Vin entered the room with a tense scowl, making others second-guess whether they wanted to look his way. He ignored everything and marched straight to Maeve, who was being treated by the healers. His heavy steps against the hardwood floor made them stop, and they cleared out of the way.

  Vin had no intention of addressing what happened outside, so he pulled a seat next to hers, sat, and snatched a city map. He spoke, telling her, "I was out of line before. But I'm ready to figure this out."

  Straight to the point, he told her they couldn't wait forever. Not when so many people relied on the ladder for escape. Maeve acknowledged his statement, but there was a reason they didn't leave sooner. The Artisans were supposed to be mules for the supplies the Adventurers brought back. Also, Gideon's group had all the warriors, so if they left, only Maeve and Tristen could protect the subjects during the trip.

  'That's just for self-assurance. Whether it was two or twenty Ravenour warriors, one Elven knight could kill most of these civilians.'

  Vin looked around the packed space. There were too many people. The ladder was segmented so he could strap it to the roof of the SUV and deliver it with Maeve and Tristen. But he knew the royal would never leave her subjects behind. The issue was it would take over an hour for a party that big to reach their destination.

  "Hang on..." Vin muttered, recalling his archival of [Settings]. "We can get rid of them altogether."

  Maeve's ruby irises glared at him. Vin's choice of words was poor, but he had an idea. And that was to toss all those non-combatants into his space sanctuary. His archive had to be materialized while people were inside, so it risked being destroyed if the person carrying it was attacked. However, they were limited in options.

  The royal listened with a grim expression. That cabin in space startled even her, so there was no telling how everyone else would react. Not to mention, they could be trapped in that space for hours or even till the next day if things went awry.

  As against it she was, the Maeve had no other choice. After Vin concluded, she rose and addressed her people. She chose her words wisely, stating they would wait in a "Secure location" until it was safe. Vin glared at Maeve; it was unnerving how good she was at feeding others crap while hiding the truth. He, too, had fallen victim to this in the past, back when she misled him and her father to kill Kaelix.

  Maeve convinced everyone that the great Eternal, master of all magics, could transport them to his home in space. The sentence sounded like a complete drivel, but her subjects' faith in her was ascertained when they asked, "How do we get there?"

  Maeve redirected their attention to Vin, whose only instruction to the Ravenours was to close their eyes. He materialized the book, approached, and sent each of them into his sanctuary.

  Tristen watched it happen with a dumbfounded look. When only they remained, Maeve refused to go, and Tristen wouldn't leave her side. Vin expected as much, so he rushed them to grab what they needed instead of arguing.

  Tristen grabbed the buildable ladder while Maeve gathered the map and carried Tristen's skateboard since his hands were full. Since the quartz sword was too heavy to haul, Vin tossed it into the space sanctuary and joined the others outside.

  He quickly attached the ladder parts to the roof while explaining to the Ravenours how they would travel. He referred to the SUV as a "Human style carriage, fueled by engineering and magic."

  Vin opened the passenger door and told Q.Q, "I need you to drive."

  Before the slim man could react, he lessened their nerves, adding, "Don't worry, it's easy, like riding a go-kart."

  Vin saw the royal and Anty's bewildered stares at the battered Human, so he snapped his finger at them, "Focus. Maeve, you gave me the Rotate spell, do you know how to use it?"

  She nodded, and he quickly rushed Q.Q. to the driver's and helped Maeve into the passenger seat. Vin looked Tristen in the eyes, handed him the [Settings] archive, and said urgently, "I need you to take this book and guard it. Make sure nothing happens to it."

  The shorter-than-average Ravenour grabbed the tome tightly and replied resolutely, "I'll do everything in my power to keep it safe."

  "Good," Vin replied, opening the rear door and waiting for the man to get in before closing it. He wandered to the window cut out where Maeve was seated and instructed her to channel the spell to the wheels. "Start slow until you get a feel for it. The guy there will steer."

  Maeve had the city map, so he translated "Left, and Right," to her in Earthian. Then he taught Q.Q "Fatser, and Slower," in Vulcan so they could communicate.

  "What about you?" Maeve asked, a growing concern in her voice. The guard in the back had his head out of the window, anxious for the answer.

  Suddenly, a cold shard bounced around Vin's innards, and his head snapped to the right, where he peered into the darkness. The first of those nightmares had arrived, only seconds away.

