At a distant field, Old Man Marcus arrived at a cemetery. He carried a single, white rose in his rigid hand. With a concerned look on his face, he walked past rows of weathered tombstones. He finally stopped at a grave, and his eyes opened impossibly wide in shock.
The white rose slipped from his grasp and tumbled to the ground.
The grave had been desecrated. A dark and gaping hole replaced the center of the disturbed earth.
"It's just as I feared," Old Man Marcus muttered and gritted his teeth. His face darkened tremendously in realization.
In the meantime, Stark returned to the fight with his claymore dragging on the ground. He looked at the limbless creature with a mixture of pity and contempt. "You're still alive. Well, it's over, big baby," he taunted and stood over him. He aimed his claymore at his target's neck.
"You were so desperate for your parents' love that you were willing to destroy an entire forest just to get their attention," Hafen noted with a cold realization.
Prince Kain stared at them with a pleading pout. "How," he sobbed with a muffled cry.
Stark smiled and reminded, "It's like you said, prince. We are family. We have each other's backs."
Prince Kain sniffled. His pout soured into a scowl as he remembered a specific memory. He was back in the dark, cavernous room of his home again, and he overheard a conversation between his parents.
"He might be another failure," his mother remarked with an indifferent tone. She applied a special ointment to her baby daughter's forehead.
"He'll never be as powerful as the others," his father agreed and stared at him with contempt. "We'll have to dispose of him eventually," he revealed.
Tears streamed down Prince Kain's face as he sat alone in a corner of the room. He was forgotten, unloved, and unwanted. He wanted to be held, to be cradled, to be told that he was a good boy. He wanted to feel the warmth of a mother's hug and the pride of a father's praise. He wanted everything his baby sister always had.
Currently, Matteo, with a softer expression, suggested, "Surrender, Prince Kain. We only want to protect our home."
"You... How wield... Forces of nature," Prince Kain sought to know. He squirmed and writhed like a worm on the forest floor. He looked at the elemental weapons with a curious glimmer.
Matteo hesitated.
Stark scoffed. "None of your business," he snarled.
Prince Kain chuckled. Instantly, he vomited and coughed up blood. "War... Not over," he groaned and shifted his body. "Me weakest... Family stronger," he divulged with a hateful grin.
"Then, we'll hold you as leverage," Hafen pointed out.
Prince Kain let out a gurgling laugh. "Mommy... Don't care. She cares for... Idiots," he insulted with a spatter of blood.
Matteo narrowed his eyes and questioned, "Why did you invade the forest, then?" He raised a cautious eyebrow.
Prince Kain grumbled under his breath. He glared at them with contempt and refused to elaborate.
"Who sent you? The Exalted One? Sabre," Stark interrogated.
"No... Me wanted to... Impress mommy," Prince Kain confessed with a retort.
"Is she the queen of the zombies perhaps," Matteo inquired.
Just then, a high-pitched, monstrous wail cut through The Dark Depths.
"Baby sister," Prince Kain murmured with disdain.
After a short while, a heavy tremor shook the ground.
Stark, Matteo, and Hafen wobbled around. With stunned expressions, they scanned the area with caution.
Prince Kain's eyes widened with hope. "Mommy," he whispered.
From the depths of the forest, a colossal, pale, feminine figure emerged and kicked a trail of uprooted trees in her way. Her long, silver hair cascaded down her back, and her pointy ears poked out. A tattered, bloodstained, white dress clung to her rotting frame, and a golden crown with rubies settled upon her head. A red regal cloak rested on her shoulders. Her movements were like a mother's frantic search for their lost child. Over three times taller than Prince Kain, she swung her arm to the ground and swatted an unrecognizable smaller boy away.
A loud crash echoed as the boy with green hair slammed against a cliff.
Hafen, Matteo, and Stark observed in disbelief.
"Is that the queen of the zombies," Hafen queried with a stammer.
Prince Kain laughed maniacally. He coughed and proclaimed, "Your end... Near. Zombies... Destroy humans. Mommy... rule world!"
Stark, Hafen, and Matteo turned to him with surprised looks. At that moment, they realized she was their biggest target for being behind all the zombies.
Towering over the trees, the queen of the zombies leaned back and released a deafening roar.
Trees swayed away, and the earth trembled with high intensity.
Prince Kain sniffed and let out a pitiful whimper. "Mommy! Here... Save me," he cried out. Tears and snot streamed down his face.
At the same time, the other cry, closer to his mother, grew louder than his.
"Stark. Hafen. Look. She picked up another giant baby zombie," Matteo alerted with an alarmed tone and pointed.
