Ebony was holding her companion's hand, now understanding more clearly who he was after hearing his story.
"I… I'm really sorry about what happened to you, Daniel," Ebony said, sadness heavy in her voice.
"Nah, don't worry about it… That bastard is still out there… But one day… One good day, I'll find him and kill him… You'll see… I swear I will…" Daniel said as his eyes slowly began to close.
"No, no, no, don't you dare fall asleep, idiot. Keep talking, what happened after that?" The blonde shook the boy's body, his head resting on her thighs.
"Ah… No, I don't remember everything… Being controlled by a Masked Soul isn't simple. It's like watching your life from so far behind your own consciousness that it feels more like a dream… The last thing I remember after that… I think it was…" His voice grew weaker.
Daniel was losing strength with every passing second, reliving that moment helping him cling to life, stretching seconds into minutes.
But even those minutes were running out.
"I remember a rain of rocks and then darkness… Then the sound of lightning in the forest… A voice screaming like a lunatic, ha… And an idiot with green hair like the one coming over there," Daniel said, pointing weakly toward the horizon.
From the forest near the river emerged Lucian, the green-haired half-elf who had gone to retrieve a banshee's tear.
He began running with all his strength toward the dim light of the inn, as Ebony and Daniel were only meters away from its door, illuminated by the only lantern in the entire plain.
"What the hell are you talking about? I don't see anything," Ebony said, trying to sharpen her sight, but in the middle of the night it was nearly impossible for her mortal eyes.
"You can't see him? Ha… Figures, dwarves must have bad eyesight," the boy remarked before letting out a faint laugh.
The blonde started laughing as well and gently tapped the boy on the head. They understood each other through such rough banter that neither dared to think they might miss the other.
After a few moments, Lucian arrived. He was out of breath and bore signs of battle—his clothes torn by what looked like claw marks, and a thin line of blood running from the corner of his lips down to his chin.
"You took a long time…" Ebony said with a relieved smile.
"Did you… manage to heal him?" Lucian asked, then knelt down and handed over a glass bottle that had once held a healing potion, but now contained a few tears along with a banshee's eye. "I guess we won't be needing the potion after all, huh?"
Ebony didn't know how to explain her situation with her trait, so she chose to keep that information to herself and only tell part of the truth.
"He's still cursed… I can't heal him, and healing potions don't work on him either… I have no idea what he has… What do we do?" Ebony asked, lowering her gaze, ashamed of her inability to save her companion.
"Well, I suppose… purifying someone with the zombie curse is more effective during the day than at night… The curse must have progressed too far. Maybe the potion really is our only option after all," Lucian said, watching the blonde's expression.
"Don't worry… It's not your fault," the elf added, trying to comfort Ebony, who held back her tears, unwilling to cry in front of others.
"Hey, don't make those faces… I'm still here, idiots… It's not that bad… If it's a cult chasing you, just tell them the truth and you'll get out of this…" Daniel interrupted, his voice tired.
"The truth? What is he talking about?" the elf asked, looking at Ebony, but she remained silent, unsure how to tell that story.
At that moment, a distant neigh cut through the conversation.
It was Richard, the ghost rider, and Veronica, the feral catwoman. Both were riding a spectral steed galloping across the plain, glowing with the magic that formed its ghostly body.
After a brief wait, the steed arrived. Veronica immediately dismounted, her head spinning and on the verge of vomiting.
For a feral with instincts and senses as sharp as an animal's, being near a high-level undead was suffocating.
"We have bad news, miss. The village did let your friend in, but there wasn't a single shop open selling cat tears. Your friend tried everything, even capturing a stray cat, but it was all in vain," Richard said, shaking his head.
"What?! Then what are we supposed to do now?" Ebony asked, worried for her companion.
Richard stroked his white beard thoughtfully, though his face remained emotionless, as if he were making the effort out of curiosity rather than empathy.
"(Shit… What do we do… Think, idiot, think!)" the blonde thought as she held Daniel's hand, feeling the strength of his grip slowly fading.
Ebony looked at Veronica and noticed the fur on her ears—it was black. Then she saw her cat tail, also covered in black fur. The conclusion was insane, but she didn't have many options left.
"Veronica! Come here!" the blonde shouted, then snatched the glass vial containing the banshee's eye from Lucian's hands.
"Veronica, I know this is crazy… But we have to try… Cry and leave even a single tear in the bottle!" Ebony said, removing the cork and offering it to the catwoman.
"What? Do you think I'm some fucking animal or what the hell?" Veronica snapped, her gaze completely serious.
For ferals, being treated like animals was a grave insult, after centuries of being enslaved by humans.
"No! Of course not! But… But we don't have any other options… Maybe it won't work, or maybe it will, but we won't know what happens if we don't try," Ebony said, softening her voice, asking for that favor with all the kindness she could muster.
"It's not a bad idea… Not a good one either, but I guess it's better than nothing. The recipe says banshee tears and a black cat. Logically, it might work. Either way, I don't think it can get any worse," Richard said, shrugging indifferently.
Lucian tried to think through the possible consequences. He had never studied curses or potions, but he knew the basics of how the soul functioned from his spiritual training.
"Richard… is right. Either way, the boy will die if we do nothing… Please, Veronica, help us with this, and we'll owe you forever…" the elf said, bowing his head in supplication.
"Alright, alright, stop making those faces, damn it… I'll do it," the catwoman replied, taking the glass vial.
Veronica, who believed herself as tough as stone, began to remember the moment she lost her father. He had been cursed just like the boy, dying in pain in his own bed.
That memory drew out a tear, which she let fall into the vial. As the liquids mixed, the vial began to glow, and in an instant it transformed into a purple liquid, the banshee's eye floating within it.
Without wasting a second, Ebony removed the banshee's eye and threw it to the ground. Then, carefully, she placed the glass against Daniel's lips, making him drink the purple liquid.
Several minutes of silence passed, until the boy's eyes began to glow with a purple light, his soul starting to transmute.