"So these are the Abaddon."
The weakest of them, at least, if you could call anything born of the abyss weak. The tip of my blade was pointing the way as I paced the invisible battlefield.
They call them Gossamer. The lowest rank of the Abaddon.
Compared to other Abaddon, their attacks are slow, and they rely on large numbers, using the thick black fog as armor.
Even without ether crystals, when fighting them one-on-one, they were little more than a nuisance to any trained fighter.
As for the rest of the villagers... my thoughts trailed off.
The long, withered tassels of wheat and grain brushed at my waist, shaking and crumpling as I marched onward.
"I guess not using ether crystals has its perks. The Gossamer might struggle to sense my presence without them," I realised.
However, just as my guard fell for only a moment, two long, spindly talons hurtled through the thick fog, detectable only by the rustling of grain nearby.
I ducked and swerved, my expression still deadpan as I dodged the attack. Spinning, I redirected my momentum into a spinning slash.
The Gossamer squealed desperately as its thick purple blood trickled from the shadows, covering my boots.
Before I could take even a single step, the pale strands of wheat coiled around my legs.
With a grunt, I yanked at the hungry vegetation as its tendrils weaved between my ankles.
In a quick maneuver, I slashed and stabbed until my body was free from its bindings.
And not a moment later, the tight, ashen chains sharpened like steel, pulling down on what would have been my feet like a serrated blade.
I watched in horror as the ravenous grain tore and crunched on the Gossamer corpse.
Thanks to the fog, I could hardly see what was happening past my own feet. But the sound alone was like tearing meat from bone, as blood seeped through my boots.
Covering my mouth, I resisted the sick taste in my throat as the ground squelched beneath me.
I stared blankly as the steel vines returned to withered wheat grain, and in mere moments, the field was grey once more.
All traces of the Gossamer's death had been completely erased.
The thought of dying a noble death only for The Withering to eat away your entire existence made me gulp.
"They were nothing but bugs born from an endless nightmare," I steadied my breath and ran.
Running through the black haze, my senses tuned in on even the smallest indication of movement.
Each step felt heavier as the fog pressed down like a weight on my chest.
Dashing forward, I skewered the shadowy silhouette of a small, bloodied Gossamer. Or so I thought, seeing as it evaded my attack, before retreating into the shadows.
"Perfect. They're learning. I love that for me."
Seconds passed as I ran in blissful silence. Just me, the fog, and the smell of rot.
Snapping my attention, an ear-piercing battle cry echoed through the valley as purple blood splattered across my face.
"GO BACK TO THE ABYSS, YOU FUCKING BASTARDS!" the stern voice continued.
Before I could call out, the grain all around me began rustling and flailing before crumpling in on itself, accompanied by a series of clicking and thumping.
Lowering my body, I crouched within the tall grain. And as the rustling subsided, an array of screams filled the valley.
"Hopefully, they can't see in the dark. Or smell fear. That'd really complete the set," I chortled. More to keep myself sane than anything.
Holding my blade close, I kept my body low as I hobbled through the farmland, following the melody of death.
There was a chorus of steel clashing with bones and flesh that seemed so far away I might have thought it was just my teeth chittering from the cold.
But before long, my ears locked onto a soft thumping of footsteps that sounded so close they could be right on top of me.
Shuffling my feet, I inched towards the figure.
But a sharp crack from beneath me sent a shiver up my spine.
"Shit."
Of course, I stepped on the only stick in the entire bloody field, I thought.
"I'm human!" I called out.
My head was already peeking above the crops and foliage. But my assailant didn't hesitate.
A thunderous whoosh rang in my ears. My blade already covered my face to block as an enormous slap of metal flew overhead.
"You're lucky," The tall figure loomed over me.
"If you were standing, I would have carved you up like a Gossamer," they chortled, swinging an enormous battleaxe over their shoulder, before lending me an arm.
I snickered in disbelief as sweat rolled down my forehead.
Matching the gesture, I grabbed the figure's hand before I was then hoisted to my feet with unbelievable strength.
"Are all farmers this strong?" I sighed, glancing down at my own slender figure.
"What are you babbling about?" They replied before pulling me so close that our noses almost touched, and I could finally make out the girl's features.
Without a word, I simply looked the familiar girl up and down in disbelief.
She was the same girl who gave Cayden his sword earlier. Dainty in stature with flaming red hair and sharp cheekbones.
My tongue clicked as I scrambled to comprehend exactly how a person with even smaller muscles than mine could wield such an enormous weapon.
