Lyvina stalked through the ruined village, searching.

  Vine had to be here somewhere. But no matter how hard she looked, there was no trace of her, either lying unconscious, or among the resurrected.

  Ever since that wretched goblin shoved its hand into the sphere… No, ever since she reverted to her original self, her control over Carnifex had slipped away. What was once an all-seeing gaze had become fragmented, unable to view the entire village at once. The nooses that had previously outnumbered the resurrected were now overwhelmed, with many being kept in reserve to guard the shrinking orb that was the source of her power.

  Knowing her weakness, they had attempted to desecrate the sphere like they had before. Arrows were the first thing they tried, using what bows were left to them, but few had the range to travel so high into the air, and those that could were ineffective and easily disposed of. Even if the resurrected survived, Lyvina ensured their weapons did not.

  Seeing this, the resurrected had adapted.

  Despite soaring above the village, beyond the reach of any normal being, the once single-minded resurrected had begun… changing. At first, she thought little of it—A goblin breaking it’s arm here, a villager slicing deep into their leg there—but then she saw what happened after. Their bodies swelled grotesquely in fresh muscle and tumours; their once ruined limbs transformed into something far more monstrous than ever before. Now, they could leap higher, punch harder and run faster than ever before. It was one thing when she was the one breaking them apart, but now they were doing it themselves willingly to take advantage of this benefit.

  Whatever she thought of them, this wasn’t the work of mindless creatures.

  With the escalating threat, Lyvina had no choice but to dedicate almost all her noose to ensure they didn’t get a strike on the source of her strength.

  Even now, Lyvina was weakening. The cracks in her body lingered longer than before, the steam venting from her deteriorating body faster and more unsteady. Though she didn’t want to confront the topic, it was growing increasingly clear. Unless something changed, Lyvina would run out of time.

  Still, Vine was her priority now. Everything else could wait until they were together and were on their way to freedom.

  She had searched nearly every blood-soaked street, alley and home, yet she was no closer to finding her. That left only one plausible option.

  The Church.

  She didn’t know how or when Hera and her group would have swooped in and claimed her saviour for themselves, but all evidence pointed towards them. The thought didn’t sit well. Last time, she lost to the priest, and that was when she was at the height of her power. In her current state, there was no way she could win.

  Her head ached, as a hand shot up to grasp the affected area. They had appeared after she reverted, but they were little more than minor annoyances. Ignoring the problem, she phased through the wall back onto the street.

  An arrow whistled past her head. Startled, she pushed herself back into the building and used her remaining senses to see what was outside. Her eyes opened wide. From the streets to the roofs, she was surrounded by the resurrected.

  While she had been focused on protecting the star and searching for Vine, the resurrected had concocted an ambush. Lyvina wanted to crush them all under the weight of her nooses, but too many were preoccupied defending the sphere.

  For a moment, she considered phasing through them all and making her way to the church, but she rejected the idea. That would only lead an army of them straight towards Vine. With little alternative, she gritted her teeth, and prayed she wasn’t nearing her limit just yet. Sparks flew from her body as minuscule cracks formed across her frame. It came so easily before, as though it was second nature. Except, that was when she was… not herself.

  A slow, creeping darkness settled at the edge of her consciousness. It was one she was intimately familiar with, yet at the same time, it was something new.

  Almost in response to Lyvina attention, the darker part spoke.

  I can kill them, just like we promised. All you have to do is let me back in.

  She ignored it, mentally turning away from the figure. She didn’t need to lose it like that again to get what she wanted.

  Fresh Nooses spawned into existence, immediately racing toward their endangered master. Given enough time, they might be able to scatter them and provide Lyvina the breathing room she needs.

  However, the drights weren’t going to wait for her to leave the building. A swarm of goblins burst in from the windows and entrances, charging at her with suicidal abandon, nothing new for the mindless things.

  A goblin lunged at her, jagged blade in hand. She twisted aside, drove her fist into its skull, and felt it cave in under the force. Another resurrected was quick to take its place, then another, then and other. They swarmed her like never before. Her nooses outside were already hard at work trying to thin their numbers, but there were simply too many of them.

  Wrenching a weapon from one of the fallen goblins, a sword from Eva Peters, by the looks of things, she cut them down as they came.

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  In a spray of gore, she chopped one of their number in two. From that burst of greenish red liquid came the deformed creature, it’s arms twice the size of a normal goblin, its skin ready to tear itself apart from the strain of so much mass. She searched for the weapon it was surely carrying, but found nothing. Was it planning to beat her bare handed?

  Recovering from her swing, she attempted to cut the creature down. Too slow.

  The goblin wrapped its oversized arms around her, locking her in a bearhug that challenged even her considerable strength, and bit into her neck. Liquid, as blue and bright as the star, ran from her wound, cracks appearing around the entry points. Lyvina screamed in pain.

  Dropping her weapon, she tore at the goblin’s torso with her bloodstained fingers, ripping fistfuls of flesh, guts and bones away until she had grabbed a hold of the thing’s heart and crushed it in her palm. At last, the goblin released her, its body falling to the ground. For a moment, she awaited the same mindless devotion that the resurrected always spouted, the adoration they all shared.

  Beautiful.

  But, there was nothing. Like every other Goblin she had encountered in the last few minutes, they had all fallen silent.

  Though grateful for the reprieve, something about this sudden change in behaviour felt… off.

  Something wasn’t right.

