The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the forest floor as our group made its way through the familiar paths toward the burial site. The successful engine improvements had lifted everyone's spirits earlier, but now a solemn quiet had settled over us. Sixteen of us walked together: myself, Ruri, Noel, Miyako, Airi, Mei, Sakura, Hiroko, Kazuki, Sora, Yuto, Miyuki, Mochi, Hitomi, Emi, and Yuna, our footsteps muffled by fallen leaves.

"I still can't believe they're gone," Emi whispered, clutching Yuna's hand tightly. "Daiki, Kaito, Shota... they were just trying to make it back to us."

Yuna nodded, tears already glistening in her eyes. "We should have been there. We should have protected them somehow."

Miyako placed a gentle hand on Emi's shoulder. "There was nothing any of us could have done. You know that."

Noel's rabbit ears drooped slightly as she spoke with quiet authority. "The Vulpyn and Lupyn volunteers who discovered the bodies ensured they received proper burial according to your customs. All fifteen names." Her voice carried the diplomatic weight of someone who had overseen similar ceremonies. "Such losses... they weigh heavily on any community."

"Fifteen," Miyuki repeated softly, her Mnemonic abilities ensuring she would never forget the exact count. "Shinji, Kenji, Ryo, Taro, Hiroshi, Akira from the delinquents. Keita, Mei, Ren, Rio, Saki, Yuma from the Populares. Daiki, Kaito, and Shota from the studious boys."

"The Canari who found them spoke of their courage," Noel continued, her melodious voice carrying across our group. "Even in death, it was clear they had fought to protect each other. Such bonds honour both the living and the fallen."

Ruri's silver-patterned ears twitched forward as she walked beside me, her gossamer dress catching the dappled sunlight. "In Lunethnari tradition, we believe the dead continue to watch over those they loved. Perhaps they guide us still, even now."

I felt the weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders like a lead cloak. As someone who had become a leader among our class, every loss felt personal. Every classmate who didn't make it home was a failure I carried. Classic protagonist guilt complex, I suppose, but knowing that didn't make it any easier to bear.

"We're going to pay our respects," I said, more to myself than anyone else. "Tell them we're sorry. Tell them we'll remember."

Kazuki adjusted his glasses, their lenses catching the fading light. "Do you think... do you think they knew? At the end?"

"Knew what?" Sora asked quietly.

"That we cared. That we were looking for them."

The question hung in the air like incense, heavy and meaningful. None of us had an immediate answer.

As we crested a small hill, Noel suddenly stopped, her ears snapping to attention. Behind her, Ruri's ears mimicked the movement, both rabbit-folk sensing something wrong before the rest of us could perceive it.

"Something's not right," Noel said, her diplomatic composure cracking slightly. "The grove should be just ahead, but..."

We quickened our pace, pushing through a stand of pine trees that opened into what should have been a peaceful burial ground. Instead, we found horror.

The carefully arranged burial site had been completely destroyed. Stones lay scattered like broken teeth. The earth had been torn open, leaving a gaping pit where our classmates should have been resting in peace. Fresh dirt was scattered everywhere, as if something had clawed its way up from below.

"No," Emi breathed, her voice barely a whisper. "No, no, no..."

Yuna fell to her knees, staring at the desecrated grave. "They're gone. Someone took them. Someone..."

A low, inhuman growl echoed from the tree line behind us.

We turned as one, and the breath left my lungs in a rush. Fourteen figures stepped out of the shadows between the trees, moving with jerky, unnatural gaits. My classmates, my dead classmates, stood before us with burning red eyes and flesh that seemed to writhe with dark energy.

Shinji wasn't among them.

Well, this is just brilliant. Nothing says "peaceful memorial visit" like zombie classmates. The universe really has a sick sense of humour sometimes.

Kenji's corpse raised its head, shadow-flames dancing around its eye sockets. Beside him, Akira's form pulsed with corrupted fire magic that cast sick, dancing lights across the clearing. The popular kids stood in a loose formation, their once-pristine appearances now twisted into mockeries of life. Daiki, Kaito, and Shota shambled forward, their studious demeanour replaced by a terrible hunger.

"By all the divine," Noel gasped, her hands moving instinctively to defensive positions. "This is abomination. Necromancy of the vilest sort."

Ruri's playful demeanour vanished completely, replaced by cold analysis. "Not necromancy," she said grimly. "Shadow animation. Something is puppeteering their corpses directly."

