"Grrrrr... Grrrrr..."
The eerie growls echoed through the forest, reverberating in every direction.
Zephyr jolted awake, his heart pounding. He turned to Dianna. "Uh… what was that?"
Dianna grimaced. "Not sure. Maybe the necromancer is up to something."
They exchanged a glance before pushing open the creaky wooden door. Outside, the world was swallowed in darkness. Night still lingered, thick and oppressive.
Zephyr strained his ears. Faint, shuffling footsteps rustled through the undergrowth, slow but deliberate.
Dianna raised her hand, and with a flicker of light, a glowing orb of light formed in her palm, casting a pale glow around them.
Zephyr eyed the sphere, lips pressing into a thin line. "I have a long way to go with this willpower thing," he thought.
Stepping cautiously to the edge of the wooden house, he peered down—and his stomach clenched.
Shadows writhed between the trees. Twisted, rotting figures staggered forward, their decayed forms now fully illuminated.
The undead.
Not just humans—animals, too. Their lifeless eyes stared upward, vacant and hungry. The air reeked of decay, thick and suffocating. Some let out low, gurgling moans, their voices raw and hollow, echoing through the silent woods.
Zephyr swallowed hard, fighting the nausea rising in his throat. He turned to Dianna. "What do we do now?"
He remembered his last encounter with a single zombie. That had been bad enough. But now, there were dozens—no, more. And among them, hulking forms loomed. Gorillas, Bears, Tigers.
Dianna's expression hardened, but her voice remained calm. "No need to panic. The situation isn't that bad… but I've never heard of a necromancer controlling this many corpses."
Zephyr exhaled, forcing himself to trust her confidence. "Maybe there's more than one necromancer."
Dianna hesitated. "Perhaps… but this? This is overkill."
Zephyr thought so too. Ironic—between the two of them, their flesh wouldn't even be enough to satisfy a single zombie tiger.
Then the house trembled. A deep, rhythmic creaking ran through the wooden beams.
Zephyr's breath hitched.
One of the giant gorilla zombies had latched onto the tree, its rotting limbs heaving its massive body upward. Its movements were stiff, unnatural—but still terrifyingly fast.
Zephyr took a step back. "Dianna, what's the plan? If you don't come up with something quick, we're gonna..."
The house trembled beneath them. Wood groaned, and the floorboards creaked as the massive undead gorilla clawed its way up the tree. Even in death, its sheer size and strength were terrifying.
Zephyr swallowed hard. "I assume this is the part where we run?"
Dianna's eyes flicked to the encroaching horde below, then to the monstrous gorilla making its way up. "No," she said. "This is the part where we fly."
Without further explanation, she lifted her hand. A shimmering golden rope formed at her fingertips, stretching and twisting like a living thing.
Zephyr gaped. "Impressive!, but are you sure this thin rope won't snap halfway ?"
Dianna smirked. "You think we survived that cliff jump by luck?"
No time for questions. The gorilla let out a deep, guttural snarl, its rotting face twisted in something almost resembling hunger. The ladder had been easy enough to kick down, but this thing didn't need one.
Dianna's fingers snapped forward, and the silver rope shot toward a thick branch in the distance, securing itself with a tight grip. She said. "Hold on tight!"
Not needing to be told twice, Zephyr wrapped his arms around her hip. Dianna kicked off the platform just as the gorilla's massive hand crashed into the wooden house, sending splinters flying.
They swung high above the undead horde. Below, lifeless faces turned to follow their movement, cold, empty eyes reflecting the glow of Dianna's conjured light.
Zephyr's stomach lurched. He had never imagined he'd be flying through the trees like some kind of fantasy hero, but here he was, holding onto Dianna for dear life as they weaved through the forest canopy.
Dianna released the strand at the peak of their arc, flipping gracefully before shooting another thread further ahead. Their momentum carried them forward, away from the horde, away from the doomed treehouse.
Zephyr dared a glance back. The gorilla had reached the platform, its massive bulk nearly breaking the structure as it roared in frustration. But they were already too far. The undead could only watch as their prey vanished into the night.
After several swings, Dianna landed them smoothly onto a sturdy branch. She released a breath, rolling her shoulders, then glanced at Zephyr, who was still clinging to her hip.
