Alex had confirmed all the information she needed about the creature, therefore any further delay would amount to time wasted.
With ample preparations in place, Alex sat upon a jutting rock, marvelling at the wonder of nature dancing before her eyes. Boundless roaring flames consumed the vitality of the vibrant forest, leaving only ash in its wake.
' Fire, you saved me yet again.'
A mischievous smile played on her lips as she recalled her fond memories.
Smog tainted the air, which also obscured the burning sun and its majestic rays, as copious amounts of dangerous fumes were produced.
Perhaps, if time were on her side, Alex would have waited for the flames to extinguish, however, the golden runes above her head screamed otherwise.
She willed for her elegant chakrams to appear, before she used buckets of water to douse the least prominent part of the fire, clearing a safe but charred path to the centre.
'I hope this is worth it.'
At the centre was a familiar figure. However, the familiarity ended there, in its shape. The vines around it were charred, even those on the figure itself. A disturbing scent of rot and ash choked Alex, pushing her to hasten her steps.
Upon reaching the creature, she remained aware, constantly scanning every possible detail of her surroundings and decoding the determined possibilities.
Alex made steady progress towards the burnt beast without interruption. Until a creeping ashy vine lunged at her with mind-numbing speed. Alex did not even turn around, dashing towards the zombie and decapitating it within a second. She turned to see the tip of a lifeless vine an inch away from her eyeball that plummeted to the ground after losing its driving force.
Alex turned back to the fallen creature, a slight grimace on her visage as she studied it.
Like the many others she had seen, it was rotten, emaciated and riddled with active worms. Its unmoving form against the charred ground created a destructive backdrop, hinting at the untold horrors that had occurred in this once mystical space.
That, however, was not what prompted Alex's stomach to endlessly churn. She began to loathe her relentless need to pursue unrivalled power, then a picture flashed in her mind. The face of a man; his mocking smile and gloating expression would easily showcase his distasteful personality.
Following that memory, Alex no longer hesitated, her face returned to its neutral state and she sat beside the zombie; she plunged her fingers into its eye, pierced through and pulled out a dazzling shard.
What happened next was as one would expect. She meticulously cleaned the shard with liquid bathing soap from the labyrinth and water from her water bottles, then she dried it with one of her spare clothes.
She spat a green fluid into the empty water bottle, then swallowed the shard. Right as she swallowed the shard, she poured the green fluid back into her mouth, rinsed the empty bottle with more water then also poured it into her mouth.
The green fluid was a healing potion from the shop, beforehand, she had swallowed half and held the remainder in her mouth, knowing it would not take effect until she swallowed all of it.
Alex waited with a calm expression. Two minutes later she felt a soothing sensation from the recesses of her mind, although it was fleeting. it was truly comforting, akin to an embrace of her inner self, a subtle and tingling warmth.
'So that's what a crystal does. Nothing useful that I can discern for now.'
Alex left the burning forest and made her way to the hole in the floor. She placed her palm on the dark panel and watched as it transitioned to a green handprint.
Standing outside the tree, she observed the taunting golden runes that seemed to endlessly mock her weakness.
150:00:00
Exactly 7 a.m.
She had spent four hours in the twelfth layer alone, now the sun was peeking through the sky, casting its effulgent beams upon the sandy biome.
Alex did not waste any time, for she felt that the longer she spent with the green liquid in her mouth, the higher the chances of an untimely death.
She did not trust any of the potions.
The map, now a somewhat large circle at the left-hand corner of her view, showed a single green dot on the sand, the tree icon, the maze icon, the castle icon holding a sizeable amount of red dots and the underground bunker's icon, drowned in a flurry of red dots far greater than that at the castle.
The zombie army was in the same direction as the underground bunker, or to be more precise, the army was marching straight for the underground bunker. Thankfully, there was still a large distance between them. Alex would prefer if those people did not die, especially because of the detrimental effect it may bring on her.
' And the promise.' A promise she had made quite some time ago, a promise to her-
Her reminiscing was cut short by the sight that awaited her. A scary amount of armoured zombies circled the entire castle. She halted her advancement and immediately expanded the map.
The zombies were equipped with silver chainmail armour, silver swords and silver shields. Atop the castle gate's sturdy walls were ten zombies lined across the entire gate. The square structure had silver swords piled at every corner. She imagined those would be used as projectiles to thwart an enemy's advance.
Right behind the stone castle's sturdy metallic doors was a throne, a golden throne adorned with precious jewels. The throne caused the other banners and carpets to pale in comparison. The throne stood out, clearly far too embellished for such a plain castle.
That was the second thing Alex noticed about the throne room. The first was a disturbing sight, at least for her. Upon the throne, was a greater zombie from her conjectures. No, she was certain.
The obvious disdain entangled with boredom was clear, not only from its posture but from its aloof features. This zombie had no rot if ash skin could be called clear then she would call his skin clear.
It lacked what she could classify as a blemish, and its well-polished protruding talons worried her. With one hand lying on the throne's armrest and the other propping its head up, Alex could only be concerned. It donned a royal's attire, fine purple silk with golden buttons. Atop, its luscious black hair was a golden crown with gems similar to that of the throne.
By the side of the throne was a zombie, not different to the others she had seen previously. It had docile eyes, it wore no armour and appeared ready to enact all its master's orders without question.
This greater zombie was dangerous.