Emi screamed, a raw, broken sound that cut through the evening air. Yuna collapsed completely, sobs wracking her body as she stared at the animated remains of her former clique.

"Kazuki! Sora!" I shouted, my voice cutting through the shocked silence. "Evacuate the non-combatants! Get Emi and Yuna back to the cave! Guard them but do not summon reinforcements; we handle this here!"

My old gaming buddies didn't hesitate. Kazuki scooped up the sobbing Yuna while Sora helped steady Emi, who was shaking so violently she could barely stand.

"Come on," Kazuki said gently. "We need to go. Now."

As they disappeared back along the path, I turned to face the impossible horror before us. Fourteen of our classmates, twisted into undead puppets, stood ready to attack the living. So much for a respectful memorial service. I suppose this is what happens when you don't spring for the premium burial package.

"Formation!" Miyako called, her raid leader instincts kicking in despite the surreal circumstances. "Casters to the back! Melee fighters forward!"

The undead attacked without warning.

Kenji's corpse raised one rotting hand, and a barrage of shadow bolts erupted from his fingertips. The dark projectiles screamed through the air like living things, trailing wisps of void energy. Akira's form ignited with corrupted flame magic, fire that burned black and gave off no heat, an abomination of the Elementa plane twisted by Umbra influence.

"Shields up!" Noel commanded, her diplomatic authority translating seamlessly to battlefield command. She raised her hands, and a shimmering barrier of pure solar energy sprang into existence before our group. The shadow bolts struck the barrier and dissipated with hissing sounds like acid on metal.

Ruri moved beside her, gossamer dress flowing as she called upon lunar magic. Silver light erupted from her palms, weaving together with Noel's solar projection to create a defence that incorporated both aspects of Astra magic. "The magic is corrupted," she called over the sound of impacts against their shield. "Shadow and fire, bound together by something that shouldn't exist!"

I immediately reached out with my Thaumaturgic Sovereign abilities, trying to establish a Nullification Field around the undead attackers. The skill that had served me so well in previous battles activated smoothly, sending waves of null-magic energy toward the animated corpses.

Nothing happened.

"The field isn't taking effect," I called to the others, sweat already beading on my forehead. "Whatever's animating them, it's not producing normal spell signatures. It's like trying to dispel a fundamental force!"

Rio's corpse opened its mouth and screamed, the sound containing frequencies that shouldn't have been possible for human vocal cords. Mei's animated form began floating three feet off the ground, reality warping around her in ways that made my eyes water to look at directly.

"They're using our abilities!" Miyuki shouted, her Mnemonic skills allowing her to recognise the patterns. "The shadow force is accessing their system skills!"

Mei's floating corpse gestured with both hands, and I felt reality shiver around us. Space began to compress, trying to crush us together like insects. Miyuki immediately responded, her hands moving in complex patterns as she activated her Time Bubble ability. The air around us took on a golden shimmer, and suddenly we were moving at normal speed while Mei's reality manipulation crawled forward like honey.

"Reality Manipulation," Mei's living namesake called out, her own hands glowing with mathematical formulae. "I can try to counteract it, but I need time to build the proper equations!"

"Working on it!" Miyuki replied through gritted teeth, sweat running down her face as she maintained the temporal effect.

Hiroko stepped forward, her hands beginning to glow with the distinctive silver light of Time Manipulation. "I can give you more breathing room," she said, and suddenly the entire battlefield was moving in slow motion except for us. The undead's attacks became sluggish, their movements telegraphed and easy to avoid.

But the effort was clearly draining both ladies rapidly.

Airi tried next, calling upon her Arcane Engineering abilities to create complex illusions around the undead. Phantasmal walls sprang up, false terrain shifted and moved, and duplicate images of our group appeared scattered across the battlefield.

The undead completely ignored all of it.

"Illusions aren't working!" Airi called, panic creeping into her voice. "They're not seeing with normal senses!"

Kenji's corpse raised both hands, and six missiles of pure magical force erupted from his fingertips. The magic missiles, crafted from raw Arcana plane energy, streaked toward our defensive line with unerring accuracy.

Ruri and Noel's combined barrier flared as the missiles struck, silver and gold light fluctuating wildly. Cracks appeared in the energy construct, spreading like fractures in glass.

"The barrier won't hold much longer!" Noel called, her elegant features strained with effort.

Yuma's animated form began spinning in place, and suddenly ice shards the size of spears were launching at us from multiple directions. The combination of his original Elementa and Arcana abilities was creating attacks that defied conventional magical theory.

