A vile shriek filled the night air and even through the longhouse the duo were waiting in, sending shivers down Iris’s neck. An unseen evil with an aura of fury and bloodlust. Even her, a mortal, could feel that something was wrong.

Arylos drew his sword, flames erupting from the blade as it roared to life with the dark hum that Iris could swear sounded like screams coming from the flames.

“It is time,” Arylos said, his eyes taking on their characteristic red glow.

Iris drew her sword in kind, Helion humming to life with its blue glow. The two stood at the ready, waiting for who would make the first strike. Iris tried to look for shadows, Arylos peered for footsteps, both silent as the grave. Tensions were high and even Iris’s heart, while pounding, tried to silence itself in the heat of the moment.

The screams filled the air once more, closer now. It was nearly time as Iris’s heart knew no rest, giving up on any attempt at stealth. She has hunted animals before, but this was different.

Iris heard a snap to her right and she quickly turned with her sword at the ready, blocking a well-placed strike from a clawed hand from the shadows of the walls; the skin black tearing with each movement and the long nails withered yet razor sharp.

Arylos jumped in front and kicked the creature back into the shadows, howling in anger as it ran out of view.

From behind! Helion warned Iris.

Arylos turned faster and caught the creature in his hand and in a spinning motion, ran behind the beast and cut its head off with his flaming sword in a single and graceful motion. The head hit the ground but the headless body ran back into the shadows; its screams now replaced by the sound of blood gurgling.

Iris looked at the decapitated head; blackened by rot and frail tufts of white hair with black eyes bleeding a black fluid. Teeth now as rows of fangs and a long tongue. The head still showed signs of life, its face twisting in anguish and anger.

Arylos came forward with his sword ready to pierce the skull, but the body came from the shadows, kicking Arylos with a bloody scream and took the head outside of the longhouse into the dark of the night.

Arylos corrected himself and reached out with his hand and the air hummed as he closed his fist, but then let go. Whatever magic he was trying to conjure could not be summoned at that moment.

He looked to Iris, keeping his breathing steady. Iris noticed a crazed look in his glowing eyes and his fanged grin painting his enjoyment of the hunt. Iris realised that they may be hunting a creature, but Arylos was also a creature born for the hunt.

“So it won’t go down that easy,” he said, his grin widening. “I like to see it struggle. Head west and make sure it does not get to Keratos and the villagers; turn it back or turn it to ash. I’m going to find it.”

Iris nodded and Arylos sheathed his sword and took off into the shadows.

“Please…” a voice cried out behind Iris.

She turned and remembered that Vorund was still tied to his chair, barely conscious and his jaw hanging and bleeding.

“Help me…” he cried out, begging for any kind of succour.

Iris lifted Helion, resting it on her shoulders. “Arylos is helping you,” she replied, her scowl dark and sinister.

Vorund was mortified as Iris turned and left him tied to his chair; leaving him to the whims of the creature. Vorund pulled at his bindings, trying and failing to pull himself loose.

Snap.

That sound again. Vorund froze as he realised the creature came back but was beyond his sight. He pulled harder, trying desperately to get himself free. And when he turned to the door to the outside, plotting his escape–

It was there. Standing before him, black skin under a faded white dress and claws like knives. It’s head was now restored at the Arkin’s slit throat, eyes now crying red tears as it clicked and gasped.

“I’m sorry,” Vorund pleaded. The creature cared not as it reached forward, digging its claws into him and his screams filling the air. Iris scoffed as she heard the commotion as she continued west, leaving the creature to Arylos.

That’s what he gets for what he did, she thought to herself.

She stood at Torasu’s edge and turned back to face the village, resting the sword in the ground and waiting for the creature to show itself. She watched on as the longhouse erupted in flames with an explosion.

It’s a shame I won’t get to see Arylos play, Iris thought to herself, partially enjoying the spectacle.

Outside of the burning longhouse, the creature crawled itself away, screaming from the flames burning its body. It turned to face the longhouse and experienced fear for the first time as it saw Arylos walking out of the flames, his eyes burning like the flames and clawed hands twitching and his smile wider. He was the monster here.

