Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition

The gate groaned as it opened, revealing a path of bone and ash winding through a withered forest of crucified corpses. Every tree moaned, twisted in pain, their limbs reaching out like pleading hands. Lightning carved jagged veins across the blood-red sky. Ahead, the Rotting King's fortress towered—a cathedral of ruin, pulsing with necrotic power.

Draven Cross stepped forward, his coat tattered, the cursed blade humming at his side. Mira Caldwell walked beside him, gaunt yet unwavering, the final incantation burned into her memory. Behind them, Elias Grimm gripped the smoldering remains of the Book of Binding, each word within now alive, whispering.

The gates closed behind them.

Inside the throne room, the Rotting King waited—throned atop a mountain of skulls, his crown of thorns glowing with foul sorcery. He was massive, cloaked in black decay, with eyes like twin eclipses. The Forsaken Girl knelt at his feet, eyes empty, soul fractured.

"You've come far," the Rotting King rasped. "But I have devoured time. I have fed on the scream of every dying star. I am the end."

"No," Draven growled. "You're a parasite wearing a crown."

The final battle erupted like a storm. The Rotting King summoned abominations—twisted beasts made from the flesh of forgotten gods. Draven met them blade-first, carving a path through the tide. Mira raised her hands and spoke the Forbidden Verse, unraveling the magic binding the Forsaken Girl.

Elias drew the last page from the Book, his veins glowing like molten gold. "One life for many," he whispered, then recited the binding spell that would trap the Rotting King forever—if someone anchored it.

Draven turned, bloodied. "No."

But Elias smiled. "You were meant to live, not be consumed by vengeance."

He finished the chant.

The Rotting King screamed as the ground split beneath his throne. Chains of pure light dragged him down, clawing, shrieking, rotting further as he went. The crown fell from his head and shattered.

Elias vanished with him.

The fortress collapsed, stone screaming as it fell into the abyss. Mira caught the Forsaken Girl, now freed, her eyes human again. Draven carried them both through the crumbling halls, fire and dust closing in.

They escaped into daylight—real daylight.

The world outside had shifted. The undead were still. The skies were clear. The loop was broken. The curse, undone.

They buried Elias on a cliff overlooking the ruins. Zara found them later, tears hidden behind her hood. "So… what now?"

Draven looked at the sun rising over a silent horizon. "Now we rebuild."

Mira placed the last piece of the Book into a glass box and sealed it. "And we remember."

The camera pulls back—revealing the world, wounded but healing. No more screams. No more endless nights.

Just silence. And hope.

THE END