"We can't keep being defensive!" Airi shouted over the chaos, her usual tactical mind asserting itself despite her earlier panic. "They're coordinating too well; they'll break through eventually!"

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Miyako, Yuto, and I exchanged looks. We all knew what needed to happen.

"Breakthrough," Miyako ordered, her voice carrying the authority of hundreds of successful raids. "Andie, Yuto, with me. We punch through their melee line and give Ruri and Noel bandwidth to maintain the shields."

I drew my Concordium katana, the impossible alloy singing as it cleared its sheath. The blade caught the fading sunlight and reflected it as something that wasn't quite light, wasn't quite shadow, but somehow both at once.

Yuto moved beside me, his hands glowing with enhanced strength as his Monk abilities activated. Perfect Balance and Chain Attacks were already flowing through his stance, preparing him for the coordinated assault we'd need.

Miyako activated her Reality Anchoring, creating a zone of stabilised space around us that would prevent the undead from using their more exotic abilities to devastating effect. The mathematical precision of her Arcane Bulwark training shimmered in the air around our strike force.

"Now!" she called.

We charged.

Kenji's corpse met my rush with inhuman speed, its rotted hands somehow wielding Subjugation magic that tried to lock my limbs in place. I felt the foreign will pressing against my mind, but my infinity wisdom and charisma ratings held firm, burning away the attempt at control like sunlight through fog. Finally, a practical use for my charisma stat beyond attracting trouble!

My katana swept in a perfect Iaijutsu arc, the divine alloy parting shadow-flesh with surgical precision. Kenji's animated form split cleanly in half, the red glow in its eyes flickering out as the animation spell lost cohesion.

Beside me, Yuto was dancing between three attackers, his monk abilities allowing him to fight on terrain that shouldn't have been stable. Hiroshi's corpse launched jets of poisonous flame while Akira's form created walls of shadow-fire that cut off escape routes. Ryo's animated body kept trying to use Mesmerize magic to lock Yuto's gaze.

Yuto's Chain Attacks activated, his enhanced fists striking precise points on each undead in rapid succession. Where his hands landed, the shadow animation flickered and weakened. He might not be able to disrupt it completely, but he was definitely damaging the control matrix.

"Weak points!" he called back to the others. "The animation has structural vulnerabilities! Target the major joints and the head!"

Miyako had engaged Saki and Rio simultaneously, her Reality Anchoring creating a bubble where their reality-warping abilities couldn't take hold. Her gel blaster fired specialised rounds that she'd enhanced with her magical abilities; each impact delivered a burst of null-magic energy directly into the animation matrix.

Behind us, our caster support was laying down covering fire. Mei had successfully countered the reality compression effect and was now working on offensive applications of her mathematical magic. Gravitational fields appeared around individual undead, making their movements sluggish and predictable.

Sakura and Mochi had positioned themselves to provide immediate healing support. Sakura's enhanced healing magic was keeping small injuries from accumulating into serious wounds, while Mochi was using her Biological Adaptation abilities to help us resist the various toxins and corrupting influences the undead were throwing around.

Hiroko was maintaining tactical control of the battlefield's temporal flow, speeding us up when we needed quick strikes and slowing down incoming attacks when possible. The silver glow of her Time Manipulation created shifting zones across the clearing where different participants moved at different rates.

But the undead kept coming.

Kaito's animated form suddenly erupted with Battle Omniscience, its tactical awareness becoming supernaturally acute. It began coordinating the remaining attackers with ruthless efficiency, directing them to exploit every small gap in our formation.

Shota's corpse activated what looked like Death Strike, its hands glowing with energy that I absolutely didn't want touching any of us. The precision execution ability that had once belonged to my studious classmate was now being used by a shadow puppet to target our vital points.

"This is taking too long!" Airi called, her illusionist abilities creating tactical illusions that actually seemed to be having some effect. "We're starting to take real damage!"

She was right. Despite our coordination, the undead were wearing us down through sheer persistence. Miyako had a cut along her left arm where Rio's claws had gotten past her defences. Yuto was favouring his right leg after Taro's shadow magic had managed to partially connect. Even with our healers working constantly, the accumulated strain was showing.

I activated more of my Thaumaturgic Sovereign abilities, layering Counterstrike energy around my katana. Every time I parried or blocked one of their attacks, kinetic force would bounce back at the attacker, hopefully destabilising their animation matrices.

The strategy worked. Taro's corpse tried to grapple me, and the Counterstrike effect sent shadow energy crackling back through its form. The red glow in its eyes flickered, and for a moment, its movements became less coordinated.

