Echidna's face twisted in fury.

  Her eyes were wide and unfocused, and her pupils were blown out in terror. Her expression was wild, and her lips curled back in a snarl as she swung again, the knife slicing through the air with deadly precision.

  Chael grunted and twisted his body to the side as the blade narrowly missed his throat.

  "What the hell are you doing?!" he snapped with a voice that was raw and strained.

  Echidna didn't respond. Her eyes were hollow and empty. She moved with a viciousness that was almost animalistic. Her body jerked unnaturally, and her limbs trembled as she swung the knife again, this time aiming for his chest.

  Chael blocked her again, the impact sending a jolt of pain through his shattered arm. He gritted his teeth as he deflected another strike, his muscles screaming in protest.

  "Snap out of it!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the colonnade. But his words didn't reach her.

  Echidna's face contorted with hatred. She lunged again, her blade aimed directly at his heart, her movements wild and desperate. Chael sidestepped just in time, the blade grazing his ribs and slicing through his coat. He hissed at the sting of pain but didn't hesitate, and with his body reacting purely on instinct, he slammed the spear into her wrist and knocked the knife from her hand.

  The weapon clattered to the ground.

  Echidna didn't even flinch.

  Her head snapped up, her face twisted in rage. She bared her teeth, and her body lunged at him with bare hands, her fingers clawing at his throat.

  "You lied to me. You LIED to me!" She screamed.

  Chael's back hit the pillar behind him, but before he could orientate himself, Echidna was already on to him.

  If he was fighting Echidna under normal circumstances, he would've had no problem at all dealing with her. But now with countless of these horrific creatures, the black mist which made his own senses betray him and his fatigue, Chael was struggling.

  He slashed his spear across the throat of another one, causing it to shimmer out of existence. However, just as he had done that, two more came after him. But it seemed Echidna wanted him all to herself.

  "Get the hell off me!" He kneed her off him, his arm throbbing with pain and his movements becoming more erratic and much more desperate.

  Her body jerked unnaturally, and she hit the ground. She got up once more, however, with her limbs flailing as she came at him again and her fingers curling like claws. Her eyes were filled with nothing but hatred and fear. She was screaming. It was a hollow, broken scream with a cracked voice and her words a jumbled mess of panic and fury.

  "No! No, don’t shut the doors! Let me back in! I’m your daughter!"

  Chael's stomach twisted.

  He could see it in her eyes. The way she wasn't looking at him but through him. It was as if she were seeing something entirely different. Something only she could see.

  A shadow moved behind her.

  One of the creatures stepped forward, its body gliding silently across the stone, its hollow eyes pouring black mist. Its skeletal hand reached out, fingers stretching impossibly long as it wrapped around Echidna's face.

  Chael's eyes widened.

  It opened its mouth, and the black mist poured out.

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  It let out a shrill scream, a sound like a thousand dying voices all wailing at once. It pierced through the air, the force of which sent tremors through the ground, which caused the temperature to drop even lower.

  Echidna's body went rigid.

  "The chains… they’re too tight...please, I’ll do anything!" Echidna was half-sobbing at this point.

  And soon, her eyes rolled back, and her mouth opened in a silent scream as the mist poured into her mouth, her nose, and her eyes. Her body convulsed violently, and her limbs jerked as if pulled by invisible strings.

  Chael gritted his teeth. He was swarmed, the creatures descending on him all at once with their bodies moving in perfect synchronization and their hollow eyes fixed on him with a cold, unfeeling stare. There were too many of them. They grabbed at his arms, his face, his torso, and his legs with their skeletal fingers digging into his skin.

  He struggled, and his body twisted, his broken arm screaming in agony as he thrashed against them. He swung the spear and cut through their bodies. They let out hollow screams, their bodies trembling before fading out of existence...

  Only to reappear moments later.

  They were endless. Relentless.

  Chael's breaths came out in panicked gasps, his body growing heavier and his vision blurring. He was exhausted. His injuries, the cold, and the black mist were all weighing him down.

  Then the mist shifted, and suddenly, he was not there anymore.

  The cathedral was gone, and the hands grasping at him were softer and warmer now.

  “Chael…”

  A feminine whisper reached his ears from behind him, and when he heard that voice, Chael’s breath caught instantly.

  He turned slowly.

  And she was there.

  Isla.

  She stood before him as a child as he had always remembered before she left. She wore a simple dress, and her red hair was tied back in a bun. She was smiling at him.

  Chael recognized that look. This was before his betrayal, before he had cast her aside.

  Her gaze met his, "You’re tired, Chael."

  His chest tightened.

  "It’s alright," she said softly. "You don’t have to fight anymore."

  His vision blurred further, but not from exhaustion or the black mist.

  Something deep inside him shook.

  "You left," he rasped.

  "You let me."

  The weight of those words crushed him.

  Chael’s grip on his spear weakened, and his legs trembled.

  The creatures’ hands were still there as they were pulling, dragging, and grasping at him.

  But they did not tear him down.

  She did.

  Then, she reached for him.

  Just like she had that night in the tent.

  Just like she had before she disappeared from his life.

  Her fingers brushed his cheek, and for the briefest moment, he felt its warmth. This was a very foreign warmth that he had not felt in a long, long time.

  Then he blinked, and her hands were claws.

  Her face was a hollow skull.

  Her voice was not hers.

  Chael’s knees buckled. His body collapsed under the sheer number of them.

  Their hands were everywhere, their hollow mouths pouring black mist.

  Then they stopped. All at once.

  The creatures froze, their heads snapping up and their bodies going rigid. The taller ones at the back, with their purple robes billowing with cold air, slowly turned their heads toward the horizon.

  Chael felt the pressure lift. The creatures released him, their hands falling limply to their sides as they turned in unison, their faces tilting upward and their empty eyes fixed on something he couldn't see.

  Echidna crumpled to the ground, her body twitching, her breath shallow and uneven.

  Chael forced himself to his feet with weak limbs, and he watched in confusion, his chest heaving as the creatures began to move back.

  Just like it had been before, their movement was slow, methodical, and in perfect synchrony.

  They turned and glided back toward the cathedral with their bodies moving with that same eerie, weightless motion, their robes trailing behind them. The black mist receded, spiraling back into their hollow mouths as they ascended the steps.

  The double doors creaked open once more, the massive stone slabs groaning as they parted. The creatures filed inside.

  Chael's breath caught in his throat as the last of them vanished through the doors.

  Then, the cathedral shut.

  The doors closed with a heavy boom, causing the ground to tremble beneath them.

  At last, they finally had time to rest.

  But something told Chael that something much worse was heading his way.