Ozias stared straight ahead at the lady sitting without care on the railings, as if she wasn't risking falling into the water below.
She had long flowing white hair and striking blue eyes hidden behind a pair of blue tinted sunshades. She had a long blue dress on, with blue heels to match. Her appearance was that of someone coming from a night party or something.
The cloth was revealing, somewhat, but Ozias didn't seem to be looking at that. Instead, his eyes were trained on a dog seated close to her, staring straight at him with its soulless eyes.
It was a Zombie, albeit a dog.
'Come to think of it, I haven't seen animals around since this all began… Not even birds,' Ozias thought.
The dog was a Dobermann, its body decaying already, with its spine even shooting through its skin.
The dog just sat there, staring at the lady like a loyal guard dog.
Ozias didn't know what to make of the situation, until the lady spoke.
"Hello, handsome… What brings you here?" Her voice came with a sultry cadence, making Ozias' eyes shift towards her.
A haze shrouded his eyes momentarily, but with a shake of his head, it cleared.
The lady knitted her brows, her expression turning a bit dark.
"Who are you?" Ozias asked calmly, careful not to agitate her.
She might appear weak and vulnerable, but anyone who was in one piece in this period definitely had strength backing them, be it their personal strength, or someone else's.
His gaze moved to the Dobermann again.
It stood to its feet, now staring at him instead, saliva pouring out of its mouth.
"Oh? I'm no one special. Just a young lady trying to survive in this death-struck world," the lady voiced out calmly, betraying the raging emotions in her heart.
Ozias nodded slowly.
"I see…" He replied. "I'll be on my way then."
He began to walk forward, passing the lady without slowing down for a moment.
There was a huge distance between them, since the bridge was large, but Ozias could still smell the terrible stench coming from the dog.
'How is she putting up with that?' He couldn't help but think.
The smell was disturbing, so he hurried away.
'Will I become like this mindless smelling things too?' Ozias thought again, looking at his arm that was slowly festering.
'No! I must find an antidote.'
In no time Ozias descended the bridge, and he was faced with a storm of energy battering him with the force of seven men.
He pushed against it though, the power of the energy within him helping him out.
If one were to see him, it would look as if he was struggling against an unseen force. Though they could well and truly see the Flow in the air, it didn't warrant such reaction from him.
Only those who walked through it themselves would understand, and Ozias—being one of the first—couldn't explain it with words.
Eventually he reached the rift in reality; without any fanfare he stepped in, space distorting and tunneling around him, sending him into a separate dimension within seconds.
The lady in a blue dress watched all these happen from the railings she sat on. She didn't move, didn't make an attempt to do anything shady… But only watched. And when Ozias disappeared into the Dungeon, she sighed and turned around, staring into the distance.
A small smile illuminated her visage, and she made a peace sign and winked.
And, then…
She jumped.
Cole who was watching her from a distance with his binoculars scrunched his nose and scoffed.
He knew who she was. In fact anyone with decent knowledge of the Apocalypse, the Zombies and the System knew who she was.
Kiera Winters… The Undead Master.
The epithet was a bit ridiculous, as she could only control one Zombie at a time.
It proved to be useful though, as she had survived many horrors with her Zombie minion.
Countless times she had lost her undead, but Zombies were basically running rampant without restraints, so replacing them was as easy as getting jumped by one.
As she fell, her dress suddenly came alive, wrapping itself around her figure like a bodysuit. Its texture changed to look like smooth Kevlar, its defenses the same.
She plunged into the water like a pin, raising waves that seemed too small to be caused by a human.
A second later her undead Dobermann followed, creating a bigger splash.
Right after Kiera rose from the water… And stood on it.
She began to walk forward, towards the rift, while her undead pet swam behind her, its movements stiff and somewhat uncoordinated.
Kiera reached the rift at a steady pace and walked in much easier than Ozias could.
The Undead followed suit, just in time before the Dungeon collapsed on itself into a storm of light.
The light coalesced into a set of foreign figures in the air, however, whoever saw it was able to read it just fine—like they had learnt the language since birth.
It read:
___
[Time left: 23:58:14]
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Cole paled, his hands dropping to his hip and reaching for a communication device strapped to his waist.
He pressed a button and static played for a while, before an old drawn voice came through.
"What is it, Pinky?" The voice asked with a little giggle.
Cole ignored the nickname he was called by the person—even though he hated it— and focused, because there was something more important that he had to say.
"He entered a Dungeon…" Cole began in a hurried tone.
"Yeah, and so? Isn't that a goo…"
But Cole wasn't finished, cutting the voice off sharply.
"It's a timed Dungeon!"
***
Ozias found himself in a dark space, his feet ankle deep in the cold water beneath him.
"What is this place?" He voiced out silently, looking around with caution.
Ozias couldn't tell if he was in a hall, or in a large cave.
Stalactites riddled the ceiling of the large cavern. Jagged pillars, with the images of coiling serpents etched into them, lay in ruins on the floor.
Stalagmites were sparse, but existed too, glowing with a cold blue light as they reached for the stalactites above.
Ozias turned his head, studying his environment, and then his eyes rested on something unfathomably large, sleeping just ahead of him on an exalted platform.
___
[Zerathul, the Sea God of the Forgotten Abyss]
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