"Energy reflection works!" I called to the others. "Anyone with counter-abilities, use them!"

Mei nodded, her reality mathematics shifting to create reflection fields around our melee fighters. Suddenly every attack the undead made against us was being partially turned back on themselves, creating a feedback loop that steadily weakened their animation spells.

The tide of battle began to turn.

One by one, we systematically destroyed the animated corpses of our former classmates. Each victory felt like a small death, a piece of our innocence burning away as we were forced to fight the twisted remains of people we'd known and cared about. If someone had told me at orientation that I'd one day be dismembering the reanimated corpses of my peers, I'd have requested a different homeroom.

When the last undead, Yuma's ice-wielding form, finally fell to a combined assault from all of us, the clearing fell silent except for our ragged breathing.

Multiple system notifications chimed simultaneously as the adrenaline began to fade:

[Combat Complete: Undead Opposition Eliminated] [Exceptional Performance Under Extreme Circumstances] [Class Evolution Requirements Met for Multiple Participants]

Around me, several of my classmates began to glow with the distinctive light of class advancement:

Miyuki's form was surrounded by swirling golden and silver energy as her Mnemonic class evolved. [Class Evolution: Mnemonic → Chronosophist - Hybrid Memory/Foresight/Temporal Magic Specialisation]

Mochi glowed with gentle green light mixed with surgical precision as her healing abilities transformed. [Class Evolution: Chirurgeon → Chirurgical Thaumaturge - Magical Battlefield Surgery and Combat Healing]

Mei's mathematical formulae became visible in the air around her as her reality-based abilities reached new heights. [Class Evolution: Arithmetician → Arcathmetician - Reality Mathematics and Gravitational Magic]

Sakura's healing abilities took on temporal aspects, silver light mixing with her traditional green healing aura. [Class Evolution: Healer → Temporist - Chrono-Enhanced Healing and Time Magic]

Hiroko's time magic reached unprecedented levels, pure arcane energy wreathing her form. [Class Evolution: Sorcerer → Arcana Empress - Supreme Arcane Command and Mastery]

Miyako's defensive abilities merged with her arcane knowledge, creating a hybrid specialisation. [Class Evolution: Arcane Bulwark → Aegis Arcanum - Unified Defence and Magic Mastery]

Airi's illusion magic evolved into comprehensive tactical capabilities. [Class Evolution: Illusionist → Phantasmarch - Advanced Illusion and Magical Tactics]

For a moment, wonder at their advancement pushed aside the horror of what we'd just experienced. These weren't just power increases; they were fundamental transformations that would give us new capabilities for whatever challenges lay ahead. Of course, the universe would pick the most traumatic possible moment to hand out class upgrades. Nothing motivates like fighting the reanimated bodies of your dead friends, apparently.

But the awe faded quickly as we looked around at the scattered remains of our classmates' bodies.

"We need to count," I said quietly, my voice hoarse from the battle. "Make sure we got all of them."

We moved systematically through the clearing, identifying each destroyed form. Kenji, Ryo, Taro, Hiroshi, Akira. Keita, Ren, Rio, Saki, Yuma. Daiki, Kaito, Shota. Plus Mei from the Populares, who had been with them when they died.

"Fourteen," Miyuki confirmed, her new Chronosophist abilities allowing her to process the count with mental clarity. "But..."

"Shinji's not here," I finished grimly. "His body wasn't among them."

A chill settled over the group that had nothing to do with the evening air.

"We have to burn them," I said, the words feeling like acid in my throat. "It's the only way to make sure this can't happen again."

Noel nodded solemnly. "The Canari protocols for dealing with animated dead are clear. Cremation prevents re-animation."

"I'll do it," I said, stepping forward. Nobody argued.

I called upon my fire magic, drawing from the Elementa plane to create cleansing flames that would burn hot and clean. One by one, I cremated the remains of my classmates, whispering apologies and farewells as their corrupted forms turned to ash.

The smell of burning shadow-magic lingered in the air long after the flames died down.

"I should have protected them," I said, staring at the small piles of ash that were all that remained. "I was supposed to be a leader. I failed them."

"You didn't fail anyone," Miyako said firmly, placing her hand on my shoulder. "We all did what we could with what we had. Sometimes that's not enough, and that's not your fault."

But the weight of responsibility still sat heavy on my chest. Every injury the team had sustained, every moment of terror they'd experienced, it all traced back to my decision to come here.