  "I'm going to find the others. Don't wait for us- once everyones over the wall run into the forest, and keep going until you're away from the city."

  Bonely, who frequented Vin's mind, sensed the evil too and was already sliding down its master's spine, shifting to the form of hands to retrieve his longboard.

  Maeve's fierce yet uneasy eyes stayed on him, her voice firm but quiet, "I'll be waiting for you."

  With no time for a proper goodbye, he handed her a weapon from his [Items] archive and replied, "We'll catch up as soon as we can."

  He backed away from the vehicle, telling them, "Now, go."

  The SUV started to reverse while Vin hailed a steel sword from his archive and reshaped it into a baseball bat. That was all he had time for before a wild shadowy figure blasted through the darkness and slammed into him with enough force to shatter brick.

  Vin had raised his weapon in defense, but the impact was so fierce that it took him off his feet, and he flung backward with whatever lunged into him.

  The SUV suddenly stopped.

  Vin tumbled across the floor but stopped the momentum by dragging the bat against the stone ground, sending red sparks flying. He bounced to his feet and roared for his companions to leave; they were needed elsewhere. And this fight was his alone.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Vin fixed the dent on the bat and swung just as the creature lunged at him again.

  It caught his weapon.

  There was no reason for it to grab it, but it did. And no matter how hard Vin tried to dislodge the bat, it didn't budge.

  An apparent power dynamic was established in that one instance. Vin gave up on the tool and stepped back a pace to get a look at his damnable foe. They were an Elven man, but their skin was as gray as iron and decaying to the degree that some parts of their body exposed their bone. Their corrupt red eyes stared at him like prey, just as unsettling as their rotten odor.

  Large, green reptilian hands crushed the steel bat and tossed it away. This creature's limbs were wrong. Their powerful lizard-like legs and thick tail looked strong enough to break whatever they struck.

  This man's soul was mortal, but half was missing, making them only partially living. What remained was infected by something sinister, something that bound them to the life of an undead.

  Vin was relieved to see the vehicle leaving, Tristen's head poking out of the side in trepidation. Vin hoped the man didn't see him shivering, bubbling with fear and hatred.

  Despite being intimidated, it was so goddamn freeing to finally face the nightmares that had haunted him the past few nights. That tormented his mind.

  He was about to release his accumulated fury when Bonely abruptly shouted into his brain, "RUN!"

  Vin snapped a furious gaze at his companion, who was flying toward him with his longboard. "Run away? After everything I went through?"

  He almost laughed.

  The skeleton assistant warned, "This man isn't using regualr magic!"

  "NEITHER AM I!" Vin roared, snatching his skateboard and dashing forward. Bonely latched onto his hoodie, telling him that ordinary magic could not change a person's physical form; it could only enhance it. This meant the rotting individual had a contract with a deity like him.

  Vin didn't care; he blasted forward toward the Elf with powerful reptilian limbs. He popped the longboard off the ground and spun it before slamming it into their chest. The overwhelming foe was unphased and stared at him, a certain hunger in their eyes as they sought something.

  Essence flowed from Vin's spirit to his steel bat, cloaking it in a visible dark aura. The Elven fighter flinched when this magic was cast, but it was too late, and the weapon bashed against their head. The blow itself didn't leave a scratch, but the soul-destroying energy around it did. When the man's already fractured core was struck, they lashed out with their arms, but Vin jumped away with his board before being hit.

  "I don't give a damn if they're friends with a lizard!" Vin shouted, enjoying the sight of his foe in pain. The man, whose soul was already half missing, was susceptible to the dark aura and lept back. Their expression twisted in hostility, and they slammed their large hand into the stone ground, bursting it. They grasped the fractured pieces and slung them like bullets.

  A quick pivot spared Vin the worst of it, but two of the pellets pierced his shoulder and lower abdomen like gunshots. After everything he'd suffered through, it was hardly an injury worth noting, so he didn't stop his assault. He hailed a dagger, coated it with his essence, and launched it. The thick green legs of the man carried him away from the knife to the house door that he ripped off and threw with savage force.

  One kick off the ground sent Vin rolling out of the way of the barreling door while he taunted, "Think throwing things from afar will help?"

