Tess (The Day Before)

The tiring march coupled with the burden on her mana channels almost made Tess pass out from exhaustion. But she couldn't afford to. No. The demon could still be on their heels. At least amidst the chaos of the beast horde, she felt safer. Barely. She had not slept more than five minutes since the attack. Every time she closed her eyes, those ghostly eyes haunted her dreams. Every shadow, every cool breeze made her flinch. The demon could be anywhere stalking them. Waiting for her to lower her guard.

Everyone from her initial group who survived was the same: sunken eyes and a wild disheveled look. A few of them had even ended their lives to flee to the safety of their cities. Unfortunately for her, she didn't earn the privilege of earning a Resurrection Token yet. Or else she would have followed their example too. The physical backlash from the overuse of mana potions was nothing compared to her mental state. Human minds were not designed to be hyper vigilant for this long.

"Oh for the love of…would you cut it out?" a scout to her right commented angrily. "I am the scout here. And nothing can get within a kilometer without my knowledge. All five of my senses are superhuman. Which unfortunately also means that I must bear your horrible stench."

Tess didn't even register the tirade as her eyes darted from side to side. She hadn't stopped sweating once since her wild escape. And they didn't have the luxury to stop for a bath. No one from the groups they merged with had believed the survivors. The current commander had even laughed at the ridiculousness of being chased by a specter.

But Tess knew. The monster was out there. She wouldn't fall for it again. She would continue to look for anomalies. She kept her vigil while biting her fingernails.

"This is hopeless," the scout raised his hands in frustration. "Can I get partnered with someone else?"

She trudged on robotically, only following commands to keep her semi-lucid mind occupied. Tess vaguely remembered someone ordering her to join another man. She didn't care. Tess walked towards where she was asked, keeping a close eye on the shadows. She didn't even bother looking at her new partner's face. Until he spoke that is.

"You watch the shadows on the left," a weary voice spoke to her. "I will watch the right."

Tess turned to the man and blinked in confusion. It was like she was looking into a crazy mirror that switched her gender. The man's expression was a reflection of hers. The same ghost haunted him.

She looked around and saw that everyone around her had the same look. Like living zombies who barely held on to their sanity. Apparently, the commander had gotten frustrated with them and made all the survivors group up in the backlines.

"I don't remember you," Tess asked in a muddled tone. This batch of survivors looked different.

"We came from the side of Neverhelm," the man replied while scouring the right. "The female wraith assaulted us there too."

Somehow that statement made even less sense to Tess. The two groups should have been far apart. It wasn't possible for the same entity to attack them both. But then again, arguing logic about a ghost wasn't really something a sane person would do.

"How many lived?" Tess asked with dread in her voice.

The man didn't respond, making eye contact with her. His silence spoke louder than words. They too had been toyed with. Which meant this wasn't over. Tess turned to the left with new vigor. She had to. That was the only way to maybe run away in time.

Tess didn't even notice when they reached their destination. Even as orders were given to take rest, the people in the back didn't stop. They made a mad dash to the interior of the camp. Better to have as many bodies between them and their stalker as possible. The other fighters didn't get it. They eyed the survivors with disdain, and in some cases pity.

She huddled together in a heap with the others. There was safety in numbers. Yes. She had to squeeze as far in as possible. Especially since it was nighttime. Ghosts like to come out at night. The haunting lullaby came to the forefront of her mind.

The dead don't sleep; The dead don't smile. The dead don't need a starry sky.

The childish rhyme kept echoing in her head. No matter how hard she tried to erase it. She desperately stared at the sky to make sure the stars were still visible.

"Ugh…what the hell happened to them," a male voice spoke from out of their protective circle. "What am I supposed to report back when a quarter of our fighters are huddled together like scared chicken."

"Could it be true?" another man asked from the side.

"Shut up," his boss reprimanded. "I won't stand for baseless rumors to spread. These weaklings probably came across some species of undead and lost their minds. It's obviously some kind of mental attack. We will sort this out when we get back."

"Yes, sir," the subordinate responded.

