The fog never slept. Even after the horn's last echo faded, it hung heavy over the streets of Mournveil, thick and gray like breath on glass. It hid the city's broken towers and dead lanterns, waiting for the next scream to stir it.
Kean and Jerni stood in the middle of a ruined square. The cracked stones beneath their feet still glowed faintly blue from his last creation. His body trembled from exhaustion. Every nerve in him buzzed like a dying wire.
"Rest for a moment," Jerni said, scanning the fog with sharp eyes. Her scythe shimmered faintly with blue light. "They'll come again soon."
Kean wiped the sweat from his face. "They always come. Does this battle have an end?"
"They don't stop," she said. "That's what makes them Nightborne."
A faint rumble came from above, the sound of wings, though no living creature could survive long in the sky. Then came the whispering again, soft at first, then louder, overlapping until it sounded like chanting.
"Architect... found... you..."
Kean shivered. "They know where we are."
Jerni nodded slowly. "Then we make our stand here."
The square was wide, open, and surrounded by collapsed buildings that once held markets and homes. Rusted signs still hung from doorways. One of them read Mournveil Maket District, now only a graveyard of memories.
Kean crouched beside a broken bench. He touched the ground, feeling its pulse beneath his palm. "If I can reshape this place like before, maybe I can control their approach."
"You might know how to control your fear, but you're still weak," Jerni warned. "Your power needs focus, not rush."
"I don't have the luxury to rest," Kean muttered. "They're already closing in."
"It would be useless if your body gave up in an hour."
Kean didn't listen to Jerni and closed his eyes, steadying his breathing. The air vibrated. Patterns of blue light began to form along the stone floor, connecting like circuits. The square transformed, its walls rising, faint symbols appearing on the ground.
A soft hum filled the air.
Jerni's eyes widened slightly. "I can't deny you're learning faster."
Kean gave a tired smile. "Just another level design."
Then the fog screamed. Shapes emerged, dozens of them. Nightborne soldiers, their bodies made of mist and cracked armor, faces hidden behind broken helmets. Their eyes glowed white, hollow, and endless.
*CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!*
Their blades scraped against the ground as they marched forward, forming a half-circle around the square.
Jerni stepped in front of Kean, planting her scythe into the ground. The weapon pulsed with blue fire. "Stay behind me."
"I can-" Kean started, but she interrupted sharply.
"Not yet. You overthink. Let me handle this one."
The air split open with the first strike. A Nightborne soldier lunged, its spear whistling through the fog. Jerni sidestepped and swung her scythe in one clean motion.
*SHRING!*
The creature split in two, dissolving into black mist that vanished instantly. Another came, and she spun, slicing its arm off before it even reached her. Her movements were precise and graceful, like a dance of death.
Kean watched, amazed. "You make it look easy."
"It's not," she replied between strikes. "Each one remembers pain. Every hit echoes through me."
Her weapon whirled again, cutting through three more. The mist around them darkened, feeding on the remains of its fallen kind. Kean felt the shift. The fog was reacting. Feeding. Growing.
"Jerni, they're adapting!" he shouted.
"I know, it's obviously visible," she said. Her voice stayed calm, but sweat glistened on her forehead. "That's why you need to think of something while I hold them off away from you."
Kean knelt, pressing his hands to the glowing lines. 'Come on, Kean. Think like a designer... structure the flow.'
He visualized the ground beneath them like a map grid. He could feel every stone, every crack. With a deep breath, he imagined barriers forming around the square, curved walls made of translucent energy.
The light flared. Barriers rose. The rest of the advancing Nightborne slammed into them with a roar, their blades striking sparks against the glowing walls. Meanwhile, Jerni had dealt with the other Nightborne inside.
"It worked!" Kean gasped. "They can't break through-"
A loud *CRACK* echoed. A fracture appeared across one wall.
Kean's heart jumped. "Or maybe they can."
"Hold it together!" Jerni yelled, slashing through another Nightborne soldier that had slipped past.
Kean poured his focus into the structure. The world blurred again, like static. He felt data of emotions flow through him: Fear, Regret, Loss. His own memories tried to invade the code of his creation.
