Waking up after a long, detailed dream feels weird—it felt like living a whole new life: different you, different place, different reality, and then suddenly being yanked back into this one. The emotions linger, out of place and alien, leaving you thinking and wanting an explanation for everything.
It also makes you wonder which one is real—the one you woke up from, the one you're currently living, or maybe this is just you dreaming again, hoping that the next one is better than this. That uncertainty clings to you like fog, blurring the lines between memory and reality.
But in my case, I know both are real—the one I dream of and the one I'm currently living. Just different people, different place, different time. It's like flipping between two lives that never seem to touch, yet both leave marks on me when I wake.
Reliving that kid's memory doesn't feel weird to me at all. Given the current movement of the cult, I'm not even surprised that they were using children—they did use a baby as a vessel for a god, so using children seems on brand for them. Though, what they are using them for? I don't have a clue.
The dream didn't really reveal much for me to think about. To be honest, the dreams I keep having feel kind of useless.
The baby was still with Nixie—God knows what she's doing together with him. It could be some sort of weird bonding activity to gain his trust or some weird experiments? Either way, I don't trust her intentions, not when everything she does feels calculated down to the last breath.
I readied myself for the day. The memory of that dream still clings to me like a bad memory, but I have to push the thoughts aside. There are more important things to do. I have to focus. Every moment counts, and the longer I let myself be distracted, the further I fall behind.
I still can't sense Nyx's presence. It's strange not feeling her around. "Aren't you overreacting now?" I asked, hoping for a response, but there was only silence. "Okay then," I muttered.
I was not immediately summoned by Nixie, so I figured it was going to be a really slow day—just chilling around and recovering from yesterday's adventure. No Nixie and no Nyx for the rest of the day sounds really nice. For once, it felt like I could breathe without any looming tension hanging over me.
But that was just me being hopeful... I hadn't even finished taking a bath when a sound started echoing inside the building, something really weird. It was like an alarm, but somewhere in the middle, it failed to get the job done. It felt really mechanical, like a broken system trying to force itself to work. My mind raced, wondering what was happening now.
I prematurely ended my bath and covered myself as best as I could. I wore a grey hoodie and black leggings—not exactly something you'd wear for battle, but it gets the job done. It also covers most parts of my body, hiding the areas where my wounds are—where they're supposed to be.
I grab my axe, which for some reason is already waiting for me. It's one of the only constants in my life right now—my axe. It feels familiar in my hands, like an old friend ready to face whatever comes next.
I don't see anyone on my way to Nixie. It feels weird—what's happening this time? The silence is unsettling, like the calm before a storm that you can't quite predict.
I made my way towards Nixie's room, near the entrance. If someone can explain what's happening, it would definitely be her. She always seems to know, even when everything else feels like it's falling apart.
I was not even halfway to my destination when I saw Nixie. She was holding her gun, and the baby was strapped to her back with a makeshift baby carrier. The sight of them together sent a chill down my spine—something about it felt off, like they were running away from something.
Nixie's wearing her amused smile, but I can see that something is really wrong. She's sweating, and I can see blood stains on her clothes. There's a tear in her clothes, like it was made by something sharp.
"Good morning, my little helper," Nixie said, her voice casual, but her eyes were full of anxiety and exhaustion. She shifted slightly, her eyes darting all over the room, as if searching for something—or someone.
"Hey? What's happening? Where's everyone?" I asked, my voice full of confusion. Nixie's gaze snapped back to me for a moment before she started looking all over the place.
"They are somewhere... safe," she said, the pause didn't exactly inspire confidence. "As for what's happening, we are under attack, as usual," she added, her voice steady but her eyes betraying her worry. She glanced around, her hand tightening around the gun.
"Why is the baby still with you?" I asked, my voice tinged with concern. Nixie hesitated for a moment, as if thinking how to explain it.
"Well, I didn't really have the time to hand it off to someone else," she said, her tone sharp. She adjusted the baby carrier on her back, looking around nervously as if expecting trouble to show up at any moment.
"Again, the baby is a him, not an it," I corrected. I wanted to be frustrated with her treating the baby as a thing, but the situation was preventing me from feeling that.
Nixie shot me a quick glance, "Yeah, yeah," she muttered, clearly distracted by something else. Her finger was still tight around the gun, like she was on edge.
"What happened?" I asked again. "Who's attacking us? There's no one here?" I pressed, my confusion deepening.
"Well, I was hanging out with it earlier, when something fast came—assassins, a bunch of female assassins?" Nixie said, her voice edged with tension. She paused, her eyes scanning the room as if she were still waiting for one of them to pop out from the shadows.
"Are you messing with me right now?" I asked her, my suspicion growing. Nixie didn't flinch, her expression unreadable as she stared back, the gun still in her grip, ready for anything.
