Story 763: A Kiss of Taint

The battle had ended.

The Rotting Cathedral stood still once more, its haunted echoes silenced by the scent of burning flesh and the crackling of dying sigils. Selene Nocturna stepped through the ruins, her gown tattered but her poise untouched. Blackened veins pulsed beneath her pale skin, remnants of the hunter’s holy strike.

Varek Hollowborne lay motionless at her feet. His scythe, shattered. His armor, cracked. His defiance, however, had not faded.

Selene crouched beside him, her lips curling into a bloodstained smile.

"You fought well, hunter," she murmured, tilting his face toward her. His silver eyes had not lost their hatred, even as his body failed him.

"You’re not walking away from this," he rasped. His breath reeked of death.

Selene chuckled.

"You assume I intend to walk at all."