End Of The Road

"Nox! Run!"

Those words struck him like a lightning bolt.

Nox broke out of his disoriented agony and took in his surroundings.

Aaron and the other guards were all at their wits end, and looming ever closer towards him, an undead abomination drew near. Its sunken eyes and menacing aura sent a chill down his spine.

He knew he had to act, or it would all be over. Nox wasn't planning on dying again so soon.

Getting to his feet felt like a herculean task, however. Every muscle in his body seemed to be out of sync with his mind. Even generating a coherent thought proved difficult in that moment. The draugr's screech induced a strange delirium in him that threatened to spell his end.

Gritting his teeth, Nox desperately urged his body,

"Move! Move dammit!" he roared internally.

Unbeknownst to him, a strange, ominous energy circulated through his body in that moment. Nox felt like he had been plunged into an ice bath after just waking up. Every cell in his body suddenly felt extremely alert.

He didn't have chance to question the sudden change, however, as he actions seemed to draw the attention of the undead monsters. They all turned to face him, foregoing their battles. Their dead eyes seemed to come to life with a strange passion. The draugr closest to him seemed completely frozen in place, unable to move at all.

Taking advantage of the situation, Aaron swung his axe with all the strength he could muster towards his opponent. The creature's head was cleaved from its shoulders and thudded heavily onto the ground. Everyone briefly sighed in relief.

Unfortunately, their celebration came too early.

A swirling mass of darkness erupted from far in the distance and engulfed the headless monster. When the darkness dissipated, the monster stood whole once again with renewed vigour.

Aaron was disheartened at the sight. He clenched his grip around his axe and shouted in frustration,

"DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME KID! I SAID GET GOING! NOW!"

Nox took one final helpless look before darting towards the nearest Bull-Horse. If he wanted any chance of getting out of here in one piece, he couldn't rely on his own weak body. The Bull-Horses were but Rank 1 beasts but mostly due to their lacking intelligence and means of attack. Instead, they possessed an enviable speed and stamina, enough to put some higher tier beasts to shame.

Leaping onto the steed haphazardly, he quickly took hold of the reigns and spurred the beast on.

"Rana! Follow!"

He urged his pet along, perhaps the beast might make it out with him. She certainly wouldn't be much help here.

As Nox moved away, the paralysed draugr seemed to regain itself. It lunged towards him as Nox deftly tried to dodge the incoming slash.

"Arghhhhhh!"

In the moment when the monster struck forth and was poorly balanced, Rana managed to crash into its legs and sweep it off its feet, securing their escape route. Unfortunately, their escape had come at the expense of a gruesome gash running from Nox's knee down to his ankle.

Luckily, he managed to move away from the blow and reduce much of its power, but the blood flowed endlessly.

As the trio darted away into the dark wooded expanse, Aaron doubled down on his determination,

"We have to buy them as much time as possible! Give it your all boys!"

The guards roared with conviction as they met their opponents' blades despite coming out worse for wear after every exchange.

Meanwhile, Nox's consciousness was slipping.

The guttural scream earlier had already frazzled his brain. His eyes, nostrils and ears constantly leaked streams of blood and dyed Nox's face red. With the huge blood loss he faced now, Nox's face paled and he began breathing raggedly.

His dulled sense of pain wasn't doing him much good at the moment.

While pushing the Bull-Horse to keep running, he frantically fumbled around with his robe as he ripped a large strip from it. He precariously balanced himself atop the hurtling steed while trying to tie a makeshift tourniquet around his thigh.

Biting down hard on his teeth, he heaved the ends of the rag until they were tied tightly, letting out a muffled groan. Hopefully, that would slow the bleeding. Right now, he had to get out of here.

For the first minute of travel, Nox was unhindered. The distant bellows of rage and cold clashes of steel grew ever quieter with every second. Thinking about how he left his companions, his uncle Aaron, Nox clenched his fists in indignation and guilt. His fingernails threatened to pierce deep into his palms.

Nox was not given long to wallow in his guilt, however, as the low hum of groaning voices began to return.

"Shit! The zombies are coming back! They might be slow, but there's too many of them. If I get surrounded, I'm finished."

He could only spur on his steed to move faster.

The mighty thuds of the Bull-Horse through the forest drowned out the distant groaning but they only grew increasingly louder until even Nox could see the monsters through the impermeable darkness.

Their lumbering bodies inched closer, their vicious claws gleamed menacingly, their maddened eyes bulged.

Nox cursed at the sight.

He was woefully in-equipped to deal with these things. His only means of defence was his two companions and a simple iron mace attached to his waist. While such a weapon should prove rather effective against the creatures, without the Gift, Nox could only take on maybe one or two of the monsters at once.

Looking out at the vast horde, he felt he would only be handing over his life on a silver platter.

Things looked helpless, but Nox did the only thing that he could. He withdrew his mace, tucked his body in tightly to the Bull-Horse, and charged forward.

The deadly horns of his mount excelled in frontal charges like these and could plough through a few of the monsters. Rana in the back was a Rank two beast with high agility, sharp claws and a powerful bite; she could easily slay the beasts in her way.

He only hoped it would be enough.

Nox knew all too well that the odds were stacked against him. His lessons with Leonard had taught him a few things about the Deathkin, and Necromancers specifically. He knew that right now he was just a helpless fly stuck in the spider's web.

Necromancers excelled in wave tactics. Beasts like these zombies meant nothing to their owner outside of wearing down their foes. They were designed to be as exhausting as possible.

