Chapter 8: Unique Constitution.
"Rise."
Damien’s voice was cold and dreadful. There was no pressure, no burst of energy, nothing that should have accompanied such a command. Yet the moment the word left his mouth, something changed.
The corpse of the Eidolon priest twitched and spasmed, like a corpse in flames.
Seris stuck to the plan.
The instant the priest fell, she sprinted towards Damien as fast as her exhausted legs could carry her. The ritual dais wasn’t that large to begin with. If she could reach him, heal him, and drag him away, they might still have a chance.
Unfortunately, something stood in her path.
The Eidolon Chad had pummeled had regained consciousness.
Its face was a mangled ruin of flesh and broken bone, one eye hanging uselessly from the socket. Yet somehow it was still standing.
It towered above her with a threatening growl.
Seris froze as the creature’s shadow swallowed her whole, it took a step forward. Its ruined face twisted with rage, and the sight alone was enough to make her legs tremble.
She instinctively stepped back, but her heel caught against the uneven stone and she fell hard onto her backside.
The Eidolon’s massive hoof came crashing down at her, it wanted to squash this little insect and be done with, they came here to make a sacrifice to their god, and yet, these stubborn creatures refuse to die, it was fed up.
But before its hoove landed on Seris, a thick arm swept across from behind.
The blow was brutal.
The Eidolon’s head tore free from its shoulders in a spray of blood and shattered bone. Its heavy body remained standing for the briefest moment before collapsing beside her.
Seris stared blankly at the corpse, then slowly raised her head.
A towering figure stood over her, a blood-soaked cloth hung loosely across its shattered face, its antlers were broken and a large section of its face was gone.
Terror seized her heart, for a moment, her mind simply stopped working.
Then another figure emerged from behind it.
The figure was small and thin, had dark blonde hair, pale skin and a confident smirk on his face.
The moment their eyes met, Seris sucked in a long breath of air and a blood stirring scream tore out of her throat.
Damien opened his mouth, only to close it again, honestly, she couldn’t be blamed.
Half his face had been caved in. Blood dripped steadily from the crushed side of his skull, and through the jagged hole above his temple, fragments of pale brain matter were still visible.
His smile wasn’t making it any better.
"Is it really that bad?".
Seris placed a hand over her chest and tried to steady her breathing, but it was hopeless. In the end, she could only respond between ragged breaths.
"No... quite the contrary, you look splendid". She pointed briskly at the undead priest. "What the hell is that?".
Damien glanced at the undead priest standing beside him. After a moment’s thought, he gave it an approving pat.
"This is my dormant ability... Undead Legion."
Yuri approached from behind. She looked even paler than Damien now, her face drained of all color. Every breath was labored, and the slight tremble in her legs made it obvious she was nearing her limit. If she pushed her Dormant ability any further, she might end up doing more damage to herself than to the remaining Eidolons.
"Can your dormant ability work on a corpse that isn’t whole?"
Damien wasn’t sure, but it was worth trying. Before answering, he tapped the staff against the frozen ground twice.
The undead priest immediately threw its head back and released a thunderous roar. Then it charged forward, hooves crushing snow and stone beneath its feet as it barreled toward the two remaining Eidolons locked in combat with Chad.
The plan was to help Seris and Damien escape, but with the addition of Damien’s dormant ability, there was now a chance for all of them to make it out. The battlefield changes in a split second, what may have seemed impossible can suddenly become doable, and what is doable can just as quickly become fatal.
Damien approached the headless corpse and placed his hand on its chest, apparently, he needed to make direct contact with a corpse to bring it back as an undead, it was an annoying limitation, but Damien didn’t mind as long as he could have more undead minions.
"Rise".
A dreadful silence fell over them, the headless corpse convulsed before sitting upright.
Seris jumped and ran behind Yuri.
The headless Eidolon found its head somewhere in the cold snow and picked it up. It tried putting it back on its neck, but it kept falling with a thud. It had to settle for holding its bloody head in its arm.
Damien was at a loss for words, but at least he could bring it back, even Yuri was satisfied.
The headless undead stood motionless, silently facing its master. Damien found the empty stare of a soulless corpse unsettling, so he simply pointed toward the ongoing battle.
The headless undead turned and moved at once, joining the fray without hesitation.
With its arrival, Chad finally found an opening. He drove in with a series of heavy, decisive blows, forcing the Eidolon into a fatal lapse. The creature fell under the assault.
Almost at the same moment, the undead priest tore through the other Eidolon, ending it in brutal fashion.
Damien ended up with four undead Eidolon’s, his grin wider than it had ever been.
"Damien, let me heal your wounds?". Seris suddenly asked with trembling hands.
"Yeah, sure".
Damien agreed casually, he was so preoccupied with his new found ability, that he forgot his brain was out in the open, for all to admire.
A soft golden glow encased his head. It should have worked. It felt warm, almost comforting, but nothing changed.
At first, Seris thought it was just her nerves getting in the way. But seconds stretched. Then a minute. Then five.
Damien’s injuries remained exactly the same.
"It’s not working," Seris said quietly.