But Tess didn't care. She was safe in the huddle. The monster wouldn't get to her first. She had enough time to run.

From the gaps in between the bodies, she could see the eyes of the other soldiers. They weren't even trying to make a defensive formation. Not that it mattered. Resistance was futile anyway.

Tess kept getting pushed around, barely managing to breath after being squeezed from all sides. But she didn't mind. She hadn't realized how much of a luxury it was to breathe without fear. It was a luxury she couldn't afford. Not till she returned to her city.

She didn't want to go back for her rewards. She could care less about that. She just wanted to get away from this place. She could survive on System rations. Yes. That was best. As far away from this nightmare as possible.

That was when she heard it.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

The song.

A lullaby from the abyss.

"The dead don't sleep; the dead don't smile. The dead don't need a starry sky."

"No," she managed to croak. And as before the heavens winked out.

Pandemonium ensued as screams erupted across the field. A stampede broke out as those around her ran in terror. Being at the center, she was spared from getting trampled. But the wild panicked attacks injured her more than once.

Tess dived to the ground. The ground was safe. Yes. She needed to crawl out like before. She made a mad dash on all fours in a straight line with her eyes closed. What use were eyes in the void anyway.

Her slithering form tripped many people. But she didn't dare stand. Many more people stomped on her hands. Even then she didn't stand. Standing up was death. Defiance was death. She would crawl out like before. She would live like before.

Tess heaved from exhaustion as she traversed with the unfamiliar gait. But she didn't slow down. In fact, as the frequency of stray attacks reduced, she felt confident that she was getting closer to the exit. She could almost taste it. The crisp air as she broke out of the membrane of darkness.

But she didn't stop. She continued running on all fours with her eyes closed. There were angry shouts and beastly wails all around her. She didn't care. She kept crawling.

For hours she kept at it. Stumbling blindly on the ground. A groan from her side called for help. She didn't care. Some other gurgling voice promised her rewards. She didn't care. She just crawled.

"Hold it there," a distant voice commanded. The authoritative tone sounded familiar. But the desperation in the voice was foreign.

Tess ignored it and continued her mission: Crawl to safety.

Unknown hands grabbed her prone form. Dragging her away from salvation.

"NOOO," she screamed while struggling violently. She couldn't see who had her, but the touch felt human.

"Hold her still," the voice ordered. "You, answer me. What is this? Who is attacking us?"

The hands tried to make her stand. But she refused. She folded her legs and dangled in the air. Standing was bad. Staying away from the ground was bad. Seeing was bad.

"She is too far gone, sir," another voice, a woman this time, said in a soft tone.

"Cast heal on her," the leader barked. "And every other mind cleansing Spell we have at our disposal. I want this Fear effect dispelled."

Tess felt several cooling sensations passed through her, compounding her dread. The chilling wind was back. She struggled harder like a wild beast.

"It is not working sir," the desperate voice of the female spoke from in front of her.

"I doubt it will."

Tess froze. As did the hands who had her. The voice was back. The specter was back.

On pure instinct Tess opened her eyes to see the floating green form of the woman. Her sinister smile. Her floating hair.

"Madness isn't something a Spell can fix."

Tess fell to the ground as the soldiers let her go. But she didn't move. Couldn't move.

Her mind didn't even comprehend the desperate struggle the soldiers put up. Spells and projectiles flew towards the horror. And yet, none found purchase as she simply vanished. Tess lay paralyzed on the ground as everyone else tried to find their enemy.

A futile task, since the next moment the commander's cold dead body fell to the ground. No one saw it coming, the defensive formation bypassed like a paper wall.

The others simply dropped their weapons and ran. Another mistake. You don't stand before death. You kneel. A truth that became evident as their fleeing forms were next to fall.

As the ghostly visage appeared again, Tess forgot to breathe. The thing was looking at her with the same sadistic grin as before. Tess felt something close to her hand. She hurriedly picked it up and aimed it at her throat.

The wraith simply tilted her head in amusement. Which is when Tess knew. The only way to escape this place. It was so simple. The answer was right in front of them.

