Cold mud squished between Hollow's toes, making the undead man cringe in disgust. While glad to have a new experience, he was now certain that he hated being barefoot. With this thought in mind, Hollow scanned the path, offering a passing examination to every corpse that littered his way.
No more than three meters to his left, a severed leg caught Hollow's attention. He looked down, observing his remaining boot. They looked to be about the same size, so the undead walked over to the leg, and picked it up. Unfortunately for him, the leg had been severed at the shin, leaving him with very little purchase to try and free the boot.
After pondering his next course of action, Hollow shrugged his shoulders casually and shook the boot violently, launching the stump from the boot. The severed limb flew like blur, shooting off into the corpse wall on the other side of the road! It made contact, and splattered against a grubby chest plate, adding a fresh coat of gore to the soiled steel.
"I suppose you aren't traditionally living, but even you have to admit that was rather disrespectful, no?" The Sinner spoke from Hollow's shadow, a faint disapproving edge to his words.
"Yeah. I don't really know who to apologize too, though." Hollow said, color filling his cheeks as he scratched the back of his neck.
"Ahh... Just don't do it again. You will inevitably require the dead's assistance on this journey, so try to treat them with kindness." The Sinner sighed, one of his hands reaching from Hollow's shadow to clap him on the shoulder reassuringly.
Hollow gingerly put on the boot, and offered an apologetic nod towards the splattered leg. He set off again, admittedly happier than before. He took stock of his surroundings. The further he'd travelled from that field, he'd begun to notice the corpses thinning out gradually.
The corpse wall grew shorter with each passing mile, shrinking from it's impressive ten foot height, to barely being at Hollow's knees. A reduction in carrion was sure to be improve the mood, but it also signaled just how exposed Hollow really was. A line of trees stood at the edge of Hollow's vision, their claw like branches beckoning him towards them, offering him the cover he now lacked.
"Friend, I can't help but notice that we're out in the open now. Should I stick to the road, or travel through the forest?" Hollow asked his companion, pointing towards the tree line with his broken blade.
"We will have to pass through that forest sooner rather than later. Gah, Sarem! Damn him to the rot! He is most certainly watching our every move, so no matter where we go he is certain to interfere." The Sinner cursed the clown, his emerald eyes flashing as he spoke.
"I thought he said he was going to leave us alone?" Hollow asked, confused.
"Yes, he is going to leave us be. That doesn't mean he won't pass our location on to Aeson or Semicia, the latter of which is certain to hunt you down with no mercy, while the former will lay traps in our way." The Sinner said, placing a hand on Hollow's shoulder, while using another to furiously scratch his head.
"Who are those two?" He inquired.
"Sarem and his lot call themselves the God's Gauntlet, and they like to act as some kind of divine execution squad. The details aren't important right now. What is important is that any one of them could kill both and I as we are now with ease, so we can't afford to be caught by them." The Sinner said, stepping from Hollow's shadow fully. His body was translucent, and rain fell through him as if he were no more present than fog, though Hollow still felt his fingers linger on his shoulder.
"I see... Will we not have to kill them if we want to slay the White Hand?" Hollow asked, resting his axe on his shoulder as he spoke.
" Yes, we shall. Well, at least Aeson and Semicia. I have my doubts about Sarem's true goals, but now is not the time for speculation. You alone will be enough to kill the both of them, but you face an issue similar to me. Neither of us should exist in this world." The Sinner said calmly.
"What? I answered a call. Did the world not call me to save it?"
"We should walk as we talk. Continue forwards, the road will merge with the forest." The Sinner said, leading the way as he spoke.
"Well?"
"No, it did not. At least, not of its waking will. Tell me, what do you feel right now, knowing that any opponent of merit could slay you with ease?" He asked.
"I don't care. I was called to kill something terrible, and I refuse to let something as trivial as death stop me." Hollow said, as if it was a natural thing to say. A light smirk crossed the Sinner's face. Hollow arched an eyebrow, and looked at his companion quizzically.
"Leave it you to say something so brash as if it were natural. The world wishes to be free above all. Governed and protected when appropriate, but free to follow the natural order. Thanks to the White Hand's interference, the natural order has been disrupted for millennia."
Hollow and the Sinner shared a serious look. He had begun to piece the Sinner's point together, a grimace cutting across his face as he began realize how dire things were.
"You're already figuring it out, aye? Your summoning was unnatural, thus making you anomaly. The world needs you to fix itself, but the way you've been called has resulted in you being one of the problems that needs correcting. That's why you haven't been able to use your powers much at all, as a vast portion of your power is spent keeping you manifested." The Sinner explained, his tone weary.
"Tch. Damn it all." Hollow clicked his tongue. Just how far gone was this world? Could he even save it at this point, if he himself was a threat?
"Are you wondering if killing the White Hand would even work? Worry not, you should only be an anomaly temporarily. You simply need to attach yourself to the natural order." The Sinner said, taking his hand off of Hollow's shoulder.
Before Hollow could ask any questions, there was a flash of gold, too fast for Hollow to see what it was. A sudden lance of white hot pain burned through his forearm as his axe hand fell to the ground, landing in the mud with sickening squish.
"Gah! I thought we were friends!" Hollow shouted, confused anger burning behind his eyes as he stared daggers at the Sinner, a blood stained gold chain hanging limply from one of his hands.
"We are. You should know by now that all I do is to assist you on our common quest. Now look down." The Sinner said calmly, casually wrapping the chain around his forearm and sliding it up, beneath the folds of his robe.
"What are you-!" Hollow's question died in his throat as he looked down, shock freezing his mouth agape. Several long, white bones sprouted from the stump. Pale flesh wrapped around them like cloth, forming into fingers. A second later a palm and thumb followed, completing the appendage. It had barely been five seconds. He flexed his new fingers. They were limber, and perhaps it was because the appendage was new, but Hollow could have sworn it felt stronger than before.
"The longer you are here, the more the world will tolerate you, like a bitter medicine. You are a salve it cannot live without, so of course it would force you into a suitable state, regardless of circumstance." The Sinner finished. A gray hand sprouted from Hollow's shadow, and pried the axe from his severed hand's death grip. It offered the fallen weapon to the undead, who took it, his confusion melting away, leaving understanding. Hollow began to walk again before asking his next question.
"So how much longer do you think it'll be before I'm back to full strength?"
"It is hard to say for certain. Believe it or not, you're in excellent shape right now."
"Is that so? Well, I certainly understand my capabilities right now."
"I see... Ah, we are upon the forest. We had best take the road through it, as we have no choice but to throw caution to the wind." The Sinner said with a heavy sigh, one of his gray hands pointing towards the growing tree line.
Without another word, Hollow led the way. The Sinner followed, and both men took a final look back at the Killing Fields. The fallen looked back at them, mud dripping from their flayed flesh, bones peeking out for a glance at a savior.
There was nothing to be said. Their wish was known. Hollow offered them a nod, and turned on his heel, dragging their will behind him. A sad smile graced the Sinner's face as black mist rolled over the field behind them.
He knew there was no rest for the dead, not in this world. A white skull gleamed from the center of the mist, staring his judge down. The Sinner narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. The warning was clear, and the mist took his meaning. It sunk into the mud, dragging the dead along with it. Armaments, blood, flesh and steel, all swallowed by the mist.
For the first time and last time, the Killing Fields were empty.