Three Gods in the world of Yggdrasil

The Mysterious Hut Part 2

Mark's train of thought screeched to a halt as a sudden flash of lightning illuminated the room, casting an eerie shadow on the walls. In that fleeting moment, a chilling sight met his eyes-- a hideous creature, devoid of eyes, mouth, or skin stood before him. Its hollowness was both unnerving and mesmerizing. Its empty eye sockets seemed to fixate on Mark, piercing his very soul.

"W-what the- an undead!?" Mark instinctively jumped back and prepared for an attack. "Fire Ball!" he shouted, summoning a ball of flame. 

Crisp

The blazing attack struck the creature, causing it to vanish into thin air as if it were never there. "Huh!? Where did it go?" Mark scanned the room relentlessly, his eyes darting in every direction, searching for any signs of the unearthly presence. 

"Mark," a voice broke the tense silence and startled him. He turned to see Jil rubbing her eyes, half awake and confused. "What's happening? Why are you shouting in the middle of the night?" she asked. Arnold was still asleep, unaffected by the commotion.

"Light the room, Jil. And wake Arnold up," he commanded. "There's an undead lurking nearby. It could attack us at any moment." He didn't bat an eye and continued to look frantically for the creature.  

"An undead? Are you sure?" she asked as she lit up the room, her eyebrows furrowed skeptically. "There's no one here besides us."

"It was here a moment ago!" Mark insisted, his voice tinged with desperation. "Look, I even hit it with my flame magic, but it dodged it. The scorch marks should still be there on the floor- wait, what!?" His eyes zoomed at the spot where the undead was present, only to find the wooden floor completely unharmed. There was no sign of an attack at all. 

"B-but you saw the light, right?" Mark pleaded, a flicker of hope in his voice. "Since the room was pitch black, my flames should have illuminated it--"

"Mark, you know I am trained to wake up instantly at the slightest disturbance," Jil interjected gently, her voice tinged with concern. "When you started moving frantically, that's when I woke up. There was no disturbance before that." 

"..."

Even though it was merely for an instant, I remember it as clear as day. But it's true that there are no signs of it actually happening. Was it all just an illusion?

"Listen here," she continued. "I realize that we are in unknown territory and staying in a stranger's house. That's what's got you worked up, isn't it?"

"B-but-"

"It's good to be cautious but, don't overwork yourself. Take some rest while-" 

"NOOOOO!!!!!!" 

What happened next sucked the living breath out of him. He felt his heart would pop out of his mouth at any moment, and the ground beneath him seemed to tremble; that's just how terrific it was. 

Jil, who had been speaking just moments ago, coughed up a torrent lot of blood. Before his eyes, a gruesome hand with rotten skin and long fingernails stole her heart, literally, leaving behind a gaping hole. Blood gushed forth as Jil's lifeless body collapsed on the floor. 

There stood Arnold, who was asleep a few seconds ago, his hand clutching Jil's heart. Perhaps it was too dark once again, or because he was still in shock, that he couldn't actually fathom what the being in front of him was. 

"W-why!?" Mark tried to process the horror that just transpired before him. "D-did you just... kill her!?" 

All he got in response was a loud, haunting hiss. Blood splattered all across the floor as he crushed the heart in his palm brutally. He took a step forward, his hands tightened on the hilt of his sword.