Melody was staring in shock at the flowers. "What??" Flowers
definitely were not supposed to do that. At least, Melody didn't
think so. Was this some rare kind of flower she didn't know about?
She noticed that the racoon dog wanted to go forward. Well, if he
thought so... "I think we should go down the path." Hestinatnely,
she took another step forward and another. The flowers flared
higher as she got closer.
Winnie nervously looked at the hole. Did they really have to go
down it? What if it was a trap of some kind? Or what if some
creature was down there? If there was, the brunette certainly
didn't want to find out. However, everyone else was getting closer
to it, so it seemed she had no choice in the matter. Reluctantly,
she followed after the rest of the group.
"H-huh? Oh, uh, yeah, I'm here." Winnie answered, much more timidly
than one would expect. She reached in her pockets to grab her
phone, hoping it would provide some light. However, she didn't feel
it anywhere. It must've fallen out of her pocket when the zombies
grabbed her, meaning she had no light source. Winnie felt a sinking
feeling in her stomach, but tried her best to ignore it as she
walked forward.
Kieran had grown a little attached to this bunch of humans, though
he probably wouldn't ever admit it. Thankful for his eyes that
could see in the darkness and in dim light better than human ones,
he silently volunteered himself to walk in the lead, making sure
there were no dangers ahead.
The path twisted and turned, but a light was getting brighter, and
eventually, it led to a clearing, and in the middle was a stone
pedestal with a gold deer sleeping on it. It seemed to radiate
light, and the area around the pedestal was covered in a field of
flowers. Melody gasped with awe. "It's amazing!" Suddenly, in their
heads, a voice echoed. "You found me...thank goodness for the
Labyrinth, I didn't want those things to be the ones who awakened
me."
It seemed they'd been walking all night. The sky was streaked with
pink and gold, a gorgeous sight when paired with that of the
flowers, pedestal, and cervid. The whole atmosphere made Kieran
feel more at ease, and the deer seemed like it wasn't a threat...
hopefully. Ah, speaking of which, the deer was technically an
animal of sorts... perhaps it could understand him? "You mean the
zombies?" He asked, his voice tinged with an angry growl as he
thought of them.
A small sigh of relief escaped Winnie's lips as they drew closer to
the light, the sense of panic leaving her body. However, it was
quickly replaced with confusion when a voice unlike her own echoed
inside her head. Great. Now she was going crazy.
"Yes, I do. The Zombie King seeks the destruction of this world as
we know it. When the Four Elements fell, they took the forms of
their Animus. I am the Earth Elemental, and the Zombie King found
me. He's using you to wake me up and control me. You're not going
crazy, dear."
The general grinned. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the Four
Elementals?"
"Ah, now I remember..." Kieran had heard bits and pieces about the
elementals from stories he picked up from other monsters. He
relaxed. Clearly the earth elemental wasn't fond of the zombies
either, and the enemy of your enemy is your friend, right? Kieran
paced nervously. "What should we do, then?" He barked to the deer.
"You have to find a way to awaken the Four elementals without the
phrase. There's a way, but you need to find the link that binds me
to this plane. It's hidden somewhere in this forest. Use it to
awaken me. I can help, but until you find it my power is
limited."
"Yes. Now, you see, there is a second plane in which they exsist.
In this plane, the Zombie King overthrew them, and they fell to
earth as their Animus. We are trying to collect them so that they
are under our king's control."