“Tragedy At The Front!

Despite our valiant boys holding back the imperial assault. As of this morning, we have received confirmed reports from the Northern Group that one of our rising stars, General Ernstein Victarion, was found assassinated at the military camp on the Feldar crossroads.”

- Guten Abend!, Front Page

The moment the hound pounced on its second to last victim, the duo leapt off the walkway. Their hands separating, Sophie could feel her bloodlust return as she angled herself against her target. Without warning, her body slammed into the remaining undead that was standing, shifting her weight so that she would crush the creature’s skull in one sickening crunch. Sophia tucked and rolled off to the side, instantly scrambling towards the main doors in a hurry.

Desiring to finish off the undead she landed upon, Sophie unleashed a flurry of strikes at its skull, battering away into the fleshy half rotted head until what little that didn’t crack on impact broke into a slurry of blood and bone. With the monster having just barely died, she redirected her fury towards the demonhound and fought hard to stop herself from roaring out a challenge. She broke out into a sprint and before the hound could notice her, jumped up to latch herself onto its back. It reared up on its hind legs, undead flesh still dangling from the maw of its mouth as it tried to shake her off. With a roar of her own, she pressed herself against the squelchy mutated flesh, reaching over and yanking at its arms.

The creature howled with confusion, thrashing about widely in a mixture of fury and annoyance. Catching sight of Sophia’s sign, she yanked the arms to force the creature to turn to the left, the hound’s pained cries only seeming to agitate the undead outside the building more. With their deafening shrieks, Sophie angled the hound to face the main door, pulling back and annoying it further. When the door swung open, Sophie summoned all her fury into her arms and ripped off two of the creature’s arms. As it howled in agony, it dashed directly forward in an attempt to dislodge her. She was almost carried away with it only to be whisked off to the side, landing with a hearty thud and immediately calming down. She tried to get up only to be pressed down, a flicker of fury flashing within her eyes before she refocused to see Sophia holding a finger to her lips.

Quiet, don’t draw them to us.

Sophie turned her attention to the outside of the door. The panicked and pained hound dashed off down the main street, the shrieking dead following it with hungry cries as they closed upon the intruder. The two remained prone until the large majority of the dead seemed to have peeled off from the building, breathing a brief sigh of relief.

There, building across the way. By the stone wall. Sophia informed Sophie.

Casting her glance to the designated location, Sophie found a darkened but so far empty looking alleyway squished between buildings. You sure? She asked.

Better than wandering the streets.

Sophie grunted her assent and the two began an internal countdown, waiting out the undead horde as more and more followed the rest of the pack in the chase. Sensing a small lull, the two picked themselves out and dashed across the street. A few of the roaming dead shrieked at their presence, the distinctively familiar sound of rotted feet chasing after them. They reached the small alley wall within seconds and hoisted themselves over it, Sophie pausing for a second and considering her chances in a fight until Sophia dragged her down.

A lone undead spotted them, the creature croaking out a warning as it charged with its claw raised. Without hesitation, Sophie barrelled herself at the creature and tackled it to the ground, nearly getting impaled if not for its claw striking a nearby wall instead. Before it could wail another warning for its comrades, Sophia appeared over it and brutally stomped its head until the squelchy plop of a caved in skull signalled for the end of the attack. Orienting themselves, they followed the alleyway as more and more undead began converging on their position, the unwieldy lifeforms thankfully taking a little longer in the more tight conditions of the pathways.

Sophie didn’t know how long they had spent running, zig-zagging down different alleys, abruptly turning away from obstructing undead and hopping over small stone walls. The air here grew physically heavier once again, the pressure now hitting them like a never ending torrent. Even the undead seemed more sluggish than their inner city counterparts and both of them were certain they had to be getting close. Reality seemed to occasionally warp in front of them, a doorway becoming ajar, windows suddenly cracking, walls materialising out of thin air. It was only through sheer determination that the two continued to push forward.

Here, the pulsing of the creature at the center seemed to respond with increased urgency, its rhythmic beatings growing faster as it sought to desperately rid itself of them. All manner of creatures were now being awoken from their ancient slumber; half formed undead, reptilians, the winged dead, and even normal zombified dwarves prowled the back streets in search of them. The miasma grew thicker too, occasionally even obscuring sight lines on ground level. Here, her counterpart excelled and Sophie could only follow on with a small hint of jealousy at how adeptly Sophia seemed to be navigating this confusing mess of an environment.

A roar startled the two of them and they found a pack of undead hot on their tail. For a brief moment, they considered simply eliminating this patrol, but catching a glimpse of a larger street ahead, decided to push forward before more joined the hunt. Avoiding a few pieces of rubble the two emerged onto the street only for a heavy step to catch Sophie’s attention. As Sophia tried to lead them across the street, the counterpart was yanked to a halt by a now frozen Sophie.

