⚠️Some content may be disturbing

----------------------------------------------

At dawn, William and Edward left the Whispering Glen behind, heading north. Few dared cross these lands—deadly marshes, barren plains, and deserted settlements lay in their path. By midday, the brothers reached one such town, hoping to shorten the journey. But like many others ruined by war, it stood completely abandoned.

Rows of hollow houses, their walls crumbling, still bore the marks of the conflict that had ravaged this land. The war between Aradon and Valtharia had torn through the border settlements, turning them into ghost towns while others were wiped out entirely. Some dwellers had fled to safer regions, but many were not so fortunate: they remained buried under the rubble of their homes, lost to time and memory.

A tense atmosphere enveloped the empty town, where death reigned supreme. The stillness was suffocating. It was a kind of unsettling silence that only death can leave in its wake. The brothers, the only signs of life amid the pervasive decay, moved through the ruins like unwelcome guests. Even they, hardened by countless horrors, could not escape the clutch of despair that this place held. Only the creak of broken doors and shutters swaying in the breeze broke the eerie silence here and there. The loud echo of their horses' hooves on the cobblestones heightened the unease. They had the feeling they might not be alone...

"This... I'd started to forget such views back in Iorlainn," Edward whispered. His hushed words sounded too loud in this realm of death, and William preferred to remain silent.

They proceeded down the desolate streets when something on the ground caught Edward's attention. He dismounted and picked up the small object. It was a discarded straw doll. Turning the toy over in his hands, Edward noticed dark stains, as though the doll had once been soaked in fresh blood, now darkened with time. He suddenly remembered his own children, and his heart eased with relief, knowing they were safe in the fairy kingdom. But when he thought about the fate of the child who once cherished this doll, a heavy sense of despair settled over him.

Edward carefully placed the doll back on the ground. Becoming a father had made him acutely aware of the small things he had once overlooked. Now, each abandoned toy reminded him of innocence lost and lives shattered by the horrors of war.

The brothers rode cautiously, their senses on high alert. There was always a risk of encountering Valtharians in these borderlands. Even after the war, they still crossed into Aradon, looting what little remained.

The two men never let their guard down. An unnerving sensation prickled their skin—the feeling of unseen eyes upon them, ever-present, ever-watching. The abandoned houses seemed to stare back, their empty windows like gaping voids.

As the sun began to set, long shadows stretched across the war-torn town, and the brothers decided to find shelter for the night. Among the wreckage, they spotted a house—decrepit, but more intact than the others.

But as they neared the building, a horrendous odour struck their senses. "Oh, gods..." Edward said, covering his nose. "What a stench!" His muffled voice barely rose above a whisper.

They dismounted, and William unsheathed his sword with a low, metallic hiss. He gently pushed the door open, but it creaked in protest. Inside, darkness was absolute. The windows, sealed with boards, blocked out the natural light. Here, the stench was less distinct, and they realised it came from the nearby barn.

With each step towards the barn, the pungent scent grew stronger. Its queasy sweetness brought up memories of the past war, making their hearts beat faster. A constant buzzing noise grew louder and louder as they approached the barn—a large wooden building with double doors. Flies swarmed, appearing from the gaps between its boards and filling the air with their annoying buzz.

When William swung the door open, his sword gripped in his hand, the stench hit Edward, bringing tears to his eyes and stealing his breath. But what they saw inside was even more horrible.

Scattered across the floor were dead bodies, making it impossible to step inside. They lay in piles, their armour and clothing the only remnants of their identities. Every face was disfigured. And here, as on the battlefield, Valtharian eagles mingled with Aradonian lions. Other corpses had the garments of commoners.

Edward staggered back in shock. "Who did this?"

William took in the gruesome scene with hardened resolve, not a single muscle twitching on his face. He then ran his hand over the distinct marks on the barn door—long and uneven cuts in the wood. William narrowed his eyes, making the connection—the traces looked very much like they had been left by claws.

Most bodies were half-devoured, others missing limbs, and some were in various stages of decay. Blood splattered the walls, the buzz of flies filled the air, and worms swarmed in the open wounds.

"We need to leave, Edward. Now."

