Warden and the rest of the sleepers waited with held breath as they waited for the signal from Jasper who had gone off to fulfil his promise from before, with their combined strength they were confident that they would be able to overwhelm their enemies and take them out but they were all a little bit curious to see what the young man was capable of.
They waited and waited and with each second that passed a growing tension grew over the group with murmuring of questions wondering if he had just abandoned them or got eaten by some other creature just out of view, the only person who seemed unworried was Damian who had become Jackie's latest perch.
Damian was calmly watching the foes with keen interest in hopes of gathering some new information about what type of creatures they were up against, the wolves seemed to be subservient to the lumbering undead, following them around seemingly awaiting a command, the undead nights were strange abominations resembling humans from a distance yet with some uncanny characteristics he couldn't quite place much like his fellow soldiers from his First Nightmare.
Their mannerisms seemed relaxed on the surface but Damian wasn't fooled by the false indifference, they were fiercely taking in their surrounding waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike down any foe who dares approach their stronghold, turning to face Jackie he said,
"The undead seem to be demons and the wolves are most likely monsters, be careful."
Jackie let out a small squeak in response and confidently puffed out his chest in triumph, he felt like he could take on the world no matter what it cost him, yet he still felt like the strange human was not quite talking to him, how dare he not realise his brilliance.
///
Jasper Silently laughed at his echo as he prepared himself to engage the enemy, he had long lost sight of his prey and yet he could still see them in perfect clarity, it was truly a strange sight to behold as he watched the world out of the eyes of his littlest friend.
He had found out pretty quickly that Jackie's existence was far removed from those of ordinary creatures of this world, for starters he couldn't provide Jasper with any form of rejuvenation even after being cut by his dagger, whilst this had crushed his dreams of a convenient way of recovering himself after a battle it had allowed for him to gain a second set of senses no matter the situation, giving him the unparalleled advantage of being able to scout far ahead without putting himself in danger.
It also allowed for convenient long distance communications even if they were only a one way connection, allowing allies to provide useful real time information or to be able to spy on nearby conversations in order to gain knowledge he otherwise wouldn't have access to.
Looking towards the large white walls which towered over the vermillion hell Jasper couldn't help but feel his heart beating in his throat as it threatened to jump out, the structure was immensely imposing and in all honestly he doubted they would even make it to the main keep before being reduced to ash by the blood red dragon sleeping on its roof, but the others seemed so convinced that they would make it so why couldn't he?
He wondered if it was because he lacked something the others possessed naturally, a born quality which he simply did not have but he knew deep down that it wasn't the case, in truth what he truly lacked was a reason to keep pushing forward, something beyond just survival which he would do anything to achieve.
It seemed so simple yet the idea alluded him, just out of reach for his mind to grasp so in the end he would have to settle for helping others achieve their goals, their dreams for a better tomorrow until he found his own source of conviction to draw forward.
As always his movements never seemed impressive at first but with each step the power radiating off him grew more and more intense, it was only during these moments in which he could experience the inhuman power that the others held at all times, the power was truly intoxicating and only being able to experience some of the time truly made the poison all the more sweeter every time he tasted it.
Soon his steps were echoing through the forest like a raging storm, threatening to blow down the ancient trees with each deafening quake of the earth, the smell of distant storms radiated from him, filling the forest in every nook and cranny.
////
The wolves were the first to notice, their keen senses picking up the looming danger long before the undead or even the other sleepers, quickly getting to work the pack broke away from their masters to run towards the forest edge. Their masters stood idly behind them, preparing their weapons for when the assault would begin, the sleepers were stunned into silence unsure of what they were seeing yet before long they could smell it too, the distant smell of an approaching storm as the ground began to shake.
The sleepers began to panic as the tremors grew more violent with each passing second, with each interval feeling like an eternity as their fear began to leak from their bodies, even Warden as the spearhead of the formation had a line of sweat running down his face. Meanwhile Damian calmly watched the scene play out in front of them until his calm was suddenly broken as one of the undead knights turned its head to face the sleepers, madness and hunger burning in its eyes as its face contorted into a vile grimace.
Its lanky limbs contained such power as it ran towards the sleepers with glee beaming in its expression as it longed to feat on their living flesh at it brandished its blade high as it prepared for its attack…until a sudden flash of light blocked its path, the light was buzzing with energy as it cut the air as the sounds of boiling blood sizzled in the air prompting the creature to turn its head as it kept a defensive stance against the sleepers.
Behind it a thick line of blood and entrails were scattered over the once pristine walls as the sounds of breaking bones seemed to echo of its surface, it was hard for any of those present to see what had just happened, the pack of wolves was cut in half whilst the knight wielding the glave was reeling back as a strange object had been embedded in its eye.
Standing on the opposite side stood a lone man in black leathers, covered head to toe in rancid blood and fur as he spat a mouthful out onto the ground, the only thing in his hand was the severed head of one of the wolves gripped firmly by the spine as if it had been ripped clean from its hold on the body.
Jasper held the severed head high, letting the blood drip down onto him like a shower as he looked at the sleepers who were staring back in utter disbelief, before the commanding voice of Warden called out,
"Attack, let's show these creatures the strength of our valor!"
Sudden a wave of emotions hit the sleepers one by one until they all had charged forward ready to engage in mortal combat until only one side was left standing, the only ones left behind were Damian and Jest, the latter collapsed after exhausting his use of his Dormant Ability to push the sleepers into battle by heightening their resolve, whilst the former was pulling back the string of his bow, ready to assist where needed in order to guarantee as many of these sleepers make it out alive.