Ethan's eyes widened, disbelief etched across his face.
This was the first ti he had ever heard a creature from the Sanctum speak. Not growl, not shriek, not emit guttural noises—speak actual words.
Even Gray, despite their deep bond, had never ford words. Their connection was strong, yes, but limited to shared instinct and emotion. They could feel each other's intent, but never thoughts. Never language.
And yet, this Pri had just spoken. In full, intelligible sentences.
"Did you just speak?" Ethan asked before he could stop himself, montarily forgetting the horde of zombies that surrounded him on all sides.
The Pri didn't answer his question. Instead, it stared at him, those decayed yet intelligent eyes scanning his body like a machine running diagnostics.
"You have our scent," the Pri rasped. "But you are not one of us."
The voice sent chills crawling down Ethan's spine—not because it was threatening, but because it sounded too human, too aware.
Like the monster in front of him was sothing more… or sothing that rembered being human.
Ethan was still stunned by the very fact that it could form coherent thought, but the Pri gave no room for contemplation.
"I will understand better when I turn you into one of us."
That's when all the zombies charged at once.
The silence shattered like glass. The horde surged forward in unison, rotting limbs clawing and snarling with ravenous hunger.
Ethan's expression changed in an instant—calm turning into cold determination.
"Gray—now!"
Lightning exploded in a shower of sparks around Gray as his body vanished with a crack of thunder.
Using his newly gained trait—Lightning Step—he warped through space, reappearing in a blink right in front of the Pri.
The Pri didn't even flinch.
Gray's body surged with energy as Ethan, still riding on his back, shouted:
"Hit him with everything!"
Windrazor Fang activated—razor-sharp blades of air spun outward, shredding the very ground beneath them—followed by Stormpiercer Horn, which called down a furious bolt of lightning from above.
Both attacks landed simultaneously, erupting into a massive explosion.
BOOM!
The shockwave blasted back the first wave of zombies, and a dense cloud of smoke blanketed the battlefield. Even the ruined buildings nearby shook under the impact.
But the zombies… did not move.
They didn't flinch.
They stood absolutely still.
Every rotting eye was locked on the direction of the Pri, their stillness unnerving. As if they already knew the outco.
Ethan narrowed his eyes, heart pounding.
"I knew it wasn't going to be easy…"
The smoke slowly began to clear.
And there it was—the Pri, standing tall, completely unhard.
Its long, jagged cleaver was raised high above its head, crackling slightly from the residual lightning.
Not a single scratch marked its body.
> "But not even a scratch…?" Ethan muttered. "That's disheartening."
The cleaver ca crashing down like judgnt itself.
There was no ti to dodge. No room to escape.
As soon as the cleaver landed the world went black.
In the next instant—
Ethan gasped as he found himself back at the cabin, lying at the base of the Altar of Rebirth, Gray beside him, panting lightly but alive.
He sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head, wincing slightly.
"I almost forgot what that felt like…"
****
Ethan sat at the base of the Altar of Rebirth, a cold shiver running down his spine as the sensations of death slowly faded. His body had been restored, his wounds gone—but the mory lingered like a phantom.
"Damn… I really forgot what it felt like to die," he muttered, exhaling sharply. "Thanks for the reminder, freak."
He clenched his fists, the image of the Pri's raised cleaver burned into his mind. The power, the sentience, the chilling intelligence—it had all been too real. And far too dangerous.
"I really hate zombies," Ethan said bitterly.
Around him, the cabin was peaceful. The flickering barrier shimred faintly at the edge of the clearing—an invisible do of safety. No monster, not even a Pri, could step inside. Here, he was untouchable. For now.
He turned to Gray, who lay nearby, ears perked and eyes sharp despite the fatigue.
"We have to be more careful this ti," Ethan said, rubbing Gray's head gently. "I don't want any Pris figuring out they can't kill us."
It wasn't just a precaution. It was a real threat.
If the Pris were truly sentient— Capable of thinking, planning and learning—then it was only a matter of ti before they realized he kept coming back.
And if they couldn't kill him?
They'd try to capture him.
Experint on him.
And Find out why he couldn't die.
Ethan couldn't allow that.
"This just proves it. We need to be smarter. Stay out of their eyes. Strike fast. Leave no trace."
Suddenly, a sharp ding echoed in his mind, followed by a glowing system prompt flashing before his eyes.
---
[System Notification]
> Warning: Detected user's corpse is on the verge of reanimation.
Initiating remote disruption protocol…
---
Ethan's eyes widened.
"What the hell!?"
Back in the region of the Pri, surrounded by corpses and shadows, the undead ruler stood over Ethan's lifeless forr body. Foul energy crackled around its gnarled fingers as it tried again—and again—to raise Ethan's corpse.
But nothing worked.
The Pri's eyes narrowed in frustration, its voice low and filled with confusion.
"How is this possible…? Why isn't he responding to my powers?"
Dark necrotic energy surged once more, the kind that could raise hundreds of zombies in seconds. A normal human would've risen long ago—twitching, groaning, under the Pri's full control.
But Ethan's corpse remained Still, Empty and Untouchable.
The Pri stepped back, breathing heavily from the exertion. It had spent a vast amount of its power trying to animate one man—and failed.
"Is this the reason?" the Pri whispered. "The reason I sensed death so strongly from him? Is he… tethered to it?"
Its undead mind churned with ambition.
"No matter. There must be a threshold. A limit I can reach. And once I surpass it… once I make him mine…"
Its eyes burned brighter with greed.
"I'll learn his secrets. And when I do… I'll beco the sole ruler of the undead."
The wind howled through the hollow buildings as the Pri turned, ordering the horde to move. The reanimated dead marched on, leaving Ethan's corpse behind—still untouched, still unmoved, and now protected by the system's disruption protocol.
Back at the cabin, Ethan stood up and clenched his jaw.
"I need to end that bastard before he does sothing stupid."
Reviews
All reviews (0)