As they moved cautiously through the town, a curious chill shrouded them. An uncanny sensation, like an icy fingertip tracing down their spines, made both Edward and William look to their sides. Long, distorted shadows seemed to dance in the waning light. The eeriness of the setting was escalating, the silence in the town becoming more oppressive.

Finally, they came to an open space that had once been the town square. A dried fountain stood in its middle, its stone structure covered with dark mould. Tall grass protruded from among the stones of the square, reaching the fountain's edges.

Something like a shadow passed over a nearby house, catching Edward's attention. When he turned his head, the distinct figure of a woman sat on the roof with her back turned to them. Her long hair was unkempt and smeared with dirt, and tattered clothes barely covered her body.

"Ho there!" Edward called out. "Do you need help?"

William dismounted, unsheathing his sword.

"A woman. Over there." Edward pointed.

But his brother only put his finger to his lips.

"I think we could—" Edward's words were cut short by a barely perceptible growl from the figure on the roof. It was faint but clear enough to set his heart racing, a horrific fusion of an animal's snarl and a man's grunt.

Suddenly, the woman's head twisted in an eerie, owl-like motion, while her back remained facing them.

"Dear gods..." A hushed whisper escaped Edward's lips as he saw her face, wrinkled into a malicious expression. The woman's eyes, like two black holes, glared at them. She opened her mouth unnaturally wide, exposing razor-sharp fangs, long and gleaming in the fading light. With a hissing sound, she turned her whole body toward them, her claws clinking on the roof as she swayed back and forth on all fours, readying herself to jump. Her long, greasy hair swung with her, touching the tiles, and her ashen skin looked as pale as a corpse's.

"Bloodfiend," William whispered.

Edward's hand instinctively reached for a bolt in his hip quiver. Without taking his eyes off the monster, he loaded his crossbow. But the bolt didn't set properly, and Edward fumbled to fix it, his hands trembling with fear and tension.

"Edward, don't." William's tone was steady as he tried to stop his brother with a gesture. But Edward aimed and fired. The bolt pierced the bloodfiend's neck, yet it harmed the creature no more than an irritating fly.

In that instant, the monster made a tremendous leap, as if springs had been coiled in its limbs. Its claws slashed through the air before crashing into Edward, knocking him from the saddle. The attack was so sudden that the man had no time to react. Despite its lean build, the creature's weight and strength were far beyond that of an ordinary woman.

Edward's horse reared in panic, trapping his foot in the stirrup as the bloodfiend clung to the man. The horse ran, dragging its master and the monster across the ground. Gasping for breath, Edward fought to throw the creature off. Its maw gaped wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth, and the stench of its foul breath assaulted his senses.

William spurred his horse into a swift gallop, charging toward them. With a surge, he launched himself at the creature, his body slamming hard into its flank and diverting its attention from Edward, who managed to free his foot. Edward's horse bolted, neighing in panic.

A fierce battle ensued on the cobblestones. William and the bloodfiend were locked in a deadly fight. The monster's claws nearly dug into William's face, but instead, they tore through his tunic and left a gash in his shoulder. Despite the burning pain, William fought on. His sword, steady in his grip, struck true, sinking into the creature's side. The bloodfiend recoiled, its enraged shriek piercing the silence of the abandoned town. Yet, before William's eyes, the grievous wound began to close, healing within moments.

The battle that followed was brutal and unforgiving, with each of William's moves countered by the bloodfiend's relentless assault. He fought not only for his own survival but for Edward's as well, their lives hanging on his ability to fend off the creature.

Meanwhile, Edward struggled to regain his footing, his chest heaving. His eyes, filled with desperation and worry, were fixed on his brother.

At last, William dodged another attack and, with a lightning-fast swing of his sword, severed the bloodfiend's head. The creature's lifeless body collapsed to the ground. Exhausted and wounded, William dragged himself to Edward's side, gripping his brother's shoulder tightly as he helped him to his feet. Their breaths came in ragged gasps, the chilling silence amplifying the tremors that ran through their bodies from both the fight and the terror of the encounter.

But despite the battle's toll, they couldn't stay. Finding their horses, the brothers pressed on, leaving behind the ghost town, where the shadows seemed even more menacing and the hollow windows watched them like unseen eyes.

----------------------------------------------