"Nope. A whole group of assassins straight out of a movie cliché," Nixie said, her tone flat. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow, as if saying, 'Yeah? I dare you to question me more.' There was no humor in her eyes, just absolute certainty.
"Okay... What do they want?" I asked
"This thing on my back," she answered flatly.
"Again that's a person, not a thing," I told her. "And what would they want with him?"
"Not the baby! The necklace! They want the magical necklace," she told me with a little hint of frustration in her voice.
Suddenly, Nixie carrying the baby with her doesn't seem that weird at all. I've had this impression these past few days that the safest place to be is wherever Nixie is. Sure, there's a chaotic vibe whenever she's near—but at least you're sure that you're safe. It's like standing in the eye of a storm: everything's spinning out of control around you, but in that one spot, where she stands, there's calm. Chaotic safety.
"Where are we going then?" I asked, clutching my axe while looking around.
"Somewhere..." she said, then suddenly pushed me as a knife whiffed past where my head would've been.
Nixie then pointed in a direction above us, firing until her gun ran out of bullets. As she reloaded, a body came crashing down from the ceiling, landing with a sickening thud. The assassin was dressed in all black, motionless, a knife still clutched in one hand.
The baby laughed at the body lying lifeless on the floor—he seemed very amused by the image he was seeing. "It seems that I have a fan?" Nixie said, amused
I came closer to the body that fell to see if it was dead. But when I got near, the stench was almost unbearable. It was not the smell of fresh blood—I had gotten used to that. This was something different. It was similar to the smell of the things I've fought before. It was foul and rotten—the smell of decay, the smell of something that had been dead for far too long to be moving around.
"Undead assassins? Great. How are these things moving so fast even with their rotten bodies?" I muttered. Every zombie knowledge I had is telling me that these things shouldn't be moving fast. They should be slow and almost falling apart.
"Time to go," Nixie said, slinging her gun and adjusting the baby. "I'm not in the mood to babysit and fight zombies at the same time." she complained
"Uhmm? You literally are doing that." I told her
"Exactly why we need to move."
The assassins kept on coming. Having to fight someone fast is already hard enough, but fighting something fast that is almost immune to anything less than fatal is just impossible. Even if I had Nyx's blessing right now, I'd still probably be having a really bad time.
Good thing Nixie is really good with her gun. I just need to distract the things attacking us, and she'll take care of it. I'm just a punching bag at this point, barely holding my ground while she handles the real threats.
But they just keep on coming. It's getting closer each time. We are about to get overwhelmed soon. Nixie is getting pissed off too, especially since the baby keeps on moving and throwing random energy pulses, making her lose her balance. Her movements are getting more frantic, and I can see the frustration building in her eyes.
"Why won't this baby stay still?" Nixie complained, her frustration nearing its breaking point. She kept fumbling around as the baby continued sending energy pulses to the enemies trying to attack us, throwing off her balance with every surge.
"Maybe he's excited for the fight?" I answered, trying to lighten the mood, Nixie shot me a look that could've melted steel, clearly not amused.
"Excited for us to die or seeing those things die. Either way, a really fucked up baby," she muttered. I could see her patience growing thin with each passing second, and I wouldn't blame her. At this point, I could almost picture her throwing the baby somewhere safe just to be done with the chaos it was causing.
One of the assassins suddenly rushed Nixie as she was busy reloading her gun, and she... almost died. Good thing the baby was with her. A burst of energy shot out from it—like a small shockwave—and the undead that almost got Nixie was thrown against the wall with enough force to leave a dent.
"At least it doesn't want us dead, I guess?" I muttered, dodging a knife that barely missed my shoulder.
Nixie grunted. "So he prefers us over them, huh? Fantastic. That's always a great sign when you're hosting a god in your spine." She took another shot, the bullet hitting one of the undead right between the eyes.
"At least it knows we are better than them, right?" I told her, trying to keep my axe steady as I swung at an assassin coming too close.
"You know, I really thought babysitting would be so much easier than this," Nixie said, dodging another one. "Like, maybe just a bottle and a nap, not a full-on zombie apocalypse."
Another one of the assassins lunged toward me, and I sidestepped, barely dodging its knife. I brought the axe down with a shout, connecting solidly with its shoulder, but it kept moving. Twitched. Snarled. Tried to drag itself closer.
I yanked the axe free. "You know, we should really talk about better exit strategies."
"Later," Nixie snapped. "Just keep being bait."
"Love that for me."
~~~
"Why are we even heading outside?" I asked, barely catching my breath between swings. "Shouldn't we be barricading ourselves somewhere like normal people during an attack?"
Easier to fight these things in an open field," Nixie replied, scanning the shadows for movement. "walls are just trap, atleast when outside, we've got enough room... and run if things go south."
