Horrific Shorts: Zombie Edition

Chapter 2416: Story 2417: The Return of Malthor

The sky belonged to darkness.

Black fire cascaded from the enormous rift above the battlefield as Malthor descended from the heavens.

No thunder followed.

No explosion.

No grand display of power.

Only silence.

A silence far more terrifying than any roar.

The King of Endless Night floated above the shattered wasteland.

His obsidian armor absorbed every trace of light.

His torn black crown glowed with faint silver cracks.

The last remnants of the guardian he once was.

For ten thousand years he had been forgotten.

Now he had returned.

Every army watched.

The silver warriors.

The crimson legions.

The endless dead.

Even the Devourer.

Nobody moved.

Nobody dared.

Malthor slowly lifted his eyes.

Galaxies swirled within them.

Entire worlds seemed trapped behind his gaze.

The weight of ten thousand years rested upon his shoulders.

Then his eyes found Noah.

For the first time, warmth appeared within the darkness.

A faint smile touched his face.

"You carry his light."

Noah felt the Silver Crown respond.

Its fractured surface glowed brighter.

The young king stepped forward.

"You are my ancestor."

Malthor shook his head gently.

"No."

His voice sounded tired.

Ancient.

Broken.

"You are my second chance."

The words struck Noah harder than any weapon.

Nearby, the Throne King lowered his staff.

The Crimson Queen stared at her lost brother.

Neither knew what to say.

After ten thousand years, words seemed meaningless.

The Devourer suddenly laughed.

A roar that split mountains.

"Touching."

Crimson fire erupted from its scales.

The sky trembled.

"You return at last."

Malthor finally looked toward the cosmic monster.

The warmth vanished from his eyes.

Only darkness remained.

Only hatred.

For a moment, the battlefield felt colder.

Even the Devourer noticed.

"You remember me," the monster said.

Malthor’s voice became ice.

"I remember every second."

The Devourer’s smile faded.

Malthor raised one hand.

The heavens darkened completely.

Stars vanished.

Clouds dissolved.

Night consumed everything.

A new power spread across the world.

The Power of Endless Night.

Millions of shadows rose from the ground.

Not monsters.

Not spirits.

Memories.

The memories of civilizations destroyed by the Devourer.

Entire worlds appeared in ghostly form around the battlefield.

Ancient cities.

Lost kingdoms.

Forgotten species.

The dead of countless worlds stood behind Malthor.

An army gathered from history itself.

The survivors stared in awe.

Father Gideon fell to his knees.

"He carries them all."

Malthor had not merely survived imprisonment.

He had carried the memories of every victim.

Every civilization.

Every life consumed by the Devourer.

Ten thousand years of grief.

Ten thousand years of rage.

Then the Devourer attacked.

A gigantic claw descended from the sky.

Capable of crushing mountains.

Capable of destroying armies.

Malthor didn’t move.

The claw stopped inches from him.

Frozen.

As if time itself had obeyed his command.

The battlefield gasped.

The Devourer’s crimson eyes widened.

For the first time, true fear appeared.

Malthor slowly closed his hand.

The colossal claw shattered.

Exploded into crimson fragments.

The shockwave rolled across the planet.

Silence followed.

The impossible had happened.

Someone had hurt the Devourer.

Not wounded.

Not delayed.

Hurt.

The cosmic monster released a roar of pain.

The first pain it had felt in thousands of years.

Malthor’s dark wings unfolded fully.

Stretching across the horizon.

Then he spoke words that chilled the Devourer’s soul.

Words he had waited ten thousand years to say.

"I did not escape your prison."

Black fire ignited across the sky.

His eyes blazed with endless night.

"I turned it into mine."

The final war had truly begun.