The Arkin jumped to its four legs to run but was grabbed by Arylos who threw it into a nearby building, the collision breaking some of the Arkin’s failing bones. Arylos grabbed the Arkin by its slit throat and began to crush it, the creature flailing and slicing his arm all the while, but Arylos was oblivious to the pain. Eventually, the Arkin’s claws found a tendon and it snapped, causing Arylos’s arm to go limp and the Arkin hit the ground, but before it could get up, Arylos kicked the Arkin’s face like a ball, breaking several facial bones.

The creature watched on as Arylos’s broken arm began to heal; tendons reconnecting, muscles regrowing, and skin pulling over the wounds. In a matter of moments, his arm was restored.

The creature launched itself at Arylos, knocking him to the ground but kept running. Arylos could only laugh as the creature got away; he could smell the foul blood and hear its panting. He was beginning to enjoy himself. So far, every wound he dealt to it would slowly grow back, but he would always be faster.

Arylos jumped to his feet and smelled out the blood of the creature. He reached out with his hand a bolt of energy, like a small lightning bolt, lept from his hand and followed the Arkin like a dog chasing a rabbit. Arylos snapped and the end of the bolt exploded into flames, engulfing the Arkin and the flames travelled back up the bolt to Arylos’s hand like a shockwave of flame. Arylos ran to where the bolt exploded and found himself a wounded Arkin, shrieking and rolling around, trying to extinguish the flames.

Arylos’s grin began to fade. That should have destroyed it and left no trace. But the creature was still here. What was going on? Arylos looked on as black liquid poured from wounds on the Arkin’s skin that smelled of rotten eggs.

Arylos grunted in realisation and reached for the Arkin but the creature ran, leaving nothing but pained screams where it went.

Meanwhile, Iris was watching the destruction from afar, a part of her itching to get involved. She was getting her wish soon enough.

Straight ahead, in the shadows, Helion pointed out.

Iris readed the sword and saw the shadow of the Arkin running on four legs. Iris swung Helion with incredible force that cleaved the Arkin’s right arm off, sending it into the bushes. Iris corrected her posture and lunged at the Arkin with the sword, the Arkin blocking each strike with its free arm and screaming louder, trying to disorient Iris.

Iris went for an uppercut that the Arkin dodged but followed up with a powerful downward strike that sundered the Arkin cleanly in half as each half hit the ground in silence. Iris smiled. Now if only Arylos could have seen so he can stop thinking she needs protecting. She looked over and saw Arylos running to her. Iris turned back to her trophy.

The Arkin was gone.

Iris’s heart stopped. She saw it get cut in half and stop moving. Where did it go? Sure, an undead can’t be that easy to kill but it looked as good as dead.

Arylos came up behind the confused Iris. “It took on water,” he explained cryptically.

The two heard the familiar scream and Iris watched on as she saw a shadow of the Arkin shoving mud into its body and reattaching its severed arm using the mud.

“It’s blood is the lake water,” Arylos continued to explain, “it’s body is the mud. The flesh we see is nothing but mud and the bones are underneath it. My fires can do little to it. So we have to keep it from returning to the lake so the sunlight can burn it.”

“We’ll have to fight it until morning,” Iris realised. This must have been a second option that Arylos and Keratos were planning for, hence the red energy and blue pain potions they gave her. And if the creature’s blood is the sulfuric waters, it would act like a poison if it got in any wounds, hence the white cleansing potion.

The Arkin finished rebuilding its body and sharpened its claws, ready to fight again.

Arylos once again drew his flaming sword, hoping he could use it to reserve some of his strength and he and Iris clashed with the Arkin once more.

Keratos yawned.

Watching the flames burn high in the night and the sounds of the screams and fighting put fear into the villagers, making them wonder what this creature is, and more importantly who those two warriors are if they could survive such an onslaught.

But Keratos was just bored.

Come on, man! Keratos thought to himself. I’ve seen Arylos break mountains, sunder gods. I’ve seen him commit genocide on a scale we’ve never seen with the snap of his fingers. And this little undead witch is giving him this much of an issue.

He looked to the fires in the village once more. Even those flames are weak. He complained internally. The Arylos I knew would have scorched the whole village and would have been done with this nonsense. What is he doing with his time?

Keratos rubbed his eyes. He would normally run head first to join, but Arylos did give him an order. Additionally, why would he? This fight was looking so boring in comparison to the other fights he had with Arylos. This was an Arkin, a vengeful corpse. Arylos had taken on Shriekers and Keratos had the displeasure of fighting a Poroneik once; an unborn child that lives on as a vengeful undead.

