Harlam activated the fifth ability of the Everstone. In exchange for any part of his body, he could use the power of the Everstone to completely erase all senses from a single person for a limited time. He’d exchanged a hair or fingernail before, but that only resulted in a second or two of his opponent completely losing all sense of self. By giving up his hand, he’d hope for at least five seconds.  

There was pain in his chest and the nub of his left wrist, but he couldn’t feel it. Well, he could, but he chose not to react to it. In a moment, he’ll become immortal and he’ll never have to feel terrified of life ever again. The pain hurt, but in knowing it’ll one day disappear and he’ll never have to feel that pain again, it hurt a tiny bit less. 

Harlam ran to the Evergrave. Or more accurately to say, he wobbled quickly to the Evergrave. The quick wobble just felt like running to someone as damaged as he was.  

He reached the edge of the grave and looked down. There truly wasn’t a bottom to the thing. He thought if he looked down for long enough, he might have been able to see the other side of the planet. That’s just how deep the grave seemed from the very top. Taking a deep breath, Harlam let all the strength leave his legs and fell into the Evergrave. As he fell, he could hear Erly scream his name. 

“HARLAM!!!” 

***

Harlam fell. Darkness quickly overtook him. Blood poured from his chest and mouth. He could still feel the air rushing past his skin. He could still think about Erly’s terrified scream.  

There was nothing awaiting him inside the hole. At least, that’s how most would see it. He had been falling for nearly a minute yet never reached the bottom. The grave probably didn’t even have a bottom. That’s just how deep it was. 

Harlam’s eyes grew heavy. He could sense death finally wrapping its cold fingers around him. So much blood spilled from his body that he wondered why it didn’t come sooner. He’s seen death infect people that were much less deserving of it than he.  

Harlam closed his eyes. Then he opened them again.  

He sat in a room. Wooden floors and walls stained from rain surrounded him. The smell of wet moldy wood seeped into the boards so that no amount of cleaning would ever get rid of the smell. A hundred years from then and people walking into the room would still smell the dank scent of decaying planks.  

A single candle sat on the floor in the center of the room. It was bright enough to light up the whole room except the corners. Harlam could see monsters hiding in the darkness. Every time he told his parent’s about the monsters, they’d giggle and then “check” the room for the monster. When they found nothing, they would tuck him to bed on the rough mattress and say that it was all his imagination. Little did they know that the monsters hid right when they entered, blending in with the darkness so they couldn’t see them. 

It had been a few days since Erly left. Her family moved away to a bigger, much more wealthy town. Her father had been promoted in the military and was needed somewhere else. The town Harlam’s mom said they went to was Ferlmour, the capital of Teffer. It sounded like a grand place to live. Not in the forest village of Grug Jorm where all they could afford was a single candle and mattress per bedroom. 

A shout. Somewhere far off in the distance. Harlam recognized where it came from. The Uterwinter’s farm. It sounded like the wife. 

Harlam’s parents burst into the room. His father carried an old worn sword, cracks snaking across the blade. It looked like it would snap from just swinging it slightly hard. His mother ran to him and picked him up, pressing his face against her chest and covering most of his body with her arms. They shouted something. Something was heading their way. Something that had already gotten to the Uterwinters.  

Harlam looked up at his mother. She stared back at him, putting on a fake smile. She whispered something in his ear, saying that everything was alright. Harlam needn’t worry. They were just going to move away for the time being. By taking off into the forest. Leaving all their precious possessions behind. Except for his father’s rusty sword. 

His mother wasn’t that great at lying. Harlam was but a boy, but he was bright for his age. Brighter than most adults some would say. 

Another shout echoed in the distance. Harlam’s father cursed and they ran out of the house. Other villagers were doing the same, grabbing whatever weapon they could and dashed toward the only safety they could reach. The forest. It was the only place where they could avoid whatever disaster was swiftly approaching their poor village. 

They were too late to run. Tellfellows crowed in the distance, flying high in the air to get away from whatever was heading after them. They didn’t get far. A stretchy blackness shot into the air, skewering the tellfellows. The blackness disappeared with the birds punctured on its tentacle. 

The beast pounced out of the forest, maw wide. Its jaws snapped shut around Mrs. Heathers. Her top half disappeared while the bottom slunk to the dirt. Instead of stopping to snarf on the rest of her, it pounced on the next victim, then the next, then the next. Harlam couldn’t get a good look at the beast. All he could see was darkness itself dancing between each new prey of its ginormous appetite.  

There was no one else left in the village except for Harlam and his parents. Everyone else either went into the stomach of the beast or became red paste, painting the grass. Seeing the dire situation for what it was, Harlam’s mother set him on the ground. She whispered for him to run, but she couldn’t get all the words out of her mouth before the beast closed its jaw around her head.  

The creature lifted its head. Harlam’s mother’s headless body fell limply to the ground. He never even heard her scream. His father was nowhere in sight but there was a fresh puddle of blood nearby. 

The beast stared at him, its body a cloak of blackness. Tentacles of the darkness wafted off its body, resembling more closely to spilled ink on a white sheet of paper than skin of any kind. The only parts of its body that weren’t fully black were its eyes and teeth which looked like someone sketched on its body with lead. Its body would change shape and structure every second before looping back to the original canine form. The monster looked more akin to a drawing come to life than a beast with flesh and blood.  

It stared at him, then slowly brought its head closer. The jaw of the creature widened. Its breath smelled of old paper and sweat. Black, inky spit splattered on Harlam’s face and chest. He did nothing but look at it with wide eyes. His body underwent a shock so powerful that he couldn’t even breathe without conscious thought.  

