"Abyssals, direwolves, hellspawn - whatever. I just wanna know why we're still here." Roe walked a few steps ahead of Gwyn, who watched him cautiously as they made their way out of the city and into the forest that surrounded it.
Giant, almost towering trees rivaled the skyscrapers they had left behind in exchange for the overgrowth infesting the outskirts. Every single tree was bent awkwardly and covered with decaying bark. The Wilting Place, her brother had called this place when he spoke of his expeditions here. In a dying land, where even the trees bled.
"We can't leave without finding a waystone. Maybe if I hadn't needed to expend all my mana, waiting on my nightsworn-" she noticed Roe's shoulders stiffen at this, "- I could make a portal for us to go home."
Roe looked back, sheepishly ignoring the cheeky grin on Gwyn's face and returning his gaze frontwards. "Sorry. I was asleep."
Gwyn took a few extra steps and caught up to him, slapping him on the back. He was a few inches shorter than her, and their rapport reminded her of how her brother used to talk to her. "It's fine. I didn't die, so it's fine."
Roe stopped suddenly, causing Gwyn to run into his back. "Hey-" she started.
"Quiet."
Gwyn studied the environment, following Roe's quick examinations. Then she smelt it. Smoke. Her eyes slowly rose to see a thick cloud of smog a few minutes walk from their location.
"Your waystone," Roe said, his neck turning slightly to indicate the direction of the smoke. "That way?"
"Well, yeah." A wave of exhaustion washed over her like rain. She just wanted this trip to be over, to sleep in her own bed for once. She grit her teeth anyway. "Let's go."
"Wait, are there…others like us?" Roe asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"No." She shrugged him off.
Roe reclaimed his place a few steps ahead of Gwyn. He felt his senses heighten at the thought of danger. Surely, surely, nothing else would attack them. His hopes fell short.
As they approached the burning fire, a small camp beside a giant pillar made entirely of dark light, Roe couldn't take his eyes from it. It reflected the very essence of this place; dark and cruel and impossible. This place shouldn't exist, let alone this pillar that marks their way home. Roe remembered the arms that tried to devour him when he arrived.
"What is this?" He looked to Gwyn, who suddenly couldn't meet his eyes. The Waystone pulsed as if it were alive, light shedding off until it disappeared completely. The fire that was merely a few feet from it, the light that it emanated was completely consumed. Roe felt drawn to it.
"Don't touch it." Gwyn said, pulling him back. He didn't realize he had started towards it. "You'll go mad."
Gwyn drew her sword from her side and threw it tip first into the fire. The flames slowly rose until they stood almost as tall as Roe, then receded back into the small fire it had been before. Gwyn noticed a small bag behind the dying flames, and then the eyes that were trained only on her.
"Roe-"
"Elf." A strange voice said. Gwyn was sweating. She looked around but saw nothing, no one.
"Where are you?" She asked. No response. "Where…"
Roe felt bloodlust in the air, the mark on his neck burning. Gwyn was in trouble. He pulled his sword from his shadow, his eyes tearing through the forest as quickly as he could process.
"Roe, don't." Gwyn motioned for him to calm himself. She took a deep breath before whispering to him, "We don't want this fight."
"No," that strange voice said, appearing right beside Roe now. "You don't."
The hair on Roe's neck stood as he slowly turned to the figure. Human, dark hair, grey eyes. No, one eye was yellow, as if a burning sun inhabited just this one eye, and it stared directly into Roe's soul. His breathing hitched.
"Wha-" A backhand swatted Roe into the trees, disappearing from Gwyn's sight.
Gwyn watched in horror as this figure stretched his arms back, eyes trained on her. He looked young, about as young as Roe was, but a horrifying pressure surrounded the boy. "Such power…"
"Home." He said, his voice rough now; commanding. A faded mark under his left eye shone in the dim firelight.
"Who…what…are you?" Gwyn shrank back, her legs trembling. This wasn't a mere human, he was…no, it's a monster.
"Dead!" Roe appeared behind the other boy, swinging with all his might that dark blade of his. The stranger caught the sword with just two fingers.
He snapped the blade as Roe looked unfazed, even a bit excited. He let go of his sword and kicked at the boy's face. The stranger didn't even glance at Roe, but he dodged effortlessly nonetheless. Jabs, kicks, even a shove. None of Roe's attacks touched the stranger.
"Roe!" Gwyn snapped. "Stop!" Roe felt the nightsworn mark on his neck begin to burn, but he couldn't stop. He was mad, being treated like an insect and swatted into the wilderness. He let out a beastly noise and let all of his strength slip into one left hook - and it connected.
The stranger grabbed Roe by the neck and slammed him into the ground. Oxygen was immediately expelled from his lungs, black dots dancing in his vision. A rapid set of punches struck Roe repeatedly in the face, blood and skin flying like spittle.
"Stop!" Gwyn pleaded, but she couldn't move. She couldn't help her soldier, or they would both die. They will both die. Paralysis flooded her veins, crippling her entirely.
The stranger grabbed Roe's left arm and pulled, separating the limb from his body in a single motion. He tossed the arm down at Roe and returned his attention back to Gwyn. He kept his eyes trained on her as he pointed to the waystone. "Take me back, witch."
Gwyn clawed at the ground. Roe wasn't breathing. Blood poured from his arm socket like a bursting dam. No! He can't die! If he can't protect her, then…
She started hyperventilating. Air wouldn't stay in her lungs, tears stung at her face. The dirt beneath her bled into her fingernails.
The stranger knelt in front of her and clapped his hands, startling her.
"A pact." He said. "Home, and then you die."