So why would this Arkin be giving Arylos such a hassle?

All Keratos could do was twiddle his thumbs and count the hours remaining until dawn. Arylos and Iris had been fighting for at least three hours now, and there were still at least four to go before the sunlight would be bright enough to burn the Arkin if they couldn’t kill it before then. Judging from the two bursts of flames, that seemed like a possibility.

“Will they be okay?” a middle-aged blonde woman approached Keratos, wrinkles in her face and eyes that had not seen sleep for a long time.

Keratos shrugged. “I highly doubt they’re dead, if that’s your concern,” he answered. “They just seem to be taking their sweet damn time from the looks of it.”

Keratos watched as the woman’s expression turned from concern to fear. “Don’t worry about them,” he assured. “If anything, I would not be surprised if Arylos is enjoying himself and that’s why they’re taking so long.”

The woman looked to Keratos, even more fear in her eyes. “What did you say?” she asked, her voice trembling. “What name did you say?”

“Arylos,” Keratos answered, incredibly confused. “Why do you ask?”

The woman’s expression softened with a light smile. “No reason,” she answered. “But it’s good that he’s still with us.”

Keratos put two and two together. Arylos is a god to what the Khymr call “The Suffering”, victims of sins who call out for retribution. He never understood it all but he has seen altars to him in some of his clients' homes. Maybe there was a connection somewhere.

Iris barely blocked a lash from the Arkin, her arms shaking from the force. Her thoughts started to become more negative with each passing minute.

This is bad.

Iris kicked herself back and took a drink of the energy potion to stabilise her arms and brought Helion down on the Arkin, but it moved out of the way just in time.

This is very bad.

Arylos turned around and grabbed the Arkin by its arm and threw it to the ground and brought his sword to its neck but it blocked it and dug its claws into his leg, making him lose his footing and Iris kicked the Arkin away before it could do any real harm.

This is really–

Iris blocked yet another quick attack from the Arkin and helped Arylos back to his feet as his bleeding leg healed.

Seriously–

Arylos launched himself at the Arkin, plunging his sword into the creature’s chest.

Extremely bad!

Iris followed up with a strike for the head but the Arkin pulled itself off of Arylos’s blade and all Iris could hit was its arm, getting muddy blood in her face.

What is bad, you ask?

Iris wiped the blood from her face and, with a swimming head, lunged towards the Arkin again with Arylos coming from behind it.

This freaking monster of course!

The Arkin dug its claws into Arylos’s chest and tossed him aside and dodged Iris’s attack, running back into the shadows.

Iris could feel nausea kicking in from the creature's rotten blood. She remembered that the creature's blood is the sulfuric lake waters and remembered her instruction. She opened the white potion and took a sip of the creamy liquid that was almost like sweetened milk and mildly pleasant. After a few moments, her head cleared. But suddenly, her stomach started to turn and she felt her blood chill.

“Careful with the white one”, Keratos’s voice sounded in Iris’s head. “It will make you vomit something horrible.”

Iris could do nothing and her entire stomach contents came up like an unstoppable flood, staining the black mud as her entire body convulsed and her voice carried more liquid than the screams of the Arkin. She fell to her knees once the vomiting stopped. Her head was clear now, but her legs felt weak and her body and muscles ached and she was reminded of a few cuts she received that she could not block. She remembered; drink the other potions if she drinks the white one.

Fighting back her gag reflex, she drank both potions, feeling a bit of life return to her legs and the pains subsided and fought herself back to her feet. Arylos got up as well, groaning as he grabbed his slowly healing chest. It was taking him longer than normal this time and Iris was concerned he was nearing his limits.

Iris tried to catch her breath as best as she could. “How much longer until dawn?”

Arylos pulled mud from his healing wound while groaning. “At least another three hours.”

The two sighed. 100,000 Marks was not worth it, and they were fine with leaving Vorund to die which disqualifies them from the double reward. But even with the double reward, this is too much work for the pay off.

“Can’t we trap it in some cage until morning?” Iris asked.

“Do you see anything strong enough to contain that thing here?” Arylos responded. “And the magic I have that could contain it won’t last that long in this body.”

“So we’ve made no progress,” Iris complained. “And it heals itself with mud, which is all around us. I take it you don’t have enough power to get rid of all of it?”

Arylos shook his head. “Not unless you want to leave the village homeless and be stuck paying for that.”

