811 Empty Shells

The fallen fort stood in the quiet of the late evening, its once proud walls and sophisticated structures now crumbled.

The sun had set, and a pale moon cast a silvery glow over the scene, highlighting the devastation. The stone walls, once tall and strong, were broken in many places, with large gaps where the enemy's siege weapons had struck. Shards of unmelting ice littered the area, and broken pieces of technology was scattered all around.

Inside the devastated Fort, the courtyard was cleared of all the debris.

Replacing the sullied flag of the Dwarven Republic, and the broken weapons that had been vandalized to ruin, were the Giants who sat peacefully under the sky's blanket and the dim light of the stars.

They waited there patiently, all of them like dogs.

Their gaze was fixed on a rather tall makeshift tent that had been built for the purpose of their Chief—the one that had given them such an outstanding victory.

—Ater himself.

***********

"Give me your report." Ater sat on a rather comfortable chair, with Justin and Belle occupying his right and left sides respectively.

Kneeling before him were the five Grand Knights of the Giants, and despite their clear subservience, they all seemed to be in an overly excited mood.

And it was with this smile on their faces that they gave the report he requested.

"... None of our own were killed, but many are currently injured. As for the Monsters, they're all dead. Since they were at the front lines, they were mostly our meat shields and—"

"Yeah, I understand. No need for the details." Ater raised his hand, forcing silence upon the Giant Mage.

She happily complied, returning to her bowed posture.

As Ater saw all of this, he smiled.

'I can already see what's going on in their minds… these simpletons. And it's not just them, either.' Ater glanced at both Belle and Justin, and he was once again filled with amusement.

The two of them were still recoiling from shock.

'I guess they didn't expect it would be that easy to take over the Fort.'

Earlier that day, right after they took down the Walls and began their attack on the Fort, he could hear several Giants sing his praise.

None of that surprised him either.

'They've been trying to tear down those walls for over a century, after all.'.

"This is only the beginning." Ater rose to his feet after uttering this, his gaze resting on the Grand Knights that now devoted everything they had to him.

"I still have more to show you."

They all raised their heads in surprise as he said this—their eyes full with expectation and wonder. Like little children, they drooled at the mere thought of what he desired to do next.

"This is the place that served as the graveyard for many Giants for over a century, isn't it? Thousands upon thousands of your comrades fell here… all of them trying their best to break past the walls…"

Their constant engagement with the Dwarves was what made the population of the Giants so small. Well, that and their terribly primitive lifestyle which featured several unhealthy choices.

All of that was going to change under his guidance, though.

"Follow me, everyone." He floated off, leaving the tent for the darkness awaiting him outside.

"Let me show you… a bit of my power."

************

'Haaa… look at them.'

Ater was currently hovering above thousands of Giants, all of their eyes on him. The cold evening breeze caused his black hair to dance about him, as his suit flapped in the air. Justin and Belle stood in front of the crowd—seated on the shoulder of the previous Chief of the Giants.

'I suppose I should begin…' Ater cast his gaze away from them and focused his attention on the wreckage of the walls, and plain lands that existed beyond them.

He had intentionally brought everyone here for one major purpose.

'This is the perfect place to use what I've been saving up for a while now.' ~HUMM~

Extending his palm forward, Ater conjured what appeared to be a pitch black orb—one that constantly warbled, with purple energy glowing with every hum.

All eyes were on him, but he ignored everyone and focused on the 'thing' he had just manifested.

'I've been stuffing most of my energy in this for months now. All my excesses and unused energy went into it, yet it only amounts to this much…'

It was pathetic by Ater's standards, but he reckoned it would be just enough to get the job done.

'Ancient MajiK… Chaos Art…' Inhaling deeply, he let the orb float off from his hands and ascend to the sky.

"Hollow Technique #1: Empty Shell." As soon as he uttered those words, everything in the world around Ater—as well as the Giants—fell into darkness.

It almost seemed as though the black orb had expanded to surround everyone and everything fr miles. Everyone was stuck and blind in the pitch-black world—forced to lay eyes on the only thing that was generating light.

—The orb itself,

It screamed with bright purple light, and with its scream, it sent its vile content into the earth.

The ground rumbled as it received all of its excess energy.

Cold chills—far colder than anything the night had to offer—began to spread through the bodies of all who witnessed this. They kept their eyes peeled until the last of the orb's energy was drained to the ground.

Then… the true horrors manifested.

The ground began to pulsate with false life, creating bright purple cracks on the floor.

It trembled.

It felt alive… no, more like something beneath it was alive.

"Come forth… empty ones… Shell Soldiers." Ater whispered with upward curled lips, forcing the entities buried underneath rock and debris.

They all dug their way up—thousands of them.

The fallen Giants of the recent past, as well as the dead Monsters that were lost during the recent assault… all of them were brought back in Ater's glory.

They all had darkness shrouding them, manifesting purple energy around their pale bodies as they rose from their graves.

Everyone's eyes widened in amazement as they witnessed this gloriously perverse sight.

Thousands of Undead were manifest, just from Ater's single command, and the Giants were forced to cheer and bow in worship of their great leader.

"Not yet…" His voice stopped them from going any further.

He glanced at them with amused eyes, revealing something that they had never thought was even conceivable.

"... Your celebrations are premature."

~RUMBLE!~

~RUMBLE!~

~RUMBLE!~

Tremors—much louder and more intense than the ones from earlier—echoed out.

They didn't stop.

Louder and louder, they rang and pierced the night.

Then… from the very depths of the earth… more hands began to claw their way out. This time, they emerged in their tens of thousands—rising from sediments that had formed over decades. They were not the recently deceased, but fallen ancestors whose rotting bodies and bones were now being regenerated by the power that only one man wielded.

"Here at last." Ater said with a satisfied smile.

The battlefield was now littered in a storm of death and chaos, as over a hundred thousand giants stood tall and proud.

Then, they all bowed to him.

Justin, Belle, and all of the other giants felt their bodies tremble as they witnessed all of this. They couldn't believe their eyes, and before they knew it… they all bowed as well.

Ater watched all of this silently, standing above everything like a god.

'All preparations have been made. This should be fun.'

*

*

*