As the creature came close to him, a single thought electrified Harlam’s brain. 

I don’t want to die. 

Almost as if it could read Harlam’s mind, the creature stopped edging closer mere moments before it could snap its mouth shut. It stepped back, closing its mouth, then looked off into the distance. Something far away drew its attention, and it heeded the call. Bathed in darkness, the creature dashed away into the forest faster than it had arrived.  

Harlam was left alone with the corpses of people he had grown up with since his birth. His mother’s headless body lay right in front of him, and he couldn’t look away. It wasn’t that he was saddened by his mother’s death. That thought never even crossed his mind.  

He was more terrified of ending up like his mother. He couldn’t grieve because he was too afraid. Afraid of forces so much more powerful than himself that could just run in and snatch his life away. And he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.   

Years passed. Harlam learned of the identity of the creature and why it attacked.  

The beast's name was the Inkdweller, one of the three mystical disasters. Legends tell that it was created after an ancient witch filled one of her drawings with magical power. The Inkdweller lifted itself off the page of the witch’s sketchbook and began its bloody rampage. It ate to satisfy an endless hunger that could never be quelled.  

As for the reason why it attacked his small, insignificant village. Simple. Grug Jorm was just in the way of a bigger target. It was heading to the capital, Ferlmour, in order to get its fix. Grug Jorm just so happened to be between it and its target. That was the reason it ran off before devouring Harlam. It smelled the overwhelming scent of blood from Ferlmour, and since Harlam was just one small kid at the time, it weighed that killing him was worthless compared to its potential prey.  

The real reason why Erly’s family left was because they wanted all their soldiers at Ferlmour to set up a defense. They didn’t see a need to waste valuable soldiers to defend Harlam’s small, insignificant village. They were more worried about protecting themselves instead of protecting everyone.  

Harlam opened his eyes. The blackness of the Evergrave returned, but he stopped falling. In fact, it seemed that time stopped altogether. Harlam couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t do anything except think. 

What is your wish? 

Something spoke to him in his mind. 

You relived through your life. What is your wish? 

What was his wish? That was simple. Not even worth asking. 

Please, whatever deity you are, make me immortal. I don’t want to live life wondering when my head will be lopped off my body. It's unfair, you know. Something so strong, so powerful can just appear out of nowhere, kill me, then leave and no one would care. My life would end meaninglessly. Teffer can rot in hell for all I care. They never bothered with me until the moment I took a damn stone. Why should I care if they fall? 

Silence. Nothing happened for some time. A speck of light appeared in front of Harlam’s eyes, glowing brighter and brighter. Harlam couldn’t close or shield his eyes from the light. All he could do was stare as it blinded him. 

The wish upon the stone shall be granted.  

***

Harlam appeared on the edge of the hole. One moment, he had been falling through the world, the next he teleported on the edge of the Evergrave. He looked around–finding it hard to turn his head–to try and find Erly. When he couldn’t find her, he stepped forward.  

Although, he couldn’t really say he walked forward. He didn’t know why, but he no longer had legs or even arms. All he could do was crawl along the ground as slow as a snail. Something squishy rang in his ears. Whatever it was, it came from him.  

A foot appeared directly in Harlam’s way. He looked up and found Erly. He was positively elated to find her. Now that he was immortal, he and she could play all the time together. They wouldn’t need to worry about a sudden death befalling them. Although, Erly would die, wouldn’t she? He should suggest that she become immortal. 

Harlam tried to say that, but every noise that left his mouth was gargled and unrecognizable. It sounded like he had a bone stuck in his throat longways. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with his throat though. He felt fine.  

Erly’s face was contorted in disgust and horror. Her hands cupped over her mouth as she stared at him. Why was she looking at him like that? He accomplished his dream.  

“Harlam,” Erly said, voice muffled from behind her hands. “Is that you?” 

Harlam tried to confirm it by saying yes, but once again he couldn’t form words. This would be frustrating to work around, but after they figured it out, they’ll be able to talk again.  

Tears fell down Erly’s face and landed on his now shorter body. Harlam didn’t like seeing her looking so sad, so he smiled to make her happy. He wasn’t in pain. In fact, he felt even better than normal. He was truly living. 

“I’m sorry.” Erly activated a pentagram and a sword appeared out of her hand. She raised it above her head and slammed it down. 

Darkness. Then light. Harlam’s body reforged itself. He smiled, thanking Erly for testing out his immortality. Now they knew that he could truly never die.  

But Erly still didn’t look happy. In fact, she looked even worse. She dropped to her knees and cried over him, apologizing over and over again. She called herself many hateful words. Words that Harlam didn’t want her calling herself.  

Harlam didn’t have any hands, but he still wanted to comfort her. Using all the power he could muster, he stretched out a piece of flesh and gently caressed her knee. That was all he could touch. He didn’t even really know if he was touching her knee since it was all covered up behind that red robe of hers.  

Erly looked at him, shocked. Harlam smiled again, hoping that she’d feel better. It looked like it worked. Her face became more hardened and determined than he’d ever seen her. Arms shaking, she scooped Harlam into her arms and they began walking into the forest. 

“I’ll save you Harlam. I swear by you that I’ll save you.” 

If Harlam could laugh, he would. Saving? What did he need saving from? He was already saved. He never had to fear death infecting him ever again. There was nothing to fear ever again. 

He couldn’t understand her. She couldn’t understand him. Not as long as they were different people that lived different lives. But that was just fine. They’d always have each other in their darkest moments.