The undead forces assaulting the walls stopped moving as darkness began to descend. It was an unnatural darkness, bringing with it a supernatural chill. 

“Behold fools, the time of your end draws near,” the wight exclaimed, its arms spread wide.

“You won't succeed,” Kat proclaimed with more confidence than she felt.

“It is too late, my master has begun the ritual already. You lack the ability to stop him,” it mocked.

“Come and face me, and you’ll see my ability,” she challenged.

“Very well, I shall crush you personally,” it agreed, vanishing in a puff of black smoke appearing atop the wall. With a snap of its ethereal fingers, the nearby undead formed a ring around the two of them.

“Kat!” someone cried from behind the wall of undead.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, her voice steady despite her nerves. 

“You’ll be dead,” it mocked.

“Come, foul undead,” she challenged, ignoring its words and raising her sword. 

It cackled, pointing at her with its shadowy arms. She sheathed her sword, conjuring four fox fireballs around her. The pale blue fire illuminates her surroundings, giving the undead an otherworldly feel.

"You will fall, but I shall humor you," it cackled.

With a screech, it lunged forward, its shadowy arm coalescing into a point as it drove it forward. Aiming for Kats heart as it laughed, its voice wheezy and rasping. She deftly dodged, rolling under its attack, and blasting its side at the same time. The Wraith spun around and lashed out. She bent backwards, causing its arm to swing harmlessly above her. With a flourish and twist, she spun and slashed at the Wraith, severing part of its shadowy arm.

The appendage dropping to the ground before dissolving. She smirked as the Wraith hissed at her. Its face twisted into a grin as its arm reformed, its fingers flexing as the hand reformed.

"It's futile, you have not the power to defeat me," it mocked. 

"I wouldn't be so sure if I was you," she retorted as she plunged her sword into one of the blue orbs. Her blade was wreathed in flames as she removed it and launched herself forward in a single swift motion. A single strike rang out as she dashed past the Wraith.

Its arm hung loosely at its side, alight with a crackling blue flame. Kat smiled and swung her sword through the air, trailing a blue light behind it. The wraith scowled, gathering a mass of dark energy in its good hand.

"DIE!" it yelled, throwing the ball of energy.

The dark energy shot towards her head, narrowly missing as she jumped sideways. 

"That was pretty pathetic, I thought you were supposed to be strong," she taunted.

The Wight began to gather and throw more energy, narrowly missing Kat as she expertly danced across the battlefield. Dodging the energy blasts by a hair's breadth.

"Are you even trying to hit me?"

"No," the Wight sneered.

"What do you mean no?" she asked, a look of confusion on her face.

It didn't answer, simply pointing upwards at the numerous orbs of energy that hung just overhead. With a flick of its finger, the several dozen orbs rapidly shot downwards. She sheathed her sword and held her hands up. The orbs of fox fire spreading overhead like a shield as the energy began hammering against it.

Her face twisted into a grimace as she struggled to defend against the onslaught. She yelled and collapsed to one knee, several of the energy blasts slipping past her guard and hitting her directly. Her outfit got shredded where they struck her as she fought to stay upright. With a great effort, she carefully removed a small glass orb from an inner pocket and smashed it against the ground. A glowing dome formed and spread around her as she removed two potions from her inventory.

"Do you have anything else?"

"Do you have the strength to stand against me if I do?"

She didn't answer, instead reaching up around her neck and pulling a string of prayer beads from under her shirt. With a tug, the string snapped, the beads flying outwards. However, they didn't fall to the ground, rather they floated outwards slightly before they began to orbit Kat, glowing as their speed increased. Clapping her hands together, she began to chant under her breath. Her words were incomprehensible, yet they sent shivers of terror through the wight.

It began to hastily blast her, fire, ice lightning, and dark energy crashed against the shield. With a gesture, the surrounding undead moved in and began to hack at her shield. Their weapons glancing harmlessly off the shield. Kat unperturbed by the hasty display of violence continued to chant. Her voice raising in cadence, yet still incomprehensible. Her booming voice echoed off the surrounding stonework.

With one final chant, the beads ceased their mad rotation and shot off, the undead they passed through turning to dust. The beads swept through the undead forces, each one turned to dust as they madly swarmed the battlefield. With a simple gesture, they surrounded the wight, leaving him trapped in an orb of holy light.

"Now it's time for you to perish," she said.

"My death will accomplish nothing," it replied, moments before a beam of blue light shot upwards from the center of the city, at the same moment Kat sensed immense danger and a tugging at the back of her mind. "For my master's ritual has begun, and no one can stop him now," it smiled, and cackled.

With one swift motion, Kat dispatched the Wight and took a step towards the light, only for an immense pain to erupt from her spine. The world went sideways under her as the pain obliterated everything. The world going dark in a flash of heat and pain.

 

*****

 

The three of them stared into the basement. The air was heavy and oppressive, an unnatural silence lay over the stairs. No one wanted to take the first step.

