SOULLESS
The chaos continued. The scent of blood danced in the air. Distant screams and cries filled the town. The clouds had become heavy, pouring down their tears.
Tap! Tap!
Villagers ran across the damp stone floor. Their destination: the bark of the tree.
In this world, humans took shelter on five floating, layered islands. Each island was held aloft by a massive branch of a colossal tree, with the lowest layer near the tree's roots. The higher the island, the more important its residents—until the fifth, which reached the tree's very peak.
To move between layers, the tree had been burrowed through. Inside were wooden stairs, pulley systems, and carts that served as transport. Guards stood at each entrance to prevent unwanted access. At the bark of the tree was a large two-way standing door. Two guards opened it quickly as people approached.
Inside was a grand stairway spiraling upward. Another space housed the pulley system—its flat board wide enough for horses. Orange crystals glowed softly along the interior, illuminating the way.
As the crowd pushed in, panic rising, wealth and fame became meaningless. Fear ruled now.
The mindless beasts closed in. One was nearer. With grotesquely long arms contrasting its human-sized body, it used those limbs to crawl forward. Its face was flesh—no skin, no features. It saw the humans and moved unnaturally fast.
The crowd, paralyzed by fear, lost all coordination. Despair took hold.
The beast lunged for a child—a boy Ky'ren had seen playing earlier. The child froze, crying.
Then—
Its towering arms were severed in an instant. The monster collapsed.
The culprit:
A tall man in a scout suit, holding a long blade etched with strange markings. He had black hair, sharp features, and piercing blue eyes. He stood between the child and death.
He knelt, patting the boy's head.
"It's okay now. Everything will be fine."
More scouts descended from above, using ropes for faster access than the stairs.
The blue-eyed man—Leoric—handed the child to a female scout.
Aveline, with long yellow hair, dark green eyes, and fair skin, wore white nun-like robes. From the toolkit at her waist, she pulled out small wooden crosses and began placing them around the tree with the help of other scouts.
She then brought out a glass vial of red liquid, raising it to the sky.
"Oh, to the Two that see beyond time, The Two are great, Yin and Yang. Stretch your hands and bless us."
She dropped the vial, then crushed it in her hand and began muttering in a distant tongue. She spilled drops of the liquid on each cross.
A barrier was formed.
Leoric approached the now-crippled beast. He stabbed it through with his sword. It twitched, then dissolved into black sand.
He leapt back into the chaos. Survivors might still be out there.
Scouts followed in formation. Some like Leoric fought up close, others covered from range. Their suits—durable leather-and-hide outfits with bark-stitched padding and light metal plates—were built for speed, silence, and survival. Spring-supported boots enhanced mobility. Forearms carried grappling hooks with hand-cranked, retractable cables.
They cut through monsters with skill and sacrifice. But the creatures multiplied. Their forms varied. Scouts began to fall.
Retreat was the only choice.
Not all made it back.
Some were injured. Some were unconscious.
The town—once peaceful—now only whispered death.
The monsters drew closer to the base of the tree.
It was time.
The final sealing of the two-way door.
No one in, no one out.
But Ky'ren hadn't returned.
Still swimming in madness.
Then, a figure emerged at the town's peak. A staggering man, carrying an unconscious boy—Ky'ren—on his back. Blood dripped from him.
With a final cry, he pleaded:
"Wait!"
He knew the risks. He knew the monsters would hear him.
He knew—
Leoric launched forward.
Through tall beasts he moved like a shadow, slicing legs, dodging with precision. His hooks launched him over debris. A blur of purpose.
He reached the old scout and Ky'ren.
But the monsters had closed in. Leoric was out of position.
Then—
Arrows flew, striking beasts down. The other scouts had come.
The old scout's eyes lit up.
"After what I saw out there… no, we can beat them," he thought. He had just returned from a mission—guilt weighing heavily.
Leoric lifted them both. The scouts cleared the path. The bark door drew near.
Finally, safety—
The rain stopped.
Then the air turned cold. Too cold.
Time slowed for the old scout.
"Did you forget about us?"
The voice echoed in his mind.
He dismissed it. No one else reacted.
Then—
A spear-like object pierced his side. He slipped from Leoric's grip. They lost balance.
KPAM!
A humanoid figure stepped from the shadows—four eyes moving erratically. Its red skin was tough. Its mouth stretched across its jaw.
The old scout trembled. Sweat poured from him.
He crawled back.
"There's no way it followed us. N-no!" he stammered.
The others saw nothing.
"What are you talking about?" Leoric asked.
The old scout stared at him in horror.
"Can't you see it?! Look at it!"
They couldn't.
He turned to the others—same reaction.
"No… no! I'm not mad!" he screamed. "Don't look at me like that—I didn't mean to pick it… AH!"
The creature laughed. Voices mixed—adults, children, sobs, screams.
Leoric tried to reach for him, his hand half-extended, torn between duty and empathy. But the monsters were closing in, shadows moving like a tide.
They couldn't hold the monsters any longer.
The scouts called out, urgency cracking in their voices. "Leoric! We have to go!"
He hesitated, eyes locked with the Old Scout's—searching, pleading. But the man's mind was unraveling, eyes wide with a terror no one else could see. Still gripping Ky'ren, Leoric stepped back, pain etched into his face.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, almost to himself.
Then they fled, the others falling in around him as they reached the threshold of the tree.
The Old Scout stayed behind—not by command, not by rejection. But by something far crueler…
Alone—laughing, sobbing, clinging to sanity as the shadows closed in.
Smoke rose from where he had stood.
Then, with a final incantation whispered by Aveline, the great doors sealed shut as she drew a binding circle upon them .
The world fell silent behind the sealed door.
And time moved on.
***
FOUR YEARS LATER .