The half elf’s eyes stared at the dozen or so eyes that met her gaze lifelessly. Looking down the main street was a bone horror the size of half a house. Dozens of brutalised and mostly skeletal dwarves with bits of necrotic flesh had been forcefully merged together to create an amalgamation of horrors. Black bile oozed from openings on its body and the decidedly animal-like skeletal head bared its fangs at her. Stubby arms writhed in agony as two large claws thrusted themselves out of two bodies that had been concealing them, the dwarven carcasses dangling on them like oversized gloves. Sophie was petrified at the sight and Sophia could feel the images that had now imprinted itself onto the original’s mind.

Both times she had been brought low by a bone horror now played themselves vividly in her mind. A phantom pain in her chest from one of the creature’s piercing her heart now throbbed with unadulterated panic. Sophie started hyperventilating as the creature drew closer, two blood red eye stalks filling out where the empty holes in the skull were. Before she could even scream, she yelped out loud as Sophia twisted her nipple, the shock alone snapping her out of her stupor. Reeling from the sudden betrayal, Sophie could barely stand her ground as her counterpart yanked her away.

Enraged at the noise, the bone horror roared with all of its mouths, the discordant orchestra of voices sending Sophie cowering in fright. Sophia growled her frustration at the original and continued dragging Sophie along, only to hear the heavy footsteps fast approaching behind them. Thinking fast, she spied a slightly ajar door and practically threw Sophie into it like a battering ram, sending the still stunned half elf through the doorway. Sophia quickly followed to grab a hold of the original once more, ensuring the elf’s emotions remained relatively calm. Hearing the roar of the creature just outside, she violently dragged Sophie with her as she bolted up the first step of stairs she saw.

The whole building shook as the bone horror tried in vain to push through the doorway. But playing it safe, Sophia ducked into a small side room, plopping Sophie on the ground right beside her.

“What the hells?” Sophia hissed out loud.

Sophie shivered, her body still trembling, “S-sorry.”

“Goddess above, you’re just lucky I’m you, and I know that your…er… our? Nipples are sensitive.” Sophia scoffed jokingly, barely able to hide a smile.

At that, even Sophie couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at the absurdity of the statement. A small grin appeared on her trembling lip, “Heh.”

Her grin froze once more however, and her eyes widened to saucers as she looked at what was behind her counterpart. Her mouth opened in a primal attempt to scream, but her voice was choked back by the sheer fright she felt. Sensing something was wrong, Sophia’s joking expression dropped and she turned to look behind her.

In her haste to distance them from the bone horror, Sophia barely took her surroundings into account. Behind her, was a wall of pitch blackness, and from within it, strange gooey looking strands snaked out, leaving a smoky fog like mist around them. One singular eyeball stared back at the duo, then two, then ten, soon hundreds of eyes popped out of the darkness, their unfeeling gaze making the two shift in discomfort. As the eyes lining the wall up and down blinked as one, Sophie felt the temperature in the room drop, for it appeared the wall was advancing. There was a moment spent simply processing the sight.

“Ahh!” They cried out in unison.

With no discussion, the two fled the area in a panic, Sophia accidentally letting go in the flight, but Sophie’s terror thankfully had suppressed any battlelust she still had. They ran in a disorganised sprint down the hallway, bursting into the furthest room and finding temporary relief as no eyewall greeted them. Sophie slammed the door shut behind them with all her might.

To their dismay, they could hear the soft, slimey, squelchy pitter patter of tiny feet, like that of a hundred millipedes tapping against the stone floor. Whatever the eyewall was, it was coming for them. Desperate and terrified, they turned their attention to the windows and did whatever they could to open the rusted shutters.

Many emotions were within the two, though the most prominent of which were the feelings of uncontrollable fear. Fear of the unknown and awakening of a primal almost unexplainable fear of the being itself. With its nondescript mass eliciting the memories of the Entity, it would’ve been fine were it not for the strange ways in which the eyes seemed to just bulge out of it at random. For behind each eye was a soul yearning for release, and Sophie could almost hear the unspoken cries of agony and torment a hundred times over. What drove her into the realm of despair was the fact that she could see why such a creature had existed. Someone had tried to create a variation on the Entity, and failed horribly.

With a silent roar of desperation, she punched the window and the old rusted frame gave way. The shutters and frame let out an ear piercing groan before it clattered to the ground outside with a hearty thud. She didn't even have time to nurse her aching knuckles, for when she turned around around, she let out a small gasp. The creature seemed to seep through the cracks of the doorway, enshrouding the entryway in complete darkness. Eyes popped out of the darkness, staring at the two. Wasting no time, Sophie led the way and climbed out of the window, landing with a thud. She groaned in pain, winded by the impact. Sophia meanwhile, slipped out the window and gracefully landed on her feet, though the counterpart did stumble slightly before Sophie helped steady her.

Instantly, they felt a brief sense of relief, for whatever aura the creature exuded no longer held sway over them. It lingered at the window, eyes swivelling between the two, before it seemed to vanish back into the darkness of the building. Momentarily letting their guard down, a few zombies spotted them, but the slow undead dwarves proved easy enough to avoid. Making a few turns and hopping over a small wall was already enough to shake the zombies that pursued them. Rounding another alleyway, they found themselves just one block away from their goal.