“We should go down,” Evelyn said, breaking the silence. With a gesture, her golems started walking down the stairs. Followed by Evelyn, then Myrra, and Rudeus bringing up the rear. As they descended into the oppressive darkness, they heard faint chanting. Sinister and foreboding, whispering of forbidden secrets and vile temptations. Approaching the bottom of the stairs, they found a wooden door blocking their path.

“That's new,” Myrra whispered.

“There's a lot of power gathering behind this door,” Rudeus murmured. 

Myrra reached into her pack and removed several healing and mana potions. Fastening them to her belt. After putting all her rings on her fingers, she opened her status.

 

 

After allocating her stat points, she reviewed the spells she knew. She needed to learn some new magic types. 

“I’m ready,” she nodded.

“Me too,” Evelyn added.

“I suppose we should do this,” Rudeus said, before pushing the door inwards.

“Hello Rudeus, I was wondering when you were going to show up,” the necromancer said, turning to face the group. Myrra recognized him as the caretaker she had met during her first trip here.

“Endal? But why?” Rudeus asked, his jaw dropping in shock.

“Why you ask? Why he asks,” Endal asked, looking at a row of coffins behind him. 

“Why…?” Myrra said, accidentally voicing, her thoughts. 

“You want to know why?” he laughed maniacally before having a coughing fit. “Do you know the terrors of old age? The pain of watching your body fail, even though your mind has never been more fit? No, of course you wouldn’t. You’re a goddess, after all.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but Rudeus cut her off. 

“What are you doing? Why? You served my family for decades.”

“Ah, young master,” he said venomously, “your family was the laughingstock of the upper class. So I made them useful,” he smiled, a deranged look in his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“But then you came along and ruined it,” Endal pointed at Myrra, ignoring Rudeus’ question. “But in then end you will serve as the catalyst for my ascension.”

“What did you mean, you made them useful,” Rudeus shouted, hitting Endal with a small bolt of energy.

Endal sneered at the young man and pondered for a moment. “I killed them, and used their souls to start the process. If it wasn’t for that meddling goddess, I would have already achieved my goal.”

“What goal?” Myrra asked.

“To become a lich, but with your soul I will become the new god of death,” he sneered. “Rise!” he waved his hands, the floor cracked as a small horde of zombies and skeletons burst from the ground. “Hold them back while I finish this,” he commanded.

The undead screeched and rushed forward, Evelyn’s golems rushed forward holding up their arms. Their arms changed into shields as the undead began their attack. Myrra began to blast the undead with thorns, Rudeus turning the skeletons to dust. Evelyn blasted the zombies with her gun. But despite how many they felled, the undead’s numbers didn't diminish. Endal continued to chant in the back, a series of sigils on the floor beginning to glow. A pale blue light spreading slowly though them. 

“They’re endless,” Evelyn said.

“I can do something, but it’ll leave me useless to you both,” Rudeus said. 

“Do what you can, me and the cutie over there can handle the rest,” Evelyn said, clapping her hands together she conjured a summoning array. A one point eight meter iron golem stepped though the array before kneeling down in front of Evelyn. Its chest opened up and the small catgirl climbed inside. With a hiss, the front closed back up. 

“Cutie…?” Myrra asked, her face going beet red.

“Alright, I’m doing this then,” Rudeus hefted his staff of the overlord, an array appearing under him. The staff began to glow, runes appearing on its surface. “Sanctified ground!” he yelled, a blinding white light filled the room, turning all the undead to dust. When the light faded, Rudeus was collapsed on the ground.

“Shame,” Endal said, tossing two glowing crystals on the ground. A pair of corpse mounds appearing in a flash of pale blue light.

“Watch out, these things are tough,” Myrra warned. The pair let out a screech and began to attack. Their tentacles flailing madly, the golems taking the brunt of the attacks. Evelyn charged forward, a large energy sword humming in her hand. The blade effortlessly slicing off its tentacles. Vines burst up from the ground and wrapped themselves around the other corpse mound. The mound flailed, breaking a few of the vines as it struggled. Myrra continued to cast, wrapping the mound tighter. 

Once she was satisfied, she cast her newest spell. A strange plant burst forth, it looked like a mutant pitcher plant that reminded her of a certain plant based tower defense. At her direction, it began to spray the corpse mound with a sticky glob of green fluid that sizzled slightly. With her reinforcement, she began to blast the thing with empowered thorns. The meter long things piercing straight through the mound and pinning it to the ground. Evelyn turned from her foe, which was now nothing more than a pile of ash, and began swinging at Myrra’s target.

“That was quick,” she said, sparing a quick glance.

“This is a pretty efficient weapon,” Evelyn giggled. “Every nerd's wet dream.”

Myrra felt a tinge of jealousy and something else, that made her feel warm deep down. With her help, Myrra made quick work of the last corpse mound.

“Tch! I was hoping those would have held you up longer,” Endal spat. “No matter, the spell is nearly complete, and just needs time to finish activating.”

“You’ll never finish that spell,” Myrra declared.

“I just have to hold you up long enough to finish the activation,” he said, moments before a beam of blue light shot upwards through the ceiling. “Now come and face me,” he challenged, throwing his arms wide open.