Everyone was afraid of the forest after dark, but the barrier wall gave the villagers a feeling of safety. The wall was full of spikes – not to save the village from darkness, but from what lurks within it: the undead, trudging between the trees when day gave way to night, at one touch spreading death like famine. And the spikes were etched with runes and magical charms – to save the village from Assur.

Greta knew not to stay in the forest after dark. She genuinely feared it. But at the same time, fear was... exciting. Something drew her to the darkness, making her want to play further and further away from the safety of the wall and to keep coming home long after curfew. It was the shadow, slithering in the air among the treetops; the serpent that chased away the moon, as folk tales told. It was what she feared the most... and what fascinated her the most.

And finally she met him. While picking berries for her mother, she ventured deep into the forest as the sky turned gray. Her eye caught a movement between the trees; she saw dark scales and rotting flesh gliding in a slow, uncanny way, so close above her head. She couldn't run away, mortified—and bewitched. Assur, the Lord of Death, pierced her with his empty stare. She saw the void, and she was mesmerized by it, at once paralyzed with fear and awe. She knew that in a moment, the dragon’s deadly breath would engulf her, and she would join those walking in the woods at night. A sudden jerk knocked her out of her stupor; someone grabbed her palm and forced her to run. It was Kay, the farmhand.

***

Contrary to the folk tales, Assur did not chase anyone, ever. His legion was growing slowly, but there was no rush. Death came for everyone. Someday, it would penetrate the barrier wall too. The villagers will receive his gift.

***

Years passed, and it was as if Kay had never let go of Greta’s hand. The girl turned into a woman, and the boy turned into a man, but the bond of love remained the same. They had to keep their dates secret, as Greta’s father had promised her to another man. But they had their ways: a hidden passage in the barrier wall, through which they could sneak out without anyone seeing them. The only witness to their affection was the forest... though whenever they stayed in the thicket too long, Greta would occasionally spot the gray shadow slithering between the trees.

Though they’d always been careful, one day, Greta and Kay ventured too deep into the forest too late in the evening. Carried away by their affection, they did not see an undead walker before it was too late: the monster came at them out of nowhere, scratching Kay’s hand. They ran back to the village to get the wound treated, but death had already spread through Kay’s veins. Life left his body soon after the medic stretched him on his table. The villagers knew that Kay would soon come back, so there was only one thing left to do: a wooden stake had to be driven through Kay’s heart, and his head had to be cut off and buried between his legs.

Greta could not let that happen. She stole a trolley from the village miller, loaded her lover’s body onto it, and sneaked out into the forest. Death had torn her and Kay apart, and only death could reunite them. She had to find Assur.

***

Individual minds withered, but the legion ascended, with all the memories of the new member shared and dissolved in the collective experience of the swarm. Assur did not take lives. His only gift to the world was immortality: an eternal life in eternal death.

***

Greta and Kay trudged through the forest, hand in hand. Their skin was gray, and their eyes were empty. Greta’s memories waned in the collective soup of the undead hivemind. Only one thing abided: her hand would never separate from Kay’s. But something else must have remained, for one night, Greta and Kay found themselves right in front of their secret passage through the barrier wall.

Death had sneaked into the village.