Townplaza, an hour ago.
Avery lay on the roof of a vendor's camp. His small and thin fra didn't increase the load on the support beams much. He looked dreamily at the setting sun. Different shades of red and gold colored the sky.
The nearby discussions between the buyers and sellers, the distant cheers coming from the arena, none disturbed the peace Avery felt inside.
He remained there till the sun disappeared. The streets were turning livelier. People were in a festive mood. So sang, so danced, so just drank.
"People party like there is no tomorrow. But will they continue to party if tomorrow doesn't co?" Avery wondered out loud, his eyes running through the crowd.
"Let's see what tomorrow brings when those of the past et the ones of today."
Avery raised his hand. On the back of his hand was a mark shaped like a skull. When he activated the mark, the skull opened its jaws. Darkness surged, taking the shape of serpents, slithering through areas untouched by light.
Avery had total control over the darkness. His powers were enhanced in the moonless night. The serpents crawled into boxes hidden beneath vendors' stalls, dark alleyways, and deserted houses.
After all the serpents had reached their designated boxes, Avery pulled a beating heart out of his pouch.
"Heart of the Heartless," Avery looked in awe at the organ brimming with darkness. "Who would have thought the amalgamation of flesh and soul fragnts of the Heartless would take the shape of a heart? The Heaven sure plays a cruel joke on all of us."
Avery lanted the fate of the Hearthless beasts, who once had been human. But the following instance he opened his mouth and swallowed the dark heart.
The next mont, his face started to bloat and the veins of his forehead appeared. He gasped and coughed. His face contorted even further in pain. It beca so much, that Avery fell on his knees.
The skull-shaped mark on his hand beca darker. After a while, Avery stopped coughing. When he looked up, his eyes were jet black.
At the sa mont, all the boxes in the different places burst open from the inside. Humans stepped out of his boxes. So looked normal, so had rotten skins with maggots crawling out of their body.
Avery gritted his teeth and stood back up. He closed his eyes and whispered, "Attack whoever is in your path. Don't stop and gather at the Temple."
All the bodies shuffled toward the Temple irrespective of their original direction. Mayhem descended.
At first, people didn't notice them. But as soon as they walked into their path, the undead creatures started to attack. So just lost strands of hair or had their clothes torn and got away. Others, not so much.
The undead creatures punched, bit, and stuck their fingers in the eyes of others, as a ans of attack. The more soone got entangled with them, the more damage they dealt. Attacking them in return didn't help. They couldn't feel pain.
"F-father?!"
"Aunt Mary?"
"Little Johny?"
Cries could be heard coming from different parts. There were people in the crowd who recognized so of the faces. They were stunned to see the ones they thought to be dead, walk around and attack others. The situation worsened when the undead got near the Temple. The flock of undead even tead up to tear people apart.
The onlookers scread in panic. People ran, so leaving their loved ones behind. The remaining folk watched in horror as the killed people started to wriggle and stand back up. They hadn't seen the dark stream enter the orifices of the corpses.
Screams filled the dimly lit night. The town guards were missing. No one ca to save them.
"Stay clear from the Temple!"
The shout ca from the top of the steps of the Temple. An old clerk stood there clad in white armor. Seeing the clergy appear, the crowd felt so hope. They scrambled, escaping the incoming horde of undead.
With everyone cleared from the entrance, the undead stared at the Temple. They growled and then started to climb the stairs.
The clerk on top of the Temple stood firm. His face didn't change seeing a hundred undead creatures getting closer to him.
"Ready!"
A row of white-armored clerks appeared, holding scepters with white glowing gems on top. They mumbled incomprehensive words. Suddenly, the gems started to release a blinding light.
"Release!"
The clerks lowered their scepters and aid at the incoming horde. The gems released bolts of white light, striking the undead squarely.
Wherever the light struck the body, it started to lt. So of the more clever clerks aid their attacks on the legs of the undead, immobilizing them.
The Templar stood behind the door, hidden from the public eye as she focused her senses on the outside. The undead didn't warrant her interest. She was searching for the culprits behind the horde.
"Ronan, I am sure you are behind this," she mumbled. "Where are you hidden, you rat."
Sowhere behind the undead creatures, stood two people. The darkness wrapped around them, concealing them from the senses of others. Avery grimaced each ti he saw one of his undead die. The light didn't only lt the bodies, it also destroyed the streams of darkness.
"Lord Ronan, if we don't act soon, the horde will be finished," he urged the middle-aged guy beside him. Ronan smiled and replied, "In ti, Avery. Things only have started to beco interesting."
As he spoke, his gaze went to the other side of the plaza. Through the alleys that connected the slums with the plaza, a group was approaching. Herman was in the lead.
"If we don't hurry you will never see your loved ones again," he urged the group. "By the will of the Divine Lord, you got to see your dear ones again. The Heaven, however, isn't willing to tolerate it. It isn't willing to change the fate it has bestowed upon you. But this world is ours. And we will show Heaven, we can tear the strings of fate it has woven for us!"
The group behind him shouted in unison. They were humans, ready to rebel, forgetting the price they were about to pay, was the lives of others.
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