Demonic Shadows, Elusive Trails

Shalak was no fool. He had once sold his flesh and soul to demons as weapons, but he knew secrets his brothers did not.

Discipline was the key to mastery and control. Even the mightiest demon could not overcome a well-defended human soul. They could share flesh, but they could never rule his existence.

This demon was powerful. He did not even know its name, yet it had demanded much of him over the past several days. And in this critical moment, it demanded a union.

But he was no fool. Prudence and vigilance were the only ways to deal with creatures of this realm. He had seen too many of his brothers' shells become nests for demonic intelligence, while all that they had once been vanished without a trace.

The furious Orks howled below. They were not a pack of wolves, but a mob of madmen.

A beast's howl was born of natural law, while a madman's howl blended rage with the equal joy of torment, born from a life scorned and twisted.

He turned toward the blurry stone pillar.

"At my command, you have followed my voice through several days and nights. Now you stand before this statue of me, carved by sinners in my image. You have completed every trial and proven yourself worthy of this union. Now? Shalak, now?"

"I'm ready."

Shalak said, making a distinctive gesture before his throat and removing his helmet.

He could hear iron boots scraping over stone. The Orks were almost here. From the moment he had failed to assassinate that boss, those mad dogs would never stop their pursuit.

As he remembered it, every union had been different.

Once, it had been like a sledgehammer pounding his nerves, as though a demon were burrowing into his body by some invisible