Eight Gods on a Windowsill

 When the world once more came to view, I was at the entrance of Ashe'gard. Before me lay a mess. Guards were lying everywhere, some beyond saving. One man stood out amongst all of them. His gaze was piercing, made even more so by his large round eyes with dark irises and a short hooked nose. He reminded me of some of the guards I saw when Rammel took me to the moon above Franc. Large shoulder bones that looked like sails and a fierce muscled build. Except, he was more than a head and a half shorter than they were. His reddish-brown hair set him apart. That and his skin. His skin was light in color, much like a human scale, with blotches of melanated marks.

 "Daughter of the Ram," came his shrill voice, "Finally we meet."

 "You're not Yog."

 "Very astute of you." He responded quite cooly.

 Stamina reserves: Thirty-nine percent. I am going to have to finish this quickly. "I don't know who you are, but they will blame me for this. So, if you don't mind, I am taking you in."

 He began to laugh. "You think you have the power to do so?"

 "That wasn't a suggestion." I remarked. Lupine form. Unholy Regeneration at maximum. Rejection sphere at a hundred percent. Iron skin at a hundred percent. I could feel my body shift and transform as dust began to encircle me. Hopefully, this will also speed up the process in the hospital. I could feel my muscles grow tighter to my frame. Denser. The hairs on my body began to grow and bristle against the pressure I exerted. I could feel fangs grow in my jaws.

 His chortling grew more. He stood there watching me transform. It was as though he had no sense of danger.

 I blinked.

 "You think you can actually defeat me. How overconfident of you." His voice came from behind me. He hadn't teleported. There was no smell of ozone. That only meant one thing, he moved at that speed.

 "Dust spear."

 A thin spear of black ash immediately formed by my feet and extended to where he was standing. It was the fastest technique in my arsenal. Yet, this stranger just sidestepped it as though it was going slower than a snail.

 He appeared at the other end of the bailey, atop the wall. "I'm definitely not going to make this easy on you, Daughter of the Ram. I think my brother was right to test your abilities. Perhaps, I can find some enjoyment in it also." He waved his hand out into the bailey. "Misheol, Horrors. Arise."

 The guards' bodies began to stir and rise. Their wounds were still fresh. There was no life in their eyes. Some of them shuffled around like puppets on strings. Others saw their bodies shifting into something more hideous. Eyes, mouths, and tendrils began to sprout at all odd angles and places. They ambled towards me unsteadily and slowly.

 The stranger's face was contorted into a wide grin.

 Kaddyr. Lillith. Any advice on how to deal with zombies? There was no answer. Nothing? Fine. Kratos. Kerberos.

 My two hell-hounds materialized. 

 "Keep them busy."

 The hell-hounds split into several reproductions of themselves and immediately went to work slowing down the zombies. Meanwhile, I took that chance to try to close the gap between me and the stranger. Without any effort, I jumped higher than the wall and very near to the interloper, just not close enough actually land a hit on him. But, I had an idea.

 "Rejection."

 A giant hole blasted out of the wall where the stranger sat.

 "So close." His voice came from behind me.

 "Rejection." I tried a second time to attack him from a distance. This time from behind me. I could feel it make some kind of connection. The attack pushed me even closer to the wall, which I managed to land upon the broken area using my hand to stabilize myself.

 I looked towards the direction I came from. The stranger stood amidst the army of undead and hell-hounds, clutching his shoulder. I had managed to hit him. The only problem was, like Yog and myself, he used the same black ash to restore his body.

 He snorted.

 "I'm only going to give you one more chance, stranger. Turn yourself in."

 The dust around him swirled faster and faster. "So, you managed to damage me a little bit. You think that is enough to bring me in?" He laughed. "All this," he demonstrated with his hands, waving it about, "was to bring you out."

 Alarms began to blare into my head. Critical warning! Critical warning! Stamina reserves below twenty-five percent. Increased stamina consumption is in effect. Further use of abilities will result in the conversion of life force into stamina. I couldn't get the alarms to stop. Whose idea was this?

 "Getting tired already, Daughter of the Ram?"

 Lillith. She did this to protect you. Kaddyr said suddenly, silencing the noise in my head. You don't currently have the power to defeat Whisper. He's even stronger than his brother, Yog.

 So, what do you suppose I do?

 Let me take over. I'll finish this in a flash. Lillith's voice finally made its appearance.

 Stamina reserves at twenty percent.

 Look, you only have about three seconds left. Just let me do this. Please. I promise I won't go overboard again. She pleaded.

 Fine.

 "Slicing wind!" Whisper bellowed, waving his hands in my direction. His shoulder had already healed from the damage.

 The wind sliced into the wall all around the broken area created by my attack. But, I was no longer there. I felt my form immediately shift into Lillith's form once more. Black ash created a long onyx sword in her hand. The motion was so quick and effortless that I couldn't believe what I was seeing my body do. It was like watching from the stands at a rally. There was a soft plop and the sword was resting at the back of Whisper's neck.

 "Move another inch and I'll cut off the other one." Instantly, the arm on the floor turned to red light and was absorbed into my body. "I can't have you regenerating so quickly now."

 Whisper stood very still and made no acknowledgment of his having lost his arm. I could smell the fear exuding off of him. "What are you?"

 Lillith didn't answer.

 More guards came pouring out of the city's entrance. Whisper took the chance to teleport away. His minions immediately collapsed, lifeless. I could feel my body revert. Stamina reserves at two percent.

 "I made it just in time." I said weakly to myself. And then, I fainted.