Chapter 203: Story 203: The Revenant’s Curse
Damien Rook stood at the edge of the Valley of Screams, his body bruised but undefeated. The Zombie King was dead, but a darker force had been unleashed: the curse of the revenants. These vengeful spirits were unlike the mindless zombies he had faced before. They were intelligent, fast, and relentless, hunting Damien as the man who had slain their master.
Lena, the survivor who had helped him, insisted they leave the valley. "The curse will spread if you stay," she warned. But Damien was never one to run. With the revenants closing in, they set off into the desolate wasteland.
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Their journey led them to a ruined town, its streets littered with bones, and whispers haunted the air. In the center stood a massive, rotting tree, next to an ancient well inscribed with eerie symbols. The closer Damien got, the louder the voices became—taunting him with promises of death.
"This is where it began," Lena whispered. "The curse started here."
Damien knelt by the well, his hand brushing over the symbols. A vision overtook him—he saw the town alive, its people joyful, until a cloaked figure appeared, unleashing a torrent of darkness that consumed everything. The man's glowing eyes locked onto Damien. "You cannot stop what's coming," he hissed before the vision faded.
Shaken, Damien rose. "The Zombie King wasn't the source. This curse is older, and whoever started it is still out there."
As night fell, the revenants arrived. Their glowing eyes flickered in the darkness as they advanced silently. Damien fired his revolver, but bullets did little to stop them. These creatures were bound to the curse itself, their forms shifting like mist as they moved closer.
"We need to break the curse!" Damien shouted, cutting down a revenant with his silver knife, the only thing that seemed to hurt them.
Lena ran to the well, her hands trembling as she deciphered the symbols. "These are wards," she muttered. "They're holding the curse in place."
"Then break them!" Damien yelled, slicing through another revenant as it lunged at him.
Lena began chanting the ancient words inscribed on the well. As she did, the revenants screeched, their forms flickering in agony. The symbols on the well glowed brightly, and with a final word, Lena completed the chant. A blast of light erupted from the well, dissolving the revenants into the air with one last agonizing scream.
Silence fell over the town. Damien holstered his revolver, his eyes scanning the dark streets. "It's over," Lena said, exhausted.
"For now," Damien replied, glancing back at the well. "But something tells me this curse runs deeper than we thought."