Undead Lord of Gluttonous Pride

Damien sat in front of a campfire, his back leaning against the wall of a house, his gaze sweeping over the empty, dry road he and his fellow undead were at.

The crackling sound of the fire felt like music to his nonexistent ear as he gazed up towards the moon that was still...

...In the same place.

He had asked Howrah about this peculiar phenomenon of the world.

"Hm, oh, that?"

Damien and Howrah sat on the steps of the cathedral, gazing at the moon in all its glory as it continued to look out for those in need of light. Damien noticed that Howrah seemed to be staring wistfully at it—a sense of longing.

"Do you perhaps remember what the sun roughly looked like?"

"Somewhat."

Damien had already processed a good portion of Damien's real memories. The thought of a giant ball of fire hanging in the ever-expanding darkness of space felt almost surreal to him.

...But he knew, of course, that it was real.

Howrah raised his frail hand towards the sky, blocking out the moon with it.

"It was a beautiful sight. Although it leaves many blinded by its majesty, people still come to find joy under its warm light. The times when summer was upon us, and the large harvests brought us plentiful amounts of food. The times when it was a source of hope for those lost in the wild and didn't their east or west."

Damien sensed great sadness behind his words. Each word brings about the feeling of loss—similar to the feeling of grief...

... And also the feeling of loneliness...

"This beauty was then taken away from us as soon as it began."

"What began?"

Damien asked. He was curious. How could he not be if the very thing Howrah was going to say was the very thing for the mighty sun's disappearance?

A thing of that size disappears suddenly and is replaced by a floating rock that is a multitude smaller compared to it. This is a question everyone needs to answer.

"The Sixth Cycle."

'What an ominous name.' Damien thought.

He then asked in an urging tone:

"What's is The Sixth Cycle?"

"That is the name of this era we're currently in, my boy. Some scholars refer to each era by their cycle name, but some decide to give each one a name. This one is currently called "The Era of Eternal Dusk." It is a fitting name."

He paused, his body quivering, before calming down and speaking evenly:

"I was there when the world shifted into this era. The scene of the heaven's cracking before my eyes is still burned into my retinas. And behind those cracks in the Skyveil created by the Gods to protect our world were horrors much greater than that damn Leviathan. They seeped into our world. The corruption it had leaked before in the 3rd Cycle was greatly amplified."

He rested his forehead against his staff before continuing again, this time no longer being able to hold back the fear that had gripped his heart.

"It was a living hell... Although I have fought in many wars for my people and remained steadfast during them, this war against the Great Abyss was unlike any war I have participated in. It was unpredictable, ravenous, and, at the same time—hungry. Hundreds died on the first day, thousands on the next. Millions in the first month!" He screamed with anguish in his voice.

His horrid, screechy voice grew hoarser with each word spat.

"Despite every nation having the best officers and soldiers the past empires had ever seen, we were still losing against their overwhelming might. One by one, every one of our soldiers was lost to the corruption. Both in the line of duty and being taken over through the stress of it all... We all should have allied with one another..."

He breathed deeply, "But each and every one of them was too prideful to do so. And that is why... Damien..."

He gently clutched Damien's shoulder, shakily staring at him.

"You must never let your pride consume you, my boy."