  Bits of what remained of the reptilian man's soul began to be siphoned and ferried to Vin. He hadn't used the spell Soul Harvest before because he worried it could backfire and harm his allies, but now it was just him and that monster.

  The clock was ticking down on their fractured soul. The nightmare only had two options left: to escape and continue to exist as an undead or perish.

  They made their choice.

  What little of their sanity remained expired, and they let out a harrowing, bone-rattling scream. This man, blessed with the powers of some sort of reptile god, bent their legs and tightened their claws before lunging forward with incredible speed.

  If it was a battle of pure might, Vin would outright lose. However, he had no intention of playing to their strength. As his attacker closed in, he peered at them and ridiculed them, "You're afraid of dying, aren't you, coward."

  His words struck like a blade, his focus locked onto their spirit, "Too bad, you're going to die here. And there is no afterlife waiting. Once your soul is destroyed, you'll rot in nothingness for eternity."

  The soul attack, Crown of Fear, hit with unforgiving force. The corners of the rotting Elven man's mouth twitched slightly, indicating an internal struggle. Their movement stalled, and their form collapsed for a moment. Vin took advantage of this and threw a dagger at their legs, but the fighter hopped over it.

  Not that it mattered. Vin just needed them to make a broad, obvious movement.

  The man's foot landed squarely on the longboard Vin had kicked under him, sending him off balance. Seizing the moment, Vin lunged forward, bat in hand, ready to end it.

  There was a violent crack as a thick, scale-covered tail slammed into Vin's right side, crushing his lower ribs and sending him flying dozens of paces across the street. The pain from the heavy blow discombobulated him for too long, and by the time he lifted his face, the Elven nightmare had its mighty hand around his leg. They lifted his entire body with one arm like a rag doll, then slammed him onto the harsh ground.

  A splatter of blood painted the gray stone. The rotting creature lifted Vin above their head again and bashed him down once more, smearing the ground with crimson liquid.

  It wasn't the first time Vin had been at death's door, so he managed to stay conscious, albeit everything was spinning and blurry. Vin encased his fist with a dark aura and tried to strike the frantic fighter, but they effortlessly caught his arm.

  There was an unsettling, cruel SNAP that echoed through the dark street when Vin's arm was broken in half. Before he could even scream, the nightmare, holding him by his left leg and arm, unlocked their jaws and crunched down on his abdomen. Vin's eyes flared open as infernal pain rocketed through him. He covered his mouth with his free hand and yelled with a loud, muffled cry.

  He struggled to get free but was jailed while slowly being consumed.

  Vin could sense it; that damned corpse's soul was recovering. Their spirits intertwined momentarily, and Vin discerned their mortal desperation. They weren't fighting for themself but to return to their old life on Auroraan to pursue a dream. There were people he longed to see and wars he wished to conclude.

  This man entered the Archival Dimension over a week ago, seeking power to protect the people he cared for. But he ended up cursed. It was cruel, yes, but he wouldn't achieve another chance at life without a fight.

  Bonely unlatched from Vin's hoodie, and its right thump plowed into the undead's eye until it popped. The decaying Elf didn't even flinch, making it evident they didn't feel physical pain. Since the man's arms were busy holding Vin, its massive tail swung around and thrashed into the skeleton assistant.

  Vin was near passing out when Bonely flew back in, this time holding the bat its master had dropped. The companion slammed the soul-enhanced weapon into the reptilian man, who released its bite and shrieked. When its claws didn't release, it hit them repeatedly, again and again. Vin tried to concentrate enough to use another spell and help, but his mind was a disaster, and the only sounds coming from his mouth were of agony.

  Despite the man's determination, the repeated strikes and the constant effect of Soul Harvest took its toll. The area of their skin covered by green scales was reduced, and their power dwindled until they eventually gave out from Bonely's thrashing and dropped their victim.

  The decaying figure swatted the skeleton aside and lunged for another bite. But before they could, a sudden flash of light stole their vision. A glowing pink crystal struck the floor beside them, pulsing with immense energy before erupting in a forceful explosion that sent everyone flying.

  Another nightmare had joined the hunt. It's only desire to be the one that drained Vin of his potent soul and live again.

  Noticed we dropped to a 3.5-star story. I want to continue improving as I write for you all, so please share any comments/recommendations you have about the story.

  I know I'm slow on the updates, but thank you to everyone who still follows Death's Homecoming o/