She redirected the blade towards her face. Making crude slices on her skin. As blood gushed forth from her eye sockets and cheeks, she turned her face upwards.

"I don't sleep; I don't smile. I don't see a starry sky."

She waited a moment for death. It never came. She had done it. She had survived.

* * *

Thalindra

Thalindra stared wide-eyed at the broken woman before her. The mad girl had stabbed her eyes and carved a frown on her own face. The horror of the action hit Thalindra like gut punch. The menacing act she was putting up faltered at the consequences of what they had done.

"Have we gone too far?" she asked herself.

She turned towards Lord Fenrast. He was still within the dark bubble that moved with him. Under such low light conditions, he had no problem channeling it for much longer. She turned back to the mage, who was humming the tune that Lord Fenrast had used to invoke fear. The poor girl was swaying from side to side, content with herself.

Thalindra's heart broke at the scene. Killing was one thing. But this…this somehow felt way worse. It seems she underestimated the effectiveness of their strategy.

And yet, Thalindra didn't know what they could have done differently. They were up against overwhelming odds. A trained army against another formed from broken survivors. Only now, the roles were switched.

Thalindra reached out with her hand towards the girl's throat. Death was indeed a mercy compared to the woman's current condition. But she couldn't bring herself to do it.

A shadow coalesced next to her.

Lord Fenrast stood next to her, observing the woman's soul. It was a fractured mess, just like her mind.

Thalindra watched as Lord Fenrast approached the woman, his face hidden behind the mask. He held a dagger above the clueless girl's head.

"Wait," Thalindra said urgently. "This…this is what we need. Once the other side sees this…"

Thalindra hated that she even had to consider such vile tactics. But the enemy wasn't leaving them much of a choice. She hated this too. But such was the burden of leadership.

Lord Fenrast turned to her while still holding the dagger. With a swift motion he delivered a killing blow. The woman was dead before her body hit the floor. Lord Fenrast didn't even bother to explain himself before vanishing in the shadows, resuming the assault.

Only this time, he didn't hold himself like before. The ghostly shadow left no quarter as it went from one edge of the field to the other. Lord Fenrast, it seemed, had given up on their plan. He targeted the mages with deadly precision, not giving them time to witness their upcoming death.

Thalindra desperately tried to keep up. She too followed the unspoken order: Kill swiftly. No more psychological warfare.

Despite how tired she was, Thalindra didn't stop. For Lord Fenrast didn't. For some reason, he had cloaked his soul, hiding what he was feeling. But Thalindra had enough tact to know that he was hurting.

The attack continued for the rest of the night. She could feel Lord Fenrast's exhaustion in his stumbling steps. But he kept pushing himself, killing the humans, weakening the monsters.

His blades only halted at dawn. None of the traumatized humans were alive, and not a single monster was without injury. Thalindra watched guiltily as the dark bubble moved towards the city at a slow pace.

As the darkness dissolved, Lord Fenrast emerged. He stood tall, his body covered in the remains of the fallen. The sight gave the fresh new recruits hope.

"We have softened them enough," he said. "Have at it."

The others took his calm delivery as a sign of strength. But being a soul mage, Thalindra knew. For the first time, he was not genuine. It was an act.

Jenny too seemed to have picked something up, for the confusion was apparent on her face. But Lord Fenrast didn't speak further, choosing to dissolve into the shadows.

Jenny turned to her with an inquisitive look. But Thalindra could only pat her shoulder in reassurance.

"We'll talk later," she said telepathically. "Finish your mission first. Keep them alive."

And with that she too went invisible and hurriedly chased after Lord Fenrast. Despite her exhaustion, she didn't slow down till she made it to the mansion. Her silent form drifted the halls till she finally reached the office.

Lord Fenrast was sitting at his desk, several papers scattered in front of him. But he wasn't looking at any of them. His gaze was distant; lost in some unknown memory.

For the first time ever, Thalindra didn't see a man. She got a glimpse of the boy beneath it all. But his next words almost broke her.

"I guess I understand now," he said with a self-depreciating smile. "War really is different."

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