, never looking back. "Fear keeps you still. We move, we live."
From the east, faint murmurs floated through the smoke. They weren't the cries of survivors, nor the battle shouts of soldiers—it was something else. Chanting. Low, rhythmic, and almost… hypnotic.
Lira's eyes widened. "That's not our language."
"No," Kiel said grimly, "it's theirs."
The two exchanged a glance before advancing toward the sound. The closer they got, the clearer the words became—though they remained alien to Kiel's ears, there was a pulse to them, like a heartbeat in the air.
They reached the courtyard of what used to be a temple. Its stone pillars were cracked, half of them toppled, but at the center, a group of hooded figures knelt in a circle. Between them was a brazier, and from it, a plume of black smoke spiraled upward into the night sky.
Lira aimed her arrow. "We take them now?"
"Not yet," Kiel whispered, raising his hand to stop her. "We need to know what they're doing."
One of the figures suddenly raised his hands, the chanting growing louder. The smoke above the brazier began to swirl unnaturally, forming shapes—faces, twisted and inhuman, that grinned down at the kneeling cultists.
Kiel's jaw tightened. This wasn't simple ritual—it was summoning.
Then, without warning, the leader's head jerked up, as if sensing them. Beneath the hood, a pair of glowing red eyes locked directly on Kiel.
The chanting stopped.
"Run," Kiel hissed.
The figures rose in unison, their movements jerky but swift, as though pulled by invisible strings. One of them made a gesture, and the ground beneath Kiel's feet cracked, releasing a sickly green mist.
Kiel grabbed Lira's arm and pulled her back as the mist hissed and ate away at the cobblestones. "Poison," he spat.
The cultists advanced, their voices now a cacophony of snarls and whispers. From the smoke, shapes began to emerge—shadowy beasts with too many limbs and teeth that seemed to stretch far too wide.
"Any ideas?" Lira asked, her bow already loosing an arrow that pierced one of the creatures, though it only slowed.
"One," Kiel said, drawing his blade, its steel catching the reflection of the distant flames. "We don't die here."
With that, he charged.
The first cultist swung a curved dagger, but Kiel sidestepped and drove his sword through the figure's ribs. No blood spilled—only more of that black smoke, which curled around his weapon before dissipating.
Lira's arrows flew in rapid succession, striking both beast and man, buying Kiel the seconds he needed. But for every one they dropped, two more seemed to appear from the smoke.
"This isn't working!" she shouted.
Kiel's mind raced. Then he saw it—the brazier. If the smoke was the source, destroying it might end this.
"Cover me!" he barked.
Lira didn't question. She sent three arrows in a wide arc, hitting anything that moved toward him. Kiel sprinted across the courtyard, leaping over a toppled pillar, and with a single powerful swing, he smashed the brazier.
The black smoke exploded outward, howling like a living thing before vanishing into the night. The cultists froze, their red eyes dimming, and one by one, they collapsed.
The beasts dissolved into shadows and were gone.
Kiel exhaled slowly, his grip on his sword loosening. "That… was too close."
Lira lowered her bow, breathing hard. "You think that was all of them?"
Kiel glanced at the darkened city around them, the silence now deafening. "No," he said quietly. "That was just the first wave."