Iris fully stood up and readed Helion for more action. “Then we never left square one,” Iris said with a steady breath. She then turned to Arylos. “You better not be getting tired on me, big boy.”

Arylos could have sworn he was hallucinating, but there was that light blue glow in her pupils yet again; faint yet present. He couldn’t tell if it was a reflection or if her eyes actually were glowing. He smiled and collected himself, his chest fully healing and his sword bursting into flames once more.

“I may be old,” he said with a fanged grin, “but I’m not that old.”

Iris smirked as the two set off after the Arkin once more. The duo found the Arkin in the streets near Norra's house. Iris readed her blade and launched herself to the Arkin, slicing its arm off yet again with it howling in pain. Arylos followed up with another strike through the chest and followed up with a strike poised to remove its head, however the creature ran out of the way, collecting its severed arm.

Iris ran after it but the creature quickly turned and ran between her legs and lunged back at Arylos, sending him backwards and into a giant wooden stake that ran through his back and came out through his chest. His hand let go of his sword and it fell to the muddy ground and its flames extinguished. The creature took that time to run into the shadows, escaping as fast as it could to heal its injuries.

Iris rushed to Arylos’s side. He was still breathing, but he was bleeding profusely and coughing up blood, his arms barely able to move. Iris couldn’t control herself as she began to cry, fearing that Arylos may not recover from this.

“Don’t worry about me,” Arylos said in a broken voice. “This is just a roadblock. I can’t be killed that easily.” Arylos turned to where the Arkin was. “Go after it,” he instructed Iris, “if it gets back to the lake, all of this is pointless.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Iris responded with a cracking voice. Arylos may not be dying, but he’s in pain.

“Trust me,” Arylos told her, holding her hand. “You’ll find it faster than I will. Find it and finish this damn thing so we can go to Sentoraya like I promised you. Did I not promise you that?”

Iris slowly nodded and rose to her feet, taking Helion in her hands. “You better get back up,” she told him. “If you don’t, I won’t believe any other promise you make.”

Arylos laughed and Iris set off to chase the Arkin, her anger boiling her blood to no end. She decided to head to the Anenda lake, believing that since dawn is still a few hours away, the creature might try to run.

As expected, the Arkin was running back to the water’s edge when it saw Iris coming up from behind.

Warning: it has the advantage here. Helion warned Iris. It does not need to fight you; only run and it will get away.

“It’s not getting away,” Iris responded, her anger now at its limits. Her eyes began to glow a bright blue light, not unlike Arylos’s eyes and white and blue flames roared her body, bathing Iris in a flame brighter than the sun. The light was bright enough that it blinded the Arkin, sending it rolling around and screaming, holding its now burning eyes.

Iris lifted Helion to her back as the flames turned her hair a bright silver. Iris could feel power surging in her veins like never before; a holy power that could grant her anything she wanted, and what she wanted right now was for that Arkin beast to die.

The air hummed as she launched herself forward, breaking the ground from the force, and brought Helion down on the Arkin’s head, splitting the skull. Iris then grabbed the creature by the neck and threw it against a nearby tree and skewered it to the tree with her sword, the Arkin screaming as the bright flames burned it from within.

Iris closed her heart to the suffering of the creature. She dulled herself to its pain. Her own anger drowned the cries of the monster that had just hurt her friend.

Iris closed a fist and began striking at the Arkin’s broken head, shockwaves sounding from each strike as the creature’s face was reduced to little more than a mush of muddy flesh, silencing its cries for help as it frantically grabbed at the blade in its chest to get away as the tree began to catch fire with the brilliant flames.

Iris pulled the blade from the creature’s chest and with a thunder, smacked it away from the water’s edge. She readed Helion for another attack, savouring the creature’s suffering and brought the blade down through the creature’s chest, pinning it to the ground. The flames consumed the Arkin’s body in a brilliant and blinding display as it howled as it slowly began to burn away. Iris watched on, part of her enjoying the pain as the Arkin’s body began to solidify from the heat and crumble into dust.

The flames subsided when nothing remained of the creature save for a pile of smouldering ashes. Iris could feel her legs get weak and her vision darkened as the flames surrounding her body faded and her hair and eyes returned to their brown colour. The last thing she remembered seeing was the shadow of a limping Arylos coming towards her before it was all consumed by darkness.