Twisted Revival

Ezra's stomach twisted in revulsion as he noticed something horrifying—the tongue wasn't just slimy and grotesque; it ended in a sharp, needle-like protrusion, almost like a syringe made of bone.

The creature paused briefly before plunging the needle-like tip into the decaying flesh of the carcass.

A sickening squelch cut through the night air as the tongue pierced deep into the remains.

A viscous, inky black fluid oozed from the needle-tip and seeped into the decaying meat, bubbling and hissing softly as it spread. Ezra could see the substance creeping like veins through the flesh, darkening it further and giving it an unnatural sheen.

The creature's bat-like ears twitched, and it let out a guttural growl that vibrated through the ground beneath them. It seemed almost… satisfied. The carcass twitched slightly under the substance's influence, a faint ripple passing through its lifeless form, but it didn't move beyond that.

Ezra's breath caught in his throat, his lavender eyes wide as he watched the creature retract its grotesque tongue with a wet slurp, strands of black fluid clinging to its needle-like tip.

The carcass began to convulse, twitching unnaturally as the black substance coursed through its decaying flesh. Bones cracked and shifted, sinew stretched taut, and the stench of rot thickened in the air. Ezra felt bile rise in his throat as the lifeless remains of the bird-like creature started to change, grotesquely molding and reshaping themselves into something new—something monstrous.

Its wings, now twisted and misshapen, extended outward with a sickening snap, their span far larger than before. Feathers, slick with dark ichor, stuck together in uneven clumps.

The creature's body elongated, its chest heaving unnaturally as if being filled with air from an unseen force. Its legs thickened, growing taller and more muscular, the talons at their ends sharper and more menacing.

The head—if it could still be called that—remained partially avian but distorted, with hollow, glowing yellow eyes staring blankly into the distance. Its beak was cracked and jagged, black ooze dripping from the edges like tar. Its neck stretched unnaturally long, pulsating with dark veins beneath thin, translucent skin.

Ezra's heart pounded in his chest as he took in the sight. The creature wasn't just revived—it had been reforged, twisted into something that resembled neither life nor death. It stood taller than before, its soulless, hollow gaze scanning the area with an eerie stillness.

The abomination stood unnaturally still, its elongated neck craning as its hollow yellow eyes locked onto the towering beast before it. For a moment, the two creatures simply stared at one another, their forms illuminated by the faint light of the moon.

Then, the ghoul-like bird let out a series of guttural clicks and low, reverberating screeches. The sounds didn't resemble any language Ezra had ever heard—more like a distorted melody played on broken instruments, full of dissonance and hollow echoes.

The towering beast responded in kind, emitting a deep, resonant growl that made the ground vibrate beneath them. Its bat-like ears twitched, and its massive nostrils flared as it exhaled heavily. The exchange continued, an eerie back-and-forth of guttural noises and fragmented screeches, as if they were… communicating.

'They can talk to each other? Since when could they do that?'

Ezra's eyes flicked between the two monstrous figures, his mind racing to process what he was witnessing. The sounds they exchanged weren't random; there was intent behind them—structure, even if it was one he couldn't understand.

'Never mind—that's not the main point. Did it just… bring it back to life?'

His stomach turned as he glanced at the ghoul-like bird creature. Its body, though grotesquely reformed, moved with an unsettling fluidity, its hollow yellow eyes fixed on the larger beast with something akin to reverence—or obedience.

Beside him, Shirley's sharp gray eyes were wide, his breath held as he pieced together the grim reality of what they had just witnessed. His lips parted slightly as realization dawned on him, and he mouthed three words:

We are fucked.

Ezra's pulse quickened, his body tensing as his instincts screamed at him to run, to hide, to do something. But his feet remained rooted to the ground, his mind stuck on the horrifying scene before him.

The larger beast exhaled again, a sound like gravel grinding together, before turning its head slightly—as if it had caught a scent.

Ezra's breath hitched.

Shirley grabbed Ezra's arm in an iron grip, his voice low and tight. "Don't. Move."

But it was too late. The larger creature's glowing yellow eyes snapped toward their hiding spot, locking onto them with an unblinking stare.

For a brief, agonizing moment, everything was still.

Then, it started moving toward them.