More forsaken. The freed spirit draws her sword and heads for the one on the left. I focus all my energy on the forsaken to my right, trying to free it without slowing down.
The sounds of crashing branches grow closer, and it’s hard to ignore the immediate threat.
Still, the silvery light comes, wrapping around the forsaken. In response, it leaps from the branches and lands on the path just ahead of me. It bares its teeth as my silver light fully engulfs it.
I don’t slow as I run past it, or bother looking back.
More branches and shrieks.
I push myself to run faster. But it doesn’t make a difference.
More shadows ahead now, at least five. Still, I run, refusing to feel fear and pushing all my thoughts into feeling sorrow for these creatures.
Sorrow that they became so fully broken that they had to be forced into this dark place. Sorrow that they are now forced to follow the whims of an immortal. Sorrow that they’ll never know peace.
More light extends from me now, reaching the five forsaken. One manages to shake free of the silvery threads, shaking its head in confusion before launching at me.
We connect, and I go down. The creature has me pinned on my back, its teeth snapping directly above my face.
A stab of fear hits me just as the forsaken is wrenched off me by the spirit of another warrior, a man now.
I don’t waste a moment before I’m up and running again, still trying to free any spirit that comes too close. Some are freed, but others manage to evade my energy, and I’m left dodging around trees as they try to jump down at me.
More freed spirits have joined the fray now, trying to take down the forsaken that I miss. But it isn’t enough.
I round a bend on the path, and my stomach sinks.
Ahead, the forsaken form a solid wall along the forest floor, and the trees above them are infested witheven more. They’re all running towards me, impossibly fast. I screech to a halt.
There’s no way I’m getting through that.
Spinning on my heel, I’m met with a familiar sight. There are just as many forsaken behind me. About a dozen freed spirits try to fight them off, but we’re outnumbered, a thousand to one.
I have time to take a single breath, and then, the swarm descends on us.
The screeching is almost deafening, and I try to focus my power on freeing as many as I can. But within another second, they’re on me.
All I can see is a writhing ball of leathery black skin before I’m thrown to the ground. Claws dig into my back, and others rip across my arm, opening my very fresh arrow wound.
The pain is instant, and I fight with all my might to try and get up, to escape.
But there are just too many.
More pain as another clawed hand rakes across the top of my thigh, shredding my fighting leathers. I curl up into a tight ball and try to let my mind go to a different place.
Morgana said they wouldn’t outright kill me. Does she know humans can die of blood loss?
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to focus on something else.
The sadness hits first.
If I die, then this is just going to keep happening.
More souls will be sold into slavery, only to be discarded by the immortals in power whenever the soul has outlived its usefulness.
More realms will suffer the actions of the Council whenever they feel threatened. And this forest will only grow more crowded with broken spirits.
The cycle of suffering will never stop.
