"The flowers bloom. The dead rise. The forest rots. Yet my promise remains."
– A Lonely Craving
The ground trembled with every thunderous step as the Bachelor charged.
Miranda moved first, planting her feet and hurling herself straight into its path. The impact didn't stop the monster—it simply drove her backward, her boots carving deep furrows through the dirt and leaves.
Its nearly lifeless eyes never left us.
Before I could retreat, Bo appeared at my side. I barely had time to register his presence before he snatched both me and Belinda out of the way. An instant later, Miranda flew through the exact spot where I had been standing.
The Bachelor's wooden arm had lashed out like a massive whip. I hadn't even heard it move.
The limb slowly twisted back into shape as the creature's head turned unnaturally toward us. Bo dropped us both.
"Spread out!" he shouted.
We obeyed instantly.
The four of us scattered across the clearing while the monster's focus locked onto Bo. Once I reached what felt like a safe distance, I began layering support spells over him.
Every barrier I raised shattered almost instantly. Every enhancement I cast dissolved under the sheer pressure of the creature's attacks. Bo was barely keeping pace.
Miranda charged back in, slamming into the Bachelor's side in an attempt to topple it. The monster barely shifted. Instead, it swatted her away with brutal force, sending her tumbling across the clearing.
A fireball struck its chest. Flames roared across its body—then died as quickly as they had appeared.
The Bachelor's hollow gaze shifted. Not to Miranda. Not to Bo.
To Belinda.
"LILY. I. MUST. PROTECT."
It lurched forward.
Miranda and Bo intercepted it before it could reach her, forcing the charge aside. Belinda quickly repositioned. The battle surged on.
Bo summoned dual axes of residue and hacked relentlessly at the creature's torso. Miranda hammered it with blow after blow. I supported from range, firing arcane-infused rounds into every opening I could find.
Something felt deeply wrong.
The monster wasn't regenerating. Every wound stayed open. Every slash weakened it. Black blood poured from torn flesh, and dead maggots spilled from ruptured wounds. The Bachelor looked weaker with each passing second.
Yet somehow… it felt stronger.
Eventually, Miranda seized one of its arms. With Bo's strength and Belinda's supporting magic, they tore the limb free. The severed arm crashed to the ground.
Then everything froze.
Not by choice.
Roots erupted from the earth. Vines burst through the soil. Half-decayed corpses clawed their way out of hidden graves and converged on the Bachelor.
Its missing arm reformed before our eyes. Roots became bone. Vines became muscle. Corpses became flesh. Every injury vanished.
The new limb was grotesque—twisted roots forming its core, vines wrapped like tendons, and dozens of hands protruding from its surface. Each hand clutched a different flower.
The Bachelor rose, stronger than before.
The moment the transformation ended, control returned to our bodies. Miranda and Bo stepped back, silently assessing the new horror. Then they attacked again.
Miranda's punches barely staggered it. Bo's axes left only shallow wounds. My bullets hardly penetrated. Even Belinda's spells merely scorched its skin.
The Bachelor simply stood there. Watching. Enduring.
Then the flowers bloomed.
Petals drifted apart into glowing mist that flowed back into the creature's body. Its burns healed. Its wounds closed.
It raised its head.
"LILY!"
The roar shook the forest. Its entire body trembled as dead insects spilled from its open wounds. Its eyes settled on me.
The wooden jaw opened. Closed. Opened again, as though chewing on something unseen.
Then it lunged.
I dove aside. The Bachelor's mouth exploded outward in a torrent of dead flies that flooded the space where I had stood.
Miranda and Bo pressed their assault. Together they shattered one of its legs. For a moment, the monster stumbled—only for flowers to blossom across its body. The wounds closed. The limb healed.
Miranda grinned fiercely. Flames erupted around her fists. Each punch now burned away chunks of the creature's regeneration. Bo followed her lead, coating his axes in fire. I switched to flame-infused ammunition while Belinda supported us from range.
For the first time, the monster's healing began to falter.
Then the flowers spread.
Wherever the flies landed, black blossoms erupted from the ground. Corpses crawled out—humans, animals, and things that were neither. One charged straight at me. I put a bullet through its head. It dropped instantly.
More followed.
Belinda raised her staff. Waves of fire swept across the battlefield, turning entire fields of flowers to ash and reducing the newborn corpses to cinders.
For a heartbeat, the forest fell silent.
Then movement resumed. Several creatures had survived the flames and charged us with horrifying speed. I fired repeatedly. Some fell. Others kept coming despite mortal wounds.
One slammed into my barrier, exploding into dark blood and soil that slid down the shimmering shield.
A roar split the clearing.
One of the Bachelor's arms had been torn off. Its legs were gone. Miranda and Bo pressed their advantage mercilessly.
Yet the monster refused to die. It dragged itself forward through the dirt, whips of roots and thorned vines lashing wildly. Black flower fields bloomed beneath its crawling body.
I fired flame rounds into the blossoms. Nothing. Belinda's flames worked better, scorching entire patches to ash.
Then everything stopped.
My finger froze on the trigger. The bullet hung motionless in midair. Time itself seemed to halt.
The untouched flower fields bloomed. Corpses clawed free. Swarms of flies erupted from the blossoms and rushed toward the Bachelor. The insects vanished into its body. Its flesh swelled. Reddish growths burst across its frame, splitting open into new limbs that fused with its form. Rotting wood blackened. Roots thickened. Its flowers darkened into ominous blossoms. Flies buzzed endlessly around it.
Throughout the transformation, it repeated only one word.
"Lily."
"Lily."
"Lily."
Time snapped back.
My bullet struck the back of its head. Bo's flaming axe carved through its side. Miranda's uppercut shattered its jaw.
And Belinda—
A spike made of writhing flies erupted from behind her. It pierced straight through her back. Rot spread instantly from the wound.
The stench of decay flooded the clearing.
Belinda screamed.
And for the first time since the battle began, Miranda's smile vanished.