Story 781: The Laughing Afflict

The ruins trembled with a sound that should not exist—a laughter so hollow, so unnatural, that even the Hollowed recoiled. Selene Nocturna laughed.

Not because she was amused. Not because she had already won.

She laughed because the very notion of resistance—of defying her—was absurd.

Kruger’s gun clicked empty. His breathing was sharp, ragged, but he did not falter. Through the mist of decay, he could see her.

Selene stood tall, her tattered cloak shifting like withered wings.

Her lips curled into a mocking smirk, exposing blackened gums and teeth that glistened with old blood. Her laughter continued, echoing through the remains of the monastery, curling around the columns like a choking vine.

"Is that it?" she purred, taking a step forward. "Is this the great hunter who has been gnawing at my kingdom like a rat?"

Kruger said nothing. He simply reached for another magazine, slamming it into place.