A tremor came from the ground. Horak and Morak both felt it—something that interrupted their conversation. There was no warm breath, but a presence's memory was approaching.
A shape appeared... Its spine arched upward, both shoulders drooping toward the ground—a being caught somewhere between human and flesh heap. Its hands were clasped as if in prayer; perhaps it once prayed. But now, only pus dripped down from its chin.The creature spoke in a hoarse voice:
"War heals you. Peace is deadly."
Morak took a few steps back."Was this once one of us?"Horak pointed seriously at Morak."Maybe it worships you. But look—now it can't even remember."
The creature paused briefly. With a guttural growl, it muttered something:
"Va...lar...me…"
Then, without warning, it lunged.
It struck Morak from behind, slamming him to the ground, breaking his spine. Morak's body shattered. Blood seeped into the soil.
He was still breathing.
At that moment, the creature turned toward Horak.
It tore Horak's arm from his shoulder, ripped a hole in his chest, and pulled out his heart. Horak's heart still beat. With every beat, the fear in Horak's eyes grew. The creature threw Horak aside like a rag. Horak fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Lying there, Horak said,"I can't die. This body is truly immortal."
The creature hesitated for a moment, standing as if having fulfilled a sacred duty. It placed Horak's heart between its hands, raised to the sky, just like one who prays. A guttural voice rumbled from its throat as it murmured:
"Kh'tara...amun'elzerrakh..."
"I take your soul, I dedicate your heart to you."
It was worshiping its god.It squeezed the heart between its hands.Pitch-black light began to seep from its palms. And...
BANG.
Horak's heart exploded like a sacrifice offered to the gods.
The creature's body trembled. Its skin cracked, its body swelled, and pieces of it began to scatter and rejoin.
At that very moment, Morak's eyes fluttered open.He saw a glowing shape inside the creature's exposed torso.
Right in the center of its chest, beneath skin and muscle, was a mark shimmering with dark shades of red and purple. It pulsed gently in sync with the heartbeat. Seven coiled, thin energy strands danced in chaotic harmony; spiraling, merging, intertwining. In their center was a small, dense black dot.
From the outside, the mark looked like a hazy light leaking from beneath the rib cage.
Struggling, Morak crawled closer to the creature.The smoke in the air burned his eyes, filling his lungs with every breath.He couldn't look away from the mark.
Those spiral lines... that black dot...
Not only his eyes, but his hands began to tremble.Driven by a more primal instinct, he moved closer to the creature. No reaction.
Morak stretched out his hand.
When his fingers touched the creature's chest, a vibration spread. The flesh was warm and soft. But the energy just beneath was alive, striking his hand like a burn. Morak hesitated for a moment."What am I doing...?"
It was too late. A voice inside him told him he had to take the creature's heart.
His fingers pierced the chest. There was no blood.It felt less like flesh and more like stabbing through burning silk.When he reached the creature's heart, he felt heat radiating between his fingers.It resembled a swirling orb of light rather than a heart.A glowing, rhythmic red core beating in the dark...The spiral lines still revolved around it.
Morak took a breath—a deep, hoarse breath—and then pulled the heart out.
The creature's body convulsed violently. Its arms trembled, but it did not rise.
The mark writhed in his palms. The spirals unraveled, then merged again.
And the black dot... it looked at Morak.As if someone was watching him.
Morak smiled.A warmth he had felt before filled him again.He knew this was part of a god.
Morak looked at the heart...
He bit down.
Suddenly, the creature screamed in pain.The heat inside the heart burned Morak's palate, but he stubbornly continued to bite.The spirals, swallowed one by one, began to distort, unravel, and decay.
The black dot shattered.
The creature's body instantly was engulfed by black smoke that shot behind it.Its skin dried, cracked like stone, and started to peel away.
The creature's face turned upward."Valarmee!"Smoke poured from its eyes instead of tears.It kept muttering,"Oh my God, Valarmee!"Its mouth trembled.Only thrashing remained.
When Morak swallowed the last morsel, he watched as the freed slave vanished into nothingness, shouting the name of his god.