"You can let go now," she teased.
Zephyr snapped back to reality, realizing his hands were still clinging to the soft curve of her waist. Heat rushed to his face as he quickly pulled away, clearing his throat. His heart was still hammering in his chest, though he wasn't sure if it was from the wild escape or something else entirely.
Dianna grinned. "Flying's better than running, right?"
"Okay," Zephyr admitted, taking a steadying breath. "That was terrifying… but also kind of incredible."
Dianna glanced back toward the horde of undead, her expression thoughtful. "We should be safe here for now," she said. "If they were controlled by a necromancer, they can't stray too far from their master."
But then, a piercing wail erupted from the horde, a chilling, unearthly scream that sent a shiver down Zephyr's spine.
The undead surged forward in a frenzied charge, their movements suddenly more coordinated, more aggressive. Leading the charge was a panther-like zombie, its rotting muscles still taut with remnants of predatory grace. Behind it, the gorilla corpses followed, their massive bodies hurling themselves from tree to tree with terrifying agility.
They weren't as fast as Dianna's lasso-driven swings, but they were relentless, adapting, closing the distance with every bound.
Zephyr didn't hesitate.
He wrapped his arms around Dianna's waist, gripping her tightly.
"Go!"
Without another word, Dianna launched them into the air, the golden rope snapping forward, pulling them into another desperate flight through the treetops.
Branches whipped past as Dianna swung through the towering trees, her golden lasso of light stretching and coiling between limbs like a lifeline. Zephyr clung to her waist, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. Below them, the undead swarmed like a sea of decay, their moans rising like a dreadful chorus.
Dianna gritted her teeth. Sweat dripped down her forehead. She had been swinging for too long, her arms burned, her breathing grew heavier, and the strain on her Willpower was evident.
The lasso was not a mere rope—it was an extension of her divine ability, a blessing from the Sun Goddess. Unlike a physical tool, it demanded constant focus and willpower to sustain.
Zephyr noticed her slowing, the arc of each swing shortening.
"You're getting exhausted!" he shouted over the rushing wind. "Let me take over! Just tell me how to use it!"
"No!" Dianna snapped, her voice tight with strain. She swung again, the lasso snapping forward and pulling them toward another branch.
"Why not?!"
"You haven't trained for it!" she shot back. "It's not just some rope, Jack! I practiced for years to master it. If you use it wrong, you'll send us straight into the horde below!"
Zephyr clenched his jaw. He hated being useless right now. But she was right—he didn't even know what he was looking at. The lasso shimmered with radiant energy, it wasn't even solid, it was light made real. If he miscalculated once, they'd fall straight into the undead waiting below.
Zephyr thought for a moment before speaking. "Alright, just tell me when you're too tired. I'll let go. You've done more than enough to save me."
Dianna snapped back without hesitation, her voice sharp over the rushing wind. "Don't be stupid! Just shut up and hold on. If I get too tired, I'll kick you off myself—you don't need to do it for me!"
Still, Dianna was pushing herself beyond her limit, and it showed. Her swings were becoming erratic, her movements slower. She was wearing out fast.
"We need to get out of the forest!" she panted, pushing herself to keep going.
But the undead weren't slowing down. They swarmed beneath them in mindless pursuit, crashing through the undergrowth, climbing over fallen trees, relentless in their hunger.
Zephyr could hear bones snapping, flesh tearing, but still, they moved. They felt no pain, no fatigue—only the drive to kill.
And then—A misstep.
Dianna swung for another branch, but her grip faltered. Her breath hitched. The lasso flickered.
And her body went limp.
"DIANNA!"
Zephyr's heart lurched as they plummeted downward, gravity dragging them from the treetops toward the shadowed undergrowth below.
With sheer instinct, he wrapped his arms around Dianna and threw everything he had into his Willpower.
"STOP!"
An invisible force burst outward, slowing their fall just enough for him to land hard on the dirt with Dianna still in his grasp. He staggered, his legs nearly buckling from the impact.
Dianna was unconscious, her body slack against him. She had burned through all her energy, pushing herself beyond her limit.
Zephyr barely had time to process it.
Because the undead were still coming.