By the time I reached a town, the sky had dulled to ash.
The outer walls were made by stone that was cracked. Patches of rotted wood held them together like old scars. The gate creaked, guarded by two men whose armor was more like a rust than steel. They leaned on their spears, eyes sunken. Soldiers in form, corpses in spirit.
I had not seen living humans since the night I woke up in the ruins of a village.
My hood was drawn low, the Mark wrapped in rough strips of cloth. I kept my head down, my steps slow and careful.
The guard raise a hand as I approached. His voice rasped with disuse.
"Name"
I replied.
"Erebus"
The man's brow twitched, but he didn't question me further. He waved me through.
The town within was smaller than I expected. Stone streets cracked with weeds. Third of the homes stood in ruin, roofs collapsed, doors hanging loose like broken jaws.
The people were worse.
Children clung to their mothers with hollow eyes and swollen bellies. Traders stood behind cars of wilted vegetables and broken tools, voices thin, defeated. Old men sat on steps staring at nothing, their silence was louder than any market. Even the air felt tired, as though it had grown heavy from carrying too much despair.
I walked among them like a ghost.
My throat was dry. I stopped at a well, drew water in a dented tin cup. The surface rippled, and I caught my reflection: pale skin smeared with old blood, eyes sunken.
I looked away.
"You're not from here"
I turned.
A girl stood behind me, no older than fifteen. She carried a basket of bread so hard it might have been stone. Her clothes were patched, but her eyes were sharp. Not cruel, not fearful.
"No," I said.
"Where are you from?"
I shook my head. "Nowhere I can name."
Her gaze lingered on me. But she only nodded, as though satisfied. She adjusted her basket and stepped past, vanishing into the crowd without another word.
As I watched her go, the Mark pulsed beneath its cloth. I tightened the wrappings, jaw clenched.
"Not here, not amongs them. If the sky opened here, they would all...."
A horn blew at the gate. A warning call, ragged and weak. The townfolk froze, some clutching children, others grabbing what meager goods they had. Whispers spread quick as fire.
"Raiders."
"Wolves."
"Monsters."
But I knew.
The air shifted, silence deepened. The pulse in my hand grew wild, like a beast straining at its chain.
Then the heavens tore.
The sky split wide above the town, spilling drops of blood onto it. The smell of iron filled every breath.
Screams broke the silence.
Then the first thing fell directly from the sky. A shape half-giant, half-beast, limbs torn, jaw unhinged, arms without flesh coming from its back. It landed hard on the cobblestone path. Even among horrors, this one was new.
Then I saw the girl that spoke to me.
She stood there, basket dropped, bread scattered over the path. Her legs wouldn't move. She stared at the monster with wide, unblinking eyes.
The monster turned toward her.
I tore the wrappings from my hand. The Mark glowed, veins started crawling up my arm. My daggers slid into my palms, eager.
The Sky bled. The ground screamed. The town descended into chaos.
And I moved.