Kruger stormed from the Rotting Cathedral, his heartbeat a war drum in his ears. The air was thick with the scent of decay, the weight of Selene's words pressing on his chest.
"You have spent so long hunting the monster… that you have become one yourself."
He clenched his jaw, forcing the thought away. She was lying. Manipulating him. That was what she did.
Yet… why had he hesitated?
The corpses she reanimated mocked him from the shadows, their empty eyes filled with something worse than hatred—understanding. They knew what he would not admit.
His hands trembled. He had fought Selene across countless battlefields, yet each time, he stopped just short of ending her.
Kruger exhaled, his breath visible in the cold air. He needed clarity.
His destination was the ruined Monastery of Hollow Light, the last sanctuary untouched by Selene's plague.
The Monastery of Hollow Light
The once-sacred halls stood defiled. Statues of divine figures wept black tears, their carved expressions twisted in silent agony. Candles flickered weakly, barely pushing back the darkness.
Kruger's boots echoed through the hollow corridors.
Low, crawling, slithering.
He drew his blade. "Show yourself."
From the shadows, a priest emerged. Or what remained of one. His face was gaunt, eyes sunken into endless pits of despair.
"You are too late, hunter," the priest rasped. His voice was not his own—it carried the echoes of many.
Kruger's grip tightened. "Where is the High Abbot?"
The priest smiled, too wide, too unnatural.
"She is already with her."
Kruger's stomach twisted.
He stormed forward, bursting into the inner sanctum.
The High Abbot knelt before the altar, her once-golden robes now a deep charred black. The holy symbol of her order hung around her neck—defiled, dripping in plague ichor.
And behind her… Selene.
She looked up from her work, bloodstained lips curling in delight. "Kruger," she purred. "You made it just in time."
His eyes locked onto the Abbot's vacant gaze. Her lips moved, but it was Selene's voice that spoke through her.
"Didn't I tell you, hunter? You cannot stop what has already begun."
Kruger's rage boiled over. "I will stop you. I will burn this place to the ground!"
"Burn it, if you like," she mused, running a gloved finger over the Abbot's face. "But she will burn with it. And so will you."
The walls groaned, pulsing as if alive. Shadows slithered from the corners, forming whispering figures.
Kruger took a step back.
For the first time in his life… he felt fear.