"We should go back," Ruri said gently. "The others will be worried, and we need to..."

The sky abruptly darkened, as if someone had thrown a blanket over the sun.

Above us, shadow magic was coalescing into a sphere of pure darkness, growing larger and denser with each passing second. The meteor-like construct radiated malevolent energy that made my teeth ache and my shadow-bond with Rurielle scream warnings across the distance.

At the epicentre of the growing shadow meteor, a familiar figure materialised.

Shinji's corpse stood suspended in midair, but this wasn't like the shambling puppets we'd just fought. His form radiated intelligence, power, and terrible purpose. His eyes burned with the same red light, but there was something else there, a calculating awareness that the other undead had lacked.

The shadow force wasn't just animating him. It was using him as its champion.

"Classmates," Shinji's corpse spoke, its voice carrying harmonics that no human throat should produce. "You should not have come here."

"Shinji," I said, raising my katana. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry it's come to this."

"Shinji is gone," the puppet replied, shadow energy crackling around its form. "Only purpose remains. Only the completion of the great work."

The shadow meteor above us began to pulse, each pulse sending waves of corrupting energy across the clearing. Where the energy touched, plants withered and rocks cracked. This wasn't just animation magic; this was something that could reshape reality on a fundamental level.

"Cataclysmic spell!" Ruri called, her analysis abilities working overtime. "If that meteor completes formation, it'll devastate everything for miles!"

Miyako immediately moved to engage Shinji directly, her new Aegis Arcanum abilities creating protective fields around herself as she closed distance. Her gel blaster fired enhanced rounds that should have disrupted the animation magic, but Shinji's form simply absorbed the impacts without effect.

Shinji gestured with one hand, and Miyako was suddenly flying backward, struck by invisible force that sent her tumbling across the clearing. "Miyako!" I shouted, but Noel was already moving to help her.

"Get her to safety!" I ordered Noel, who nodded and began dragging Miyako away from the immediate combat zone. "Ruri, can you counter that meteor?"

"I'm trying!" Ruri called back, her hands weaving complex patterns as she channelled lunar magic toward the growing shadow construct. Silver light met pure darkness in a clash that sent sparks of energy raining down around us.

Shinji's attention turned to her, and I saw the calculation in those burning red eyes. Six magic missiles erupted from his fingertips, streaking toward Ruri with perfect accuracy.

She was completely focused on the counter-spell, unable to defend herself.

"No!" I screamed, throwing myself forward.

The missiles struck Ruri before I could reach her, each impact sending waves of corrupting energy through her form. She cried out and stumbled, her counter-spell faltering as the shadow magic tore at her essence.

But she didn't stop. Even as the corruption spread through her magical aura, she continued channelling lunar magic into the growing meteor. Silver light battled shadow in an epic clash of cosmic forces.

The meteor began to destabilise, its perfect sphere cracking and warping as Ruri's magic found purchase. With a sound like reality tearing, the construct imploded rather than exploded, the shadow energy dispersing harmlessly into the evening air.

Shinji's corpse turned to face me, and for the first time, I saw something like frustration in those inhuman eyes. "You persist in defying the inevitable."

"Always," I replied, raising my katana. "That's what we do."

The final battle was swift but desperate. Shinji's shadow-enhanced abilities made him faster and stronger than any of the previous undead, but he was still ultimately just an animated corpse. My katana, forged from the impossible Concordium, cut through his defences like they were made of paper.

When the blade pierced his chest, the red glow in his eyes flickered and died. The shadow energy animating his form dispersed like smoke, leaving only the still corpse of my former classmate.

I immediately called upon my fire magic again, cremating Shinji's body with the same respectful flames I'd used for the others. This time, I made sure to burn every trace, leaving nothing that could be corrupted again.

When I turned around, Ruri was on her knees, the shadow corruption spreading visibly through her aura. Her usual confident smile was wan but still present.

"Ah," she said weakly as I rushed to her side, "finally I got embraced again, although not the reason I wanted it to be."

Then she collapsed, unconsciousness taking her as the corruption continued to eat at her magical essence.

"Ruri!" I screamed, catching her as she fell. Her normally vibrant form felt fragile in my arms, her gossamer dress torn and stained with shadow-magic residue.

Without another word, I lifted her and began running toward the cave, my heart hammering against my ribs as I pushed my enhanced physical abilities to their limits.

"Don't you dare leave me," I whispered to her unconscious form as I ran. "Not after I finally embraced you."

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