Intermission XVI
Within the burning emerald flames of Gilla, the sound of someone's whistle echoed out amongst the sound of cracking fire and moans of the undead. The whistling was of a happy tune, a stark contrast to the grim activities going on.
The undead had swarmed the purifiers, overpowering them and bringing about their demise. Subsequently, the undead began to feed on the fallen, tearing into their flesh. Despite lacking functional stomachs, they were driven by an insatiable hunger to consume the flesh until only bones remained in their wake.
A man with short blond hair and dressed in simple black robes casually walked through the devastation while whistling. His demeanor was remarkably calm and composed amidst the chaos, his steps unhurried as if he were merely strolling through a park rather than a scene of utter destruction. The flickering emerald flames cast an eerie glow on his face, highlighting the contrast between his tranquil presence and the surrounding havoc.
Unfazed by the man's presence, the undead of the ravaged town carried on with their activities as he strode through the desolate streets, their vacant gazes fixed on unknown horizons, indifferent to the living that remained.
He walked past a group of undead, their grotesque forms now turning on each other in a gruesome display of cannibalistic frenzy. The creatures, once united in their relentless pursuit of the living, were now tearing into one another with savage abandon. Their decayed hands and claws ripping at rotting flesh.
The man in the black robes observed this spectacle with an unsettling detachment, his expression unchanging as he moved through the chaos.
In the center of the town, the reanimated corpses of the purifiers roamed aimlessly, engaging in the grotesque ritual of consuming each other's flesh. Among them, one undead purifier had deteriorated to a skeletal state, yet it persistently attempted to feed on flesh, with the consumed tissue slipping through its rib cage in a futile display of its insatiable hunger.
Uninterested by the presence of the undead surrounding him, the man's gaze was drawn to a figure propped against a nearby wall. It was Sofia Firemane, miraculously still alive. Beside her lay the remnants of Teddy, the once leader of the group of purifiers, now reduced to a lifeless shell.
From the remnants of a child, an undead creature was in the process of consuming what little remained of Teddy. Despite the gruesome scene unfolding before her, Sofia could only watch in horror as she concentrated on channeling healing magic to mend her own stab wound, her focus torn between her own survival and the events surrounding her.