"See something you like," she snickered.
Embarrassed, I could only mumble in response as sweat, or more likely Gossamer blood, continued to roll down my temple.
After an awkward silence, my eyes began to dart between her and then her behemoth weapon, as a question formed in my eyes.
"Ether crystals, dumbass, how else?" she roared, holding up a handful of the glowing stones between us as the soft light illuminated her freckled face.
Before I could ponder the thought further, we were pulled in by the desperate screams of both people and Abaddon through the fog.
Sharing the same stern look, we began running towards the sound of battle.
Gossamer clicked and thumped within the shadows, as people screamed in both rage and terror.
"There are too many of them!" one voice boomed.
"We have to hold off until she clears the fog," said another.
Before long, all I could hear was the Gossamer paired with the sound of steel from all around us as I slashed and stabbed into the fog.
Crouching and spinning, I dodged both shadowy talons as well as the small girl's behemoth axe as she haphazardly swung it through the air like a manifestation of pending death.
But the battle dragged on way past just the twilight.
And judging by how numb my hands were, I dare say it must already be the early hours of the morning.
As the weight of my sword doubled, the battle persisted like an endless pattern. Avoid the fucking grim reaper, then carve the distorted Gossamer into lumps of purple flesh.
Each blink was heavier than the last, and simply breathing felt like work.
Gossamer scuttled all around us as the smaller number of them only seemed to increase. But the people were becoming tired.
"So I finally made it to Ravaryn only to die to an army of oversized ants," I spat, unsure if it was saliva or blood.
My reflexes slowed as another spindly black arm swung at me through the shadows. But the Abaddon's attack was too fast to track.
Its claw clipped my shoulder as I twisted aside, tearing fabric and skin.
My arm sizzled as if engulfed in molten iron as I fell to one knee. For a heartbeat, my guard was fully down.
Seeing its opportunity, the ghastly creature reared back for another strike.
Acting purely on instinct, I pivoted forward, not thinking, just moving, as my blade met its arm with a jolt that rattled my bones.
Realising that the damned beast blocked my attack, I plunged forward.
My arms burned, but the hideous beast slipped beneath my blade as its thick, shadowy claws slashed across my ribs.
The deep, bloody gash circled its way around to my back as the red-hot pain shot across my body.
Too tired to even scream, I simply fell to my knees, my hand clutching the wound.
"Maybe I should've grabbed those ether crystals after all," I muttered, choking on a bitter laugh.
Silence hit me first.
Then the weight of everything. Pain, terror, and exhaustion all crashed down at once. My vision swam as I braced a trembling hand against the cold ground.
I tried to follow the others. But blood, fog, and shadows blurred into one endless nightmare.
So instead, I simply laughed and coughed out of pure insanity.
"E-Everett!" A choked voice drew me back to reality.
A small boy was crouching next to me, his form framed by an array of colored crystals scattered across the ground, like the starry sky.
His eyes were wide as he stared down at me.
Small dagger-like blades were fixed to his hands as he pushed back a gaping, shadowy maw.
"E-Ezra?" I called out, recognising him as the small, witty boy from earlier. Only now, he was about to be pinned to the ground, fighting death itself.
Without thinking, my thin silver blade slammed into the beast's open jaw. Lodging itself between Ezra's fearful face and a pair of elongated black fangs.
I pushed the sword with every ounce of strength in my body, desperate to kill just one more Abaddon.
Eventually, its thick teeth shattered under the combined weight of both our strength before its body was torn into a splattering purple mess.
Without a moment's rest, clacking and hissing sounds pierced through the fog, voicing their victory as Gossamer closed in around us.
Everything hurt. My arms, my side, and honestly, my pride.
But most of all was the disappointment I imagined on my father's face.
It was obvious I never wanted to fight. But somehow it's just like father said...
War will find me anyway.
I writhed in pain as my bloodied arms reached across the pallid ground. I grabbed at a cluster of scattered ether crystals.
But before I could absorb their power, I was instead pinned to the ground by at least three of the gaunt beasts.
"Where are they even coming from?" I thought.
It doesn't matter how many of them we kill. They just keep jumping from the shadows like a plague.
I winced as their claws buried into my arms and legs, skewering me to the ground.
My vision blurred as the world became black.
I was certain that it had only been mere seconds, but once my senses returned, their shadowy claws were gone.
And the only thing that remained were flashing tendrils of violet lightning that rippled through the onyx fog.