He saw flashes... His office on Earth, the screen light flickering in an empty room, coffee gone cold beside piles of notes and documents. His old game files. Error logs. Deadlines.
He shook his head, forcing the images away. "No... not now."
The barriers brightened again.
Jerni leapt onto one of the fallen walls and spun midair, her scythe tracing a glowing arc. The blade cut through five soldiers at once, their bodies exploding into vapor. Her feet landed lightly on the stone.
"Kean!" she called. "They're trying to flank!"
Kean turned. The fog shifted unnaturally on their left side, twisting into a large mass. From within it, something huge began to crawl out, a Nightborne Brute. Its armor was fused with shadow, and it carried two massive cleavers.
"Oh no..." Kean whispered. "That one's new."
Jerni tightened her grip on her weapon. "That's no ordinary one. It's Fearborn, born from the emotions you just released. You've only been here for a couple of days, and now producing Fearborn? You're the unluckiest man that I know."
Kean's eyes widened. "It's my fault?"
"Yup, fix it," she said.
The creature roared, shaking the ground. It swung both cleavers downward.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
Stone shattered and scattered everywhere. Dust filled the air. Jerni jumped back, barely dodging the strike. The brute's glowing eyes locked on Kean.
He backed away, hands trembling. "It's targeting me."
"It's feeding on your fear," Jerni said. "Don't give it more."
Kean took a deep breath, forcing his fear down. "Alright... focus."
He imagined a floor trap, a collapsing grid beneath the brute. In his mind, it formed perfectly: geometric symbols, glowing blue, ready to trigger.
The moment he thought it, the ground beneath the brute cracked open. A massive pit formed, sucking in the creature's legs. It roared, thrashing violently as it tried to climb out.
Jerni saw her chance. She dashed forward, jumped onto its arm, and drove her scythe into its chest. The glow from her weapon surged, tearing through the brute's body.
*SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH*
The monster dissolved, leaving only the smoke behind.
Kean dropped to his knees, gasping. "I... did it."
Jerni landed beside him, her expression mixed with pride and worry. "Keep up. It's not done yet. Look around."
He looked, and the fog hadn't cleared yet. In fact, it was thickening again. From every alley, more Nightborne soldiers emerged, dozens, maybe hundreds.
"Kean," she said quietly, "This isn't a fight anymore. It's a siege."
He clenched his fists. "Then we make it a game."
Jerni blinked. "What?"
"If they want a siege," Kean said, standing up despite his shaking legs, "then I'll give them one."
He pressed both palms to the ground. The blue glow spread outward, forming a perfect square, a grid divided into black and blue tiles. The entire square trembled, stone rearranging itself with mechanical precision.
Jerni took a step back, eyes widening. "Kean... what are you doing?"
He smiled faintly, though his voice shook. "A strategy game I used to play in my past life. Chess. But the pieces are mine."
The city square reshaped itself, and the ruins melted into geometric patterns. Glowing figures of light rose from the ground: the knights made of armor fragments, bishops forged from fractured glass, and rooks built from crumbling towers. Each piece shimmered with his energy.
Jerni blinked in disbelief. Speechless for once.
Kean's eyes glowed brighter. "I have a plan. You'll be the Queen, the most powerful piece on the board. Move freely. I'll be the King, you also protect me while the rest will follow my commands."
She gave a confused look at him despite the chaos. "And the Nightborne?"
He gestured to the fog, which began to shift and pulse like a living smoke. "They're the enemy pieces. But they don't know the rules yet."
The ground thundered as the Nightborne advanced, their glowing white eyes cutting through the mist. Kean raised one hand, and his 'pawns', a humanoid construct made of blue light, stepped forward in formation.
*CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!*
Metal clashed with mist. The pawns met the first wave, holding them back just long enough for Jerni to strike. She darted across the board like lightning, her scythe sweeping through shadow and fog alike.
"Kean!" she called, her voice sharp amid the chaos. "This is madness!"
"It's logic!" he shouted back. "Every move counts, think of it as a war board. If we control the field, we control the fear!"