Story 761: Hymn of the Hollow

Laughter.

It echoed through the Rotting Cathedral, swelling like a chorus of the damned. Selene Nocturna stood amidst the carnage, her head thrown back, her lips torn in a grotesque smile.

The alchemical venom in Kruger’s blade should have burned her, should have unraveled her necrotic essence. But she had devoured pain before—made agony her nourishment.

She ripped the sword from her body, tossing it aside like a broken toy.

Kruger staggered back, his breath ragged. The air around him felt heavier—as if unseen hands clutched at his throat.

"Impossible," he muttered.

Selene grinned, tilting her head. The wound in her side sealed itself, black veins weaving together like spider silk.

"Possible," she corrected. "I am not bound by the laws of men. Your poisons, your little tricks? They do nothing but amuse me."

Kruger clenched his fists. He could hear them now—the whispers.

A rising, chanting murmur, like a forgotten hymn sung by rotting tongues.