  Her pondering was short lived, as only moments after the last goblin fell, another similarly strengthened goblin locked their arms around her from behind, followed by another, and another, until she could barely move.

  “You drights! Let me go—AAAAAAAHHHH!” She released a cry of agony, as the spear pierced into the grappling goblin, through Lyvina and exiting through the other deformed monster. Before she could say anything else, several more weapons skewered her as though she was a piece of meat being fought over by hungry guests.

  They weren’t done yet.

  A shadow loomed over them. A hobgoblin. Massive. Hulking.

  It lifted her and her attackers, squeezing the mass against its chest. The pressure threatened to snap the bones of the surrounding goblins and crush her between it all. She sent out a mental command to her nooses, demanding aid. But then, outside the window, she saw it.

  The was the orc from before. Its head was bent forward, its forearms held out to either side. Chanting in a voice much deeper than she remembered.

  “Heed our will. Destroy the defiler with your roaring flames. Fireball.” It spoke in words clearly not its own, thrusting his hands towards her.

  Just like that, a ball of fire, as bright as the star hanging above the village, streaked towards her, growing rapidly in size until in flew through the shattered window and struck her.

  The world became flame.

  The house was torn apart from the explosion. Tiles, lumber and brick shot across the village as the inside was gutted by fire. The structure stood for only a few moments before it couldn’t stand its own weight and came crumbling down.

  Smoke and embers swirled through the air, settling into an unnatural silence.

  “Beautiful,” the orc allowed himself to say at last, as the others spoke out in agreement.

  “Beautiful,”      “Beautiful,”    “Beautiful,”   “Beautiful,”    “Beautiful,”

  “Beautiful,”    “Beautiful,”     “Beautiful,”    “Beautiful,”

  The orc looked towards the invisible barrier expectantly, waiting for something to happen.

  “…”

  Nothing changed.

  Just as he was about to question the situation, an explosion of rubble and ash blasted out from the wreckage. From that, emerged Lyvina, screaming in agony and unfiltered rage. Her form was charred, her dress melting into her flesh. Her face was half-burned, her body fractured and steaming like a geyser.

  The resurrected stared, their chant faltering.

  On broken feet with missing toes, she ran towards the orc, and using her last remaining arm, punched him with all the strength she could muster. She felt the ribcage collapse just as her arm shattered to pieces in front of her.

  The orc was sent flying through the building behind it, leaving Lyvina’s sight.

  She stumbled, every breath a struggle as her body worked to correct the damage. That had very nearly killed her. In fact, if the blast wasn’t cushioned by the very goblins restraining her, it very well could have been the end.

  But, she still lived.

  This would have never happened if I was still in charge. Let me finish the promise we both made. Then we can all be happy.

  “Shut… up.” Lyvina spoke aloud, her skin slowly revitalising as her remaining red eye, burning with fury, turned to the approaching goblins.

  “I’ll… find… Vine… and leave this place.”

  You’re not strong enough to do anything, you armless freak, the voice chastised.

  “This isn’t… my first time,” she spoke, a smile growing on her face. “I’ll be just… fine.”

  The goblin was on her then, sword at the ready to strike her down.

  The noose slammed into its neck, pinning it to the ground in a bloody splat.

  Lyvina stepped forward, crunching its skull with her barefoot.

  “I’m coming Vine.”

  ---

  “The execution has failed,” Eva spoke, hints of displeasure in their voice.

  They and many others had been tasked with occupying the nooses around the floating orb while the rest dealt with Lyvina. Though they hadn’t participated in the self-mutilation, they had been tossed around plenty for attempting to use a bow.

  “Indeed. Let us head to the border for now.” Another of their group responded. Most of the others had already cleared out or had been flung elsewhere in the village. There were six of them in total, all villagers of Carnifex.

  Eva had yet to lose any of their original beauty, while the others bore the marks of transformation, their limbs and flesh altered by the regenerative process.

  The nooses didn’t pursue. Many of them had left the moment the group fell out of range, heading towards the site of Lyvina’s execution. It seemed they weren’t considered important targets.

  “We will regroup with the others and find a new method,” another of the villagers spoke, the others offering their approval.

  It was as they were walking that they noticed something peculiar.

  There was a body. A corpse, simply laying on the ground covered in dust and pieces of debris. It was clear this one had been dead for a while, yet there were no visible wounds.

  So, why hadn’t it risen yet?

  “Did the others miss it?” One of them asked.

  “Every available body has been opened, occupied and integrated,” another countered.

  “A damaged soul, or soul space?”

  “Unknown.”

  “I will investigate.”

  One of the other five villagers offered. Kneeling, it touched the chest of the man and collapsed.

  Five seconds passed.

  Ten.

  Thirty.

  Something was wrong.

  When close to a minute had elapsed since their kin had entered the body, the silence was finally broken.

  “It shouldn’t take this long.”

  “Resistance?”

  “Impossible.”

  “Interference?”

  “Unknown.”

  “Investigate?”

  “Dangerous.”

  “Group?”

  “Together.”

  “At once.”

  “Beautiful.”

  With that, the rest approached. One by one, the villagers knelt, placed their hands on the corpse, and collapsed, investing their entire existence into the body.

  Eva was the last.

  They knelt, fingers brushing the body’s cheek. With no hesitation, they pressed their palm against its skin.

  And then, Eva slumped over, as the collective entered the soul space.