Prince Kain paused, glancing towards his mother with a nervous look. His whimpering turned into a snarl of pure jealousy. "No! Not... Baby Sister!" he groaned. He strained against the ground and demanded with sheer, impotent fury, "Me... The heir! Love me! Not her!"
The zombies' queen gently cradled a much smaller, more delicate baby zombie princess. She brushed a stray lock of hair from the princess's forehead and whispered in an unknown language. Ignoring her baby son's cries, her attention remained solely devoted to her favored child.
Her baby daughter, the baby zombie princess, cooed softly. She was dressed like the queen, with a red royal cloak and a golden crown. Disregarding her bruises, she looked like a baby version of her mother.
With a contemptuous glare, Kain's mother strode away, and her massive footfalls marked the earth. Without any acknowledgement, she left Prince Kain abandoned in the dirt.
"Mommy," Prince Kain called out one last time. He reached a bloody stump toward her retreating form. His broken, pathetic plea was met with nothing but the swaying of trees and the distance growing between them. He slumped, and a single tear traced a path through the grime on his cheek.
A heavy silence descended upon the battlefield, only punctuated by the faint, pitiful sobs of the limbless baby zombie prince.
Stark's knuckles were white around the hilt of his claymore. He watched the zombies' queen recede, then looked down at the whimpering form of their defeated enemy. "Her own son," he muttered and continued, "She just left him."
Matteo looked from the retreating queen to the sobbing Prince Kain. He felt a pang of pity. He recalled his adversary's desperate pleas for love, for a mother's attention. "He was just trying to get her to notice him," he whispered more to himself than to his brothers. He looked at the elemental rapier in his hand, and its glow reduced to a faint ember.
Hafen sheathed his katana with a slow, deliberate motion. His gaze lingered on the queen's disappearing form, and a thoughtful frown creased his brow. "I have questions, prince. You're our only lead," he asserted with a serious tone. He knelt and looked the giant baby zombie in the eye. "Tell us about your family. About your mother and your baby sister."
Prince Kain's sobs subsided into a series of ragged gasps. He looked at the sky and felt like it was the end for him. He closed his eyes and sighed. "If only... Baby sister dead," he wheezed with a spiteful tone and finally added, "Then, mommy... Notice me." His head rolled to the side, and a gurgle escaped his lips.
Hafen leaned closer and demanded to know, "Where are they going? What is their plan? Answer my questions!"
However, Prince Kain didn't answer. He only stared blankly at the canopy above, and he slowly lost consciousness. His breathing became shallow.
Black blood oozed from all four of his severed limbs and formed a dark, sticky puddle around him. The ground soaked it up and turned a deep, murky color.
Matteo witnessed the life fade from the infant zombie's eyes. "He's gone," he murmured. He remembered the one-eyed spider that had died protecting him. He had avenged its death. He made a tired, faint smile.
"The fight is over," Stark pointed out and kicked at a loose rock. He turned away and stared into the darkness of The Dark Depths.
"Not yet, Stark. Now, we have a bigger problem to deal with," Hafen refuted. He stood tall and stared in the direction the queen had gone.
Just then, a rustle from the bushes caught their attention.
Anan, the boy who led the spiders, emerged, and his eyes scanned the devastation. He held one arm against his chest and leaned heavily on Anya, who supported him with a gentle nudge of her massive head. "Thank you, humans. We'll let you go for now," he remarked.
Anya stared down at the fallen form of Prince Kain. She gently prodded the body with one of her front legs, as if to confirm it was truly motionless. She then turned her gaze to Hafen, Stark, and Matteo, and a flicker of gratitude passed through her multiple, intelligent eyes.
"We didn't do it for you," Hafen admitted and crossed his arms. "We did it to stop the destruction of The Sacred Forest," he elaborated.
Anan raised a brow but said nothing. He looked at Matteo and revealed, "I saw how you mourned for one of our fallen. Not many humans would do that."
Matteo's cheeks flushed, and he looked down at the ground. "It... It was my friend," he mumbled.
"Your friend," Anan repeated with a surprised expression. He looked at the bodies of the fallen spiders, and a shadow of grief passed over his face. "We will give our fallen a proper funeral," he reassured.
Stark stepped forward with a confident smirk. "You're pretty brave for a bug lover," he commented.
Anan scowled at him. "Watch your tongue, human. We may have fought alongside each other, but that doesn't make us friends," he warned. He huffed and walked away with Anya. He disappeared into the dense foliage.
Stark frowned and wondered aloud, "Did I say something wrong?"
Hafen, Matteo, and Stark have succeeded in their first mission. Because of their training, they overwhelmed the baby zombie prince and killed him. What new mission awaits them in their new roles as protectors of The Sacred Forest? How will they handle the queen of the zombies and her beloved baby zombie princess?