Aiden's footsteps crunched over the broken earth as he returned to the spot where the grave robbers had fallen.
The remnants of the fight remained. Scattered clothing, clawed earth, and the faint metallic scent of dried blood in the cold air.
Yet, standing among the wreckage was the figure he'd summoned in the heat of desperation. The undead creature, frozen yet alive, its head lowered in eerie stillness, as if waiting for him.
He approached slowly, his gaze fixed on the corpse, taking in every detail. It was a tangle of rotting flesh and exposed bone, its eyes vacant, yet there was something responsive about it. Aiden extended a hand, curiosity mingling with a sense of ownership he didn't fully understand.
"Move forward," he murmured, testing the waters of their connection.
The undead shuddered, then took a staggering step forward, its movements jerky yet obedient. Aiden felt a thrill of power run through him, the creature responded without needing his active control. It was bound to him, tethered, waiting for orders.
He circled it thoughtfully, testing it with simple commands.
"Step back."
"Turn."
Each command met with precise obedience, almost as if the creature understood him without question.
Aiden wondered, 'How long will it remain like this? Forever?'
A dark satisfaction crept into him as he realized the implications. The creature would linger, seemingly eternal in its undeath, loyal to his every word unless he chose to dismiss it… or unless he, himself, died.
He placed a hand on its shoulder, focusing on the link between them, searching for a way to sever it. But no matter how he concentrated, the connection held firm. He frowned, withdrawing his hand, unable to shake the feeling of responsibility and power that came with having such a servant bound to his will.
Satisfied for now, Aiden took a step back, feeling the creature's gaze remain on him, even in its lifeless state. He decided to keep it close, an unsettling yet invaluable ally, knowing it would stand vigil as long as he lived to command it.
Aiden narrowed his eyes, studying the undead figure in front of him. The simple commands had been manageable, but he was curious and a bit impatient to see if it could handle something more complex. He gestured toward the lifeless bodies of the grave robbers strewn across the ground.
"Search the bodies," he said slowly, enunciating each word as if talking to a child.
"Look for anything valuable."
The undead creature stared at him blankly, its hollow eyes fixed on his face.
For a long moment, it simply stood there, unblinking and still, as if it hadn't heard him at all. Then, with an awkward shuffle, it turned and stumbled toward the nearest corpse, pausing beside the body and staring down at it.
Aiden watched, feeling a flicker of anticipation. But instead of searching the body, the creature simply stood there, staring at the dead man's face as though in some sort of trance.
It cocked its head to one side, then raised a bony hand and began scratching its own scalp, dislodging flakes of dried skin and bits of dirt.
Aiden's expression twisted with frustration.
"No! don't just stand there. Search. Look through his pockets!"
The creature glanced back at him, its head tilting as if in confusion. It turned back to the body, lifting the corpse's arm and letting it flop back down, then nudged the body with its foot as though expecting it to respond. When nothing happened, it seemed to grow even more confused, glancing around as if searching for guidance.
"Oh, for..." Aiden groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Not like that. Check his clothes, his hands… anything that might be valuable!"
In response, the creature crouched beside the body, reaching out a skeletal hand to prod the robber's face. It pushed the man's head to the side, staring intently at his glazed-over eyes, as if hoping they might reveal a hidden treasure.
Then, in a baffling move, the creature began patting down its own tattered clothes, as though it were searching itself instead of the body on the ground.
Aiden stared, equal parts horrified and amused. The creature was following his commands in the loosest possible interpretation, but it was clear that complex instructions were beyond its comprehension.
It lacked the understanding to sift through belongings with any real purpose; instead, it was going through a bizarre pantomime of what it thought 'searching' might look like.
Exasperated, Aiden tried a different approach.
"Just… just grab something shiny," he muttered.
The creature's empty gaze flickered slightly, as though the word "shiny" had registered somewhere in its decaying mind. It looked down at the robber's hand, which wore a cheap, tarnished ring. Aiden watched as the creature reached for it, tugging at the ring but failing to remove it.
After a few futile tugs, the creature lost interest and dropped the hand, returning to scratching its own head in confusion.
Aiden sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Are you even aware of what I'm saying?" he asked, more to himself than to the undead.
"Can you understand anything I'm asking you to do?"
The creature responded with a low, garbled groan, its head lolling to one side. It made no move to obey, no flicker of understanding passing through its hollow eyes. It simply stood there, a mindless servant, limited by the most basic of instincts.
Aiden watched, caught between disappointment and an odd sort of fascination. It was clear that this undead servant would be of limited use for complex tasks, bound only by the most rudimentary understanding of his commands.
Yet, as he stared at it, scratching its head and prodding at the corpse with vacant curiosity, he felt a grim satisfaction in knowing it would obey him, even in its clumsy, baffling way.
He shook his head, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"So, you're not completely useless… just close to it," he muttered.
The creature let out another hoarse groan, and Aiden watched as it awkwardly reached for the robber's face once more, tapping at it with a skeletal finger as if expecting a response.
Aiden watched as the undead continued its absurd pantomime, poking and prodding at the robber's face without any real understanding. He bit back a laugh, feeling a strange mixture of pity and irritation.