They possessed great regeneration and resistance and had sharp claws laced with venom. The combination of blood loss and poison would wear down even the strongest of foes eventually.

And that's not to mention the draugr's behind him. He knew little about the abominations other than the fact that they wielded monstrous strength whilst still retaining much intelligence.

If they caught up to him, it was game over. He might not get to resurrect a second time.

He couldn't afford to be stopped here.

His eyes flashed with determination as he charged into the horde.

"Come and get me you ugly bastards!"

He roared in frustration. The Bull-Horse reciprocated his feelings and snorted as it impaled a zombie on its spiralling horns. It mustered all the power it could to trample through the monsters, more zombies piling up every second.

Deafening groans resounded as Nox swung his mace into the zombies' skulls. With each strike, brain matter would gush and fly out onto the battlefield. Nox's face was painted in zombie blood, his breaths haggard.

Rana followed closely behind and ruthlessly beheaded any zombies that came close to the duo. She sliced with incredible efficiency and precision. Her agility let her weave through the enemies expertly as she evaded any incoming strikes.

While things began well, they were destined not to last. The strides of the Bull-Horse began to slow as the zombies in front pressed against the charging beast.

Nox's strikes became sluggish and weak, often failing to kill a zombie in one hit. The air surged into his lungs and burned like molten iron as he grimaced with every breath.

Even Rana began to slow after killing so many enemies as she stumbled her way through the crowd.

As their bodies approached their wits end, the horde of zombies seemed to only grow bigger. The aberrations were all that could be seen in every direction.

All three of them began to accumulate injuries as time ran on, the insidious venom seeping into their veins. Before long, progressing even five meters felt like an agonising battle. Nox didn't even have the strength to hold his mace without resorting to both hands.

The entire world spun madly, and Nox felt his vision begin to fade. He desperately urged his body to keep pushing. Just a little more. Just one more step.

The Bull-Horse suddenly lost its footing as the ground sloped downwards towards the banks of a small river. Nox was flung from the horse with a violent grunt as he rolled down the mound until he collided with the rocky ground with a blood-curdling crunch.

He lay, barely clinging to life in the river. The icy water soothed his aching body as he looked up towards the stary sky.

He tried to crane his head up to see what happened to Rana and the horse, but his body adamantly refused to move.

With the gentle gushing of water covering his ears, Nox's world became temporarily silent. Time seemed to come to a crawl. He was left with only the company of his thoughts to comfort him.

He stared longingly into the beautiful night's sky. All the atrocities he faced today seemed to fade into the background as the calm movement of the stars mesmerised him.

Faces flashed in his head as he thought of all the people he had met in this life. His strict but reliable father, his nervous but boundlessly loving mother, his frustrated but caring teacher, his unbearable but funny uncle. These people had given him the one thing he never had back on Earth.

A real family.

In that moment, he couldn't help but think,

"This world was truly beautiful. I would have liked to enjoy it some more."

Nox's vision faded to black.

- - - - -

A few moments later, the river water rippled lightly before it began to rise into the air. Slowly, it morphed and began to form into a human shape. The vague figure slowly became more distinct before it began to resemble an old man.

The man's face was pale, his eyes dark and sunken, his white hair frayed and dishevelled. He wore what remained of an azure robe with golden accents. The robe must've been noble and elegant once, but now, riddled with holes and with one sleeve missing, it hardly evoked that feeling. In his hands, he held two splintered halves of a large white rod.

As the masses of zombies approached him, they abruptly stopped in place. Their bodies began to shimmer with a light layer of frost before they became solid statues. The man leisurely waved his hand, and all of the statues crumbled into tiny shards of ice.

The remaining monsters paused in their steps. Eventually, they began to slowly back away before retreating entirely. At that sight, the man breathed a sigh of relief.

Turning to look at Nox, the man's face grew grave and ashamed. He slowly approached the boy as the water seemed to make way for his steps. With each step, the atmosphere seemed to grow heavier until its weight was so crushing that even the surrounding plants seemed to lay flat.

Looming over Nox, the man stood silently for a moment before falling to his knees. A gentle wave of the hand pushed all of the surrounding water away, leaving just the two of them.

Carefully, he outstretched his hand until it hovered over Nox's face. Gently, he closed the boy's eyelids. For a moment, the man simply sat, staring at the boy. Tears began to run down his face unabatedly.

With a hoarse croak, the man finally spoke,

"I'm sorry Nox. I was supposed to protect you, and I failed. That Necromancer got the better of me."

The man held the boy's pale hand in his own.

"Your father asked me to look out for you. He was worried you would get yourself into trouble. You always did have a penchant for finding trouble," the man laughed bitterly.

With his other hand, the man tightly clenched a locket hanging from his neck.

"I never had the chance to introduce you, but I think now is as good a time as any" he slowly removed the locket from his neck and, with a light clink, opened it.

Inside was a childish drawing of a little girl and two adults holding her hands.

"Nox, I would like you to meet my wife, Tara. And this is my daughter, Meadow" he smiled through his tears.

"I would have... liked for you to meet them, but they... passed some time ago. It was the Deathkin with them as well. He killed them. He made me..." the man began but quickly began sobbing.

The calm trickle of the river failed to drown out the man's sorrows.

After a moment, he continued,

"Truth be told...I had intended to look after you even... even... if you're father told me not to. In the short time I spent with you... well," he chuckled, "you wormed your way into this old man's heart, I suppose. I had always hoped to have a son of my own one day."

Bitterly, the man stood up,

"Thank you."

The old man took a moment to wipe his tears before adopting a serious expression.

"Let's take you home."