The Corruption- First Draft

Chapter 11

Early in the morning, everyone gathered in a circle around Ryo, and Jaryn's lifeless body that was placed upon a stone slab next to the cemetery. Ryo sat upon his chest for the last time, afraid to move from it though he couldn't feel the warmth from Jaryn anymore.
'Thank you, everyone, for joining me in the funeral. It means a lot to me, and surely Jaryn as well that you all decided to attend. And thank you Cassius especially for letting me perform the funeral rites here, I'll be forever indebted to you,' Cassius nodded simply as to say "you're welcome".
'The ceremony won't take long. After I connect with him one last time we'll burn the body and bury the remains,' he said, standing up and turning to face Jaryn's head. He laid a paw on his forehead, and closed his eyes as he concentrated.
Everyone watched with bated breath to see what would happen, but there was only silence. Ryo opened one of his eyes, confused as to why nothing was happening.
Then he felt a twitch. Ryo hissed as he jumped down from the slab, before Jaryn suddenly sprang up, groaning loudly as he tried to grab Ryo. Everyone gasped.
"That's not supposed to happen!" An'thaehl cried out as he stood up.
Ryo shook violently as he froze in place, staring up at Jaryn with wide eyes. Jaryn rolled off the slab, hitting the ground with a thud. He tried to grab Ryo, but An'thaehl swooped him up and backed away.
Akae rose from his seat, scimitar in hand as he ran at Jaryn, and slicing his head clean off his neck. Jaryn squirmed slightly, as if trying to reconnect his head, but slowly stopped moving after his hand gripped his own face.
Tears streamed from Ryo's eyes, pale as a ghost. He couldn't speak or move.
Garbone was shaking as she watched what unfolded. Akae quietly approached Ryo, who instinctively dug his claws into An'thaehl. "I'm so sorry, Ryo."
'Why the fuck didn't Kyazf warn this would happen?'
"He probably assumed we knew the risk. It's evil regardless that Hyalbtz caused this. We'll make it right once we deal with him," An'thaehl promised, putting him down on the ground.
Ryo cautiously approached Jaryn, expecting him to come back again though he remained lifeless and still. He sat by him, too upset to be grossed out by the gory display.
Garbone then approached him, sitting down beside him. "Is there anything we can do for you?"
'Just being here for me is enough. Thank you,' he said, crawling into Garbone's lap.
She gently scratched his head, causing him to purr. She felt the purring reverberate through her mind, making it difficult to keep her eyes open when she was already tired. But she willed herself to stay awake, for Ryo's sake.
As the group remained huddled around the still form of Jaryn, the quiet stretched on, broken only by the soft rustle of the wind and Ryo's faint, uneven breaths. Garbone continued to stroke his head, her fingers gentle and no longer trembling. The others stood in uneasy silence, their gazes shifting between Jaryn's mangled body and Ryo's fragile form.
"We can't stay here," Akae said finally, his voice low but firm. "This isn't over."
"What do you mean?" An'thaehl asked, his wings twitching nervously.
Akae's eyes narrowed as he gestured to Jaryn's remains. "This... whatever just happened- it wasn't natural. It wasn't just death reanimated; something twisted and dark intervened. If Hyalbtz did this, then this is only the beginning. I've seen a lot of my men reanimate, and none of them acted like that."
Morinthir stepped forward, her arms crossed and her brow furrowed. "Akae's right. There's no way Jaryn's body would react like this without some external force. Rituals like the one Ryo performed shouldn't bring anything back. Not like that."
Ryo lifted his head slightly, his purple eyes dulled by exhaustion and sorrow. "I... I didn't mean for this to happen. I just wanted to say goodbye," he whispered, his voice cracking under the weight of his guilt.
"No one's blaming you," Garbone said softly, holding him closer. "You didn't cause this."
"Reconnecting after death has always been welcomed by Lord Uvie," Morinthir said.
"But someone did cause this," Akae said sharply. He pointed to Jaryn's body. "And Hyalbtz wanted us to see it. To know what he's capable of."
An'thaehl frowned. "You think this was a warning?"
Akae nodded grimly. "No doubt about it. He probably knows we were messing with his pet."
At those words, a chill swept through the group, as though the very air had grown heavier. Ryo shivered, curling deeper into Garbone's embrace. 'Then... we have to stop him,' he murmured, though his voice lacked the fire it once held.
"Not now," An'thaehl said quickly. "You need time to rest, and we need to regroup. We don't even know where to start."