"Marked?" asked Alice hesitantly.
Asura nodded solemnly. " Necronic Seeds are used by the Named to track down prey. Anyone can plant them but they only activate once they sense life. Once they activate they leave traces behind. Which means anyone who has ever planted one is being hunted down as we speak. The Named probably won't come after us directly but if we encounter them while they're tracking down their targets it could get messy." explained the vampire princess gravely.
"So basically we're fucked?" blurted Zenyph bluntly earning a glare from Asura.
"Not necessarily. I destroyed the seed with magic, as long as we move away from here and hide somewhere else for the night the Named will overlook us." replied Asura reassuringly although her voice lacked conviction.
"Thanks for healing me. You really saved my life. I owe you one." thanked Alice graciously.
Asura waved off her gratitude. "Think nothing of it."
Zenyph eyed her curiously. Ever since we got here she's been friendly and helpful.
Asura looked up at Zenyph and glared icily.
"You on the other hand let Alice get hurt earlier so you don't deserve any praise." rebuked Asura harshly.
"I forgot dark magic was strong against water magic. It won't happen again." defended the water dragon prince.
"I hope not. If anything happens to her you will suffer the consequences." threatened Asura ominously.
Zenyph frowned at her statement. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't threaten me."
Asura merely scoffed rolling her eyes dismissively.
"Let's go. I'll carry Alice and you pick up the supplies. We'll head deeper into the woods and hide until sunrise."
Zenyph grunted in response as he proceed to put the tent supplies back in his spatial ring. After gathering all of their belongings he followed his two companions through the dense forestry heading towards safety.
They trekked through the frozen woods until they reached a clearing. There stood a gravely lit up stone building. The structure resembled an ancient church. The exterior walls were constructed of granite bricks and marble pillars decorated the perimeter.
"What's this doing in the woods?" asked Zenyph as he looked around suspiciously.
"Probably a remnant of the ancient civilization. It looks pretty sturdy but it's better to be safe than sorry so be careful." warned Asura as she walked towards the entrance.
Zenyph's body felt heavy as he looked at the broken down church. He felt uneasy. His body instinctively took a step back. His mind urged him to turn tail and run away from this place as fast as possible. But he couldn't move. His legs refused to obey him. It was as if they were frozen in place preventing him from fleeing from danger.
Alice glanced at him concerned. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." lied Zenyph smiling weakly.
"Your heartbeat increased dramatically. Do you have a problem with churches?" inquired Asura skeptically raising her brow.
"Not at all." answered Zenyph shrugging nonchalantly.
Alice sensed his reluctance to enter the building and turned to Asura.
"You should go ahead. We'll stay outside until you're done." said the human potion maker.
Asura nodded and turned to enter the building.
Zenyph playfully patted Alice head and said, "Thanks for worrying about me Alice but I'm fine. Let's go in."
Alice blushed slightly before nodding.
Zenyph felt a pang of guilt stabbing his heart. She was only trying to help but he didn't want to worry her unnecessarily. He promised he would explain his aversion to churches later. For now he needed to focus on surviving the event.
They followed Asura inside.
The interior was dark and gloomy. Candles illuminated the spacious chamber illuminating the crumbling furniture scattered across the room. Broken chairs and tables covered the ground along with moldy pieces of cloth. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and blood spiders scurried around the corners. In the center of the room stood a statue of a cloaked figure wearing a hood covering its face.
A chill ran down Zenyph's spine as he stepped closer to examine the statue.
There was a note in the statues hand in a writing Zenyph was far too familiar with. It was written in English.
"Dear Father in Heaven,
Humanity has committed a grave sin. We believed in only one true god and foolishly thought we'd all get into heaven. How wrong we were. Our hubris led to our downfall. Now we must pay for our sins. War was never necessary nor was violence but we chose to slaughter each other anyways.
For thousands of years we were lucky, until we killed him. I don't know exactly who he is or was but he is loved by her. The sky broke when he died. His killers head hung on a piece of wood in front of that countries headquarter. The oceans turned into blood. Plants started to freeze and and grow. Something that wasn't possible. Cows grew wings. The sun turned green. Gravity shifted, thousands were flung into space. Then it all stopped and order was restored.
Oh how foolish we were to think that was enough to calm her. The being that stopped her took a step back and said for all to hear, ''I'm sorry my creations but you've angered my sister.''
Chaos returned to Earth. One by one the skin living beings turned pure black and extra limbs, teeth, heads started to grow on the bodies of some.
That's when they were born. She called them Abyssals. I called them monsters. She wanted us to suffer. We wanted to survive. Modern weapons worked in the beginning, only for these creatures to use some new energy. Magic. She had given us magic. A way to fight back against her minions. The governments and militaries fought together. However it was pointless. She has countless resources and boundless amounts of magic.
Their armies were overrun by the beasts. Every city fell. The apocalypse was here. People took refuge in small communities. Each having their own survival tactics.
Some fled underground and dug deeper and deeper into the ground. They hid from the monsters. They lived in fear.
Others created large ships and tried sailing across the ocean hoping to reach lands they never knew existed. Hoping to escape from this nightmare.
And those who stayed in their homes and fortified them.
Every month a group of fighters would travel to Eden. The only safe zone remaining on the planet. They would report our status. Bring new technology and information. We built massive walls. Giant towers that housed turrets and cannons. The strongest warriors came to live there. The rest of humanity looked up to the warriors in awe. The heroes that would save the world.
Then it happened. Those wretched creatures smiled devilishly. They came from the sky and landed on top of our defenses. Somewhere hidden behind the clouds she watched as her monsters brought further destruction upon humanity.
That's why we prayed. That's why we begged. That's why we sacrificed. That's why we fought. But she doesn't care. All she wants is for us to suffer. And if we continue down this road she will succeed.
When that day comes the earth will fall apart. Everything will collapse. Nothing will remain. Everything will be wiped clean from existence.
I am a priest that served as a leader of a large congregation. My followers and I believe the gods are watching over us. We believe the gods created everything in this universe. We worship the gods and pray to them everyday. We beg for forgiveness. We pray for salvation. We pray for deliverance from this madness. But there's no point. There is no redemption for us. We have sinned. We have caused her great pain.
The gods aren't coming to save us. They fear her as well. The abyss is coming to reclaim this world. To take back what was taken away from her.
All is lost. Goodbye
-One who has sinned."