With shared looks of steely eyed determination and having regained their composure, they set off toward the center of town once more.

The two were crouched behind a small stone wall, their eyes barely peeking over it. Behind them a dividing wall as tall as a dwarf and a half protected their back, giving a small area of rest while they planned their next moves. Ahead of them was their goal, a strange mist shrouded tower that seemed to stretch infinitely upwards, piercing through the cavern ceiling and beyond. At the base of it that connected it to the town center, massive metallic brass doors remained shut to the world. Around it, a temple or facility of sorts had been created, made of ornate stonework that even now seemed to glimmer with a liveliness that the rest of the decrepit town did not have.

From their position, they also had to contend with the unwelcome fact that the temple-like structure was infested with eyewalls. Pitch black windows with dozens of eyes staring longingly out of them. On the ground level, their second problem would be the defenders of the courtyard in front of the temple. A trio of house sized mechanical monsters sat atop what looked to be display pedestals, to act like statues honouring whatever dwarven deity once resided there. They would’ve simply ignored the display if not for the black ooze that occasionally leaked from the joints of the clockwork guardians. For if time had its way, and judging by the state of disrepair the rest of the town was in, they would already be rusted and brittle beyond repair. That they were still standing alone, was a red flag the two took note of.

What do we do with them? Sophia asked, leaning back against their wall with a soft sigh.

Sophie shrugged, I’m half a mind to just rush past them and get the door. But we don’t know if they even move, or more likely, that the door to the temple is locked. So your guess is as good as mine.

Tch, so much for the strategy classes, Sophia scoffed.

Even if I…we… sorry. Even if we were whole, I think the better part of my brain would still opt to just rush in and see what happens.

I know that. It makes coming up with some less obvious plan all the more vexing, Sophia feigned an exaggerated groan of despair.

The two then paused, sharing a small glance before both chuckling quietly. Sophie knew that sometimes she was a bit hot headed, but for even her more rational if cold counterpart to do so felt just that much more reassuring.

And what if the door’s locked tight? Her counterpart asked.

You’re asking questions you already know the answers to, Sophie chided.

Her counterpart let out a resigned sigh and begrudgingly grunted in affirmation. Despite that, the duo took advantage of the lull in action to simply recoup their spent strength, taking care to not ease their defences so much that the darkness would overwhelm them. When the pressure finally seemed to rise, the two shared a nod and stood back up.

“No new ideas?” Sophia whispered out loud.

“Maybe, why?” Sophie replied.

“Might have one in the works.”

“Distraction?”

"That's the one." Sophia grinned at the response, prompting Sophie to roll her eyes. Truly, the same mind.

Both pairs of eyes had noticed the same thing. The temple steps were far too uncluttered and that the area around it was dotted with viciously brutalised bodies and skeletons. Not having gained many other leads, they deduced that the sentinels operated on a proximity bases, only activating when something closed in on the temple. Their next conclusion was that it seemed even the undead weren’t immune to this directive, meaning they now had a way to distract the clockwork sentinels.

“Let’s just hope we aren’t wrong about their aggression, otherwise we’ll have a horde, and those things on our ass.” Sophia grumbled.

“We’ll manage.” Sophie hummed absently.

“Pfft, I guess your battle brain is still a little too eager. At least you seem to have calmed down a bit.”

“A bit.”

“Still, you sure about this?”

“I mean, what choice do we have?” Sophie grunted, "Hope that the machines are actually rusted and broken?"

“Fair enough.” Sophia clicked her tongue, “So, end of the street?”

A nod.

The two then clamoured over the wall and stealthy made their way up the main road, taking great pains to not awaken any of the sentinels or undead prematurely. Poking her head around a street corner, she found her target. With the agitation of the bone horror from earlier, a decently sized group of undead had gathered around the entrance to one of the alleyways. Sophia shot her a look of uncertainty, but the counterpart squeezed her shoulders in reassurance. Taking their positions, they braced and Sophie channelled her skills and greedily drew in all the dark mana that she could, lighting up like a beacon within the city.

Her veins burned with raw power and darkness in equal measure, her battle lust returning in full force. It was a terrifyingly intoxicating experience and she wanted to simply revel in it. To lap up everything she could to consolidate the sensation of power that now bubbled within her. Her greed was only tempered by the forceful jolt that shattered her concentration, leaving her slightly breathless at the arcane whiplash that slammed against her.

“Ughh.” She groaned, clutching at her head.

“You’ve made your point, they certainly know we're here. Now move!” Sophia commanded, ripping her from her trance.

By the time she had stopped, the undead down the street began shrieking in unison, the hunt for the duo beginning once more. The creature at the center too, began beating its accursed rhythm with far more intensity, having potentially realised how close the duo were to it. Each rapid pulse was followed up with what sounded like the bashing of two metallic objects against each other. The high pitched clangs echoed like summons to a dinner where they were the main course.

Taking one last look at the oncoming horde, they ran the opposite direction as fast as they could. Directly towards the clockwork sentinels and the ominous temple. But the niggling doubt still lingered in the back of her mind, what if the doors didn’t open?