Despite the creature's apparent loyalty, its lack of intelligence was painfully clear.
Realizing he'd get nothing useful from it at the moment, Aiden sighed and decided to try something simpler.
"All right. Just… stand up."
The undead stopped its poking, stiffly straightening and facing him once more. Aiden took a step back, eyeing the creature thoughtfully. Perhaps it couldn't handle tasks that required any complex thinking, but that didn't mean it couldn't be useful.
"Follow me," he instructed, gesturing toward a line of trees at the edge of the graveyard.
The creature obediently shuffled after him, moving in its slow, stilted gait. Aiden watched its movements, noting how it dragged one foot slightly, the bones creaking with each step. It wasn't exactly subtle, but at least it was responsive.
He led it away from the graves, glancing over his shoulder now and then to ensure it was still following.
They reached the edge of the trees, and Aiden halted, turning to face his undead companion. An idea formed in his mind. A way to test the creature's durability. He picked up a heavy branch from the ground and held it up, studying the creature's reaction.
"Stand still," he instructed, raising the branch.
The creature didn't flinch as he swung the branch down, striking it hard across the shoulder. The sound of cracking bone echoed in the still air, but the creature didn't react. It remained perfectly still, its vacant eyes locked on him.
Aiden grinned, a twisted sense of satisfaction creeping over him. It was strange to have this kind of power, a servant who would follow his every command without question or complaint. The creature's loyalty and its lack of pain or hesitation gave him a thrill, a feeling of authority he hadn't experienced before.
He swung the branch again, this time aiming for the creature's ribs. The bones shattered on impact, fragments scattering across the ground.
Yet the undead didn't fall; it simply swayed slightly before resettling itself, standing as obediently as before.
"So you can take a beating," Aiden muttered, his voice laced with both fascination and contempt.
He dropped the branch, circling the creature as he examined the damage he'd inflicted. A section of its rib cage was missing, and its shoulder looked partially dislocated, but it showed no sign of discomfort or distress.
Aiden reached out, experimentally tugging at its arm. The creature didn't resist, allowing him to reposition the limb without any sign of resistance. It was like molding clay. He could bend it to his will, shape it however he wanted.
"Interesting," he murmured, a dark smile tugging at his lips.
"Very interesting."
He stepped back, contemplating the potential uses for a creature that felt no pain, needed no rest, and obeyed him without hesitation. The possibilities were endless. He could use it for labor, as a distraction, perhaps even as a shield.
The thought filled him with a sense of grim satisfaction.
But something nagged at him, a lingering curiosity. If the undead could follow simple commands, was there a limit to what it could do? And if he found that limit… what would happen if he tried to push it beyond?
Aiden's eyes narrowed as he considered another experiment, one that would test the creature's strength and obedience even further. He spotted a large, jagged rock nearby and pointed toward it.
"Lift that," he ordered, watching closely.
The undead creature turned, lumbering toward the rock. It crouched down, skeletal hands grasping the edges as it attempted to lift it. The rock barely shifted, but the creature strained, its bones creaking under the effort.
Aiden could see fractures forming along its fingers, tiny cracks spreading as it continued to pull.
He took a step closer, intrigued by the creature's struggle. It was clear that, while it lacked the intelligence for complex tasks, it would try to follow his orders to the best of its ability. Even if it meant destroying itself in the process.
"Stop," he commanded, and the creature immediately released the rock, straightening to face him once more. Its fingers were damaged, the bones splintered and brittle, but it seemed unfazed, waiting patiently for his next command.
Aiden felt a chill run through him, a strange sense of power mixed with horror. He could feel the creature's loyalty, its unwavering obedience, yet he also sensed its fragility. It was a servant bound to him, but one he could so easily break.
He looked into its hollow eyes, wondering just how far he could push it before it crumbled to dust.
"Tell me," he whispered, half to himself,
"what are you willing to endure for me?"
The creature, of course, said nothing. But it tilted its head slightly, that blank stare meeting his own, and in its silence, Aiden found his answer.
"Good," he murmured, a dark satisfaction filling him.
"Very good."
Turning away, he began to walk back toward the graveyard, gesturing for the creature to follow. It shuffled after him obediently, dragging its damaged hand, a silent shadow in the moonlight.
As they returned to the graves, Aiden's mind churned with thoughts of what he might try next. The creature was flawed, limited, but it was loyal. And loyalty, even in death, was a rare gift—a gift he intended to use to its fullest.
But there was one more thing he needed to test, one more question gnawing at him as he stood at the edge of the graves, staring down at the open earth.
"Can you understand me?" he asked, a final question, his voice low and filled with a strange sense of hope.
The undead let out a low, guttural groan, its jaw hanging open as though it were trying to speak. The sound was raw, hollow, devoid of words or meaning, yet there was something almost… responsive about it. As if, deep within its decayed shell, it had heard him.
Aiden watched, a dark smile curling at his lips. He didn't need it to talk. All he needed was for it to obey and that, it did perfectly.
"Come on," he said, leading the way.
"There's much more for us to do."
And with that, he turned and strode away, his undead servant trailing in his wake, its broken fingers scraping against the earth with every step.