"So that's the plan? We just keep fighting until either they're all dead or we are?" I said with confusion. "If that's the plan, why is Gideon and his useless ass not here fighting with us?"
"They are with the civilians," Nixie explained. "Those guys are slow as hell, they would just get shredded the moment they stepped out." She adjusted the baby on her back and added, "Keeping them alive is just as important as fighting—someone has to hold the line and make sure we have people left to protect."
"That's... understandable..." I admitted, though a part of me still felt bitter about it. "Doesn't make getting stabbed any less annoying, though."
When we manage to get outside, a whole group of those female assassins are waiting for us. They stand in eerie silence, perfectly still, like they've been expecting us all along.
"Wait? Did they lure us here? Were they planning this?" I asked, my grip tightening on the axe.
"I don't know? Maybe?" Nixie said, busy adjusting the strap of the baby carrier like she was just trying to keep everything from falling apart.
Among the female assassins, one seemed to be the obvious leader. She was the least undead-looking and stood apart with a cold, commanding presence. She radiated the same energy as the war god and the other god I'd encountered—a presence that made the air feel heavier, charged with something unnatural.
"Hey, Nixie, you're curious about the gods, right? Well, one's right in front of us," I said, my eyes locked on the leader.
"That one? She doesn't seem much," Nixie said, eyeing the leader skeptically. "But something about her is off—too calm, too controlled for a crazy undead assassin."
The god seemed offended by Nixie's dismissive remark, and in a split second, she was already right in front of her. Before Nixie could even react, the god's blade was swinging, and her head almost flew off. Good thing the baby, still strapped to Nixie's back, responded immediately—sending out a burst of energy that created a force field just in time to block the strike. The air around them shimmered with the force of the barrier, barely holding back the god's lethal blow.
"Traitor!" the leader of the assassins shouted, her voice laced with pure disgust. She staggered back as the forcefield overwhelmed her, her eyes burning with fury as she readied herself for another attack. The air sparked with energy, and the ground beneath her trembled.
"Well, that was scary," Nixie said sarcastically. "Fighting them in an open field seems like a really dumb idea right now." She glanced around, her eyes narrowing as more assassins began to circle.
"You think?" I said, trying to think of something to get us out of here. I considered calling on Nyx, but showing her power in front of Nixie was just asking for trouble. Plus, she wasn't even speaking with me right now.
The god lunged again, faster than I could track.
The god lunged again, faster than I could track, this time I was the target. I barely had time to get out of the way as she struck the ground where I'd just been, leaving a literal crater—like a meteor hit the concrete. "Okay? She's fast and she's strong! Good to know."
Nixie, clearly unfazed by the god, was already on the move, guns drawn, unloading a steady stream of bullets toward the assassins. Most of them didn't even flinch, except for the ones hit fatally. Despite the barrage, they continued advancing, slow and methodical, their movements far more coordinated than before. It was almost like they were being guided by a clear leader now—something was unifying them, making them more dangerous than the disorganized chaos we had seen earlier. I guess even undead can be sharpened by leadership.
I swung my axe into one's chest, cleaving through flesh and bone. It didn't even scream. Just grabbed my arm with dead fingers and tried to bite me.
I kicked it away with a grunt. "Seriously?!"
"They're just tools to her" Nixie shouted in disgust, sidestepping another swing from the god. "She's controlling them. Like meat puppets."
"Then we kill the controller."
"I would, but she's a literal god, Ariane!"
The god snapped her fingers, and the air pressure dropped. A wave of force hit us like a truck. I flew back, landed hard on my shoulder, and rolled across the dirt.
The baby wailed in response, but instead of crying, it unleashed a pulse of energy so strong it scorched the earth in a perfect circle around Nixie.
The god recoiled, but only slightly. "That child should not exist," she hissed.
"You should not exist," Nixie muttered, spitting blood. This was the first time I saw Nixie getting wounded, and the sight of her bleeding was almost unsettling
Another wave of assassins surged forward. They weren't running. They didn't have to. They were closing in, step by step, confident we were losing.
And we were.
Even with Nixie's aim and the baby's bursts of raw energy, it wasn't enough. We were burning out fast.
"I'm calling it," I said, voice hoarse. "We run."
Nixie didn't argue. That's how I knew she agreed. She just reloaded her gun and started backing up.
The god stepped forward again. "There is no escape."
""Cool line, cliché but cool," Nixie said, tossing a grenade at her feet. "Eat this." The explosion rocked the ground, sending debris flying in all directions.
The explosion bought us two seconds. That's all we needed. Nixie grabbed my arm, pulling me forward as she ran, her eyes scanning the chaos for an escape route
We bolted into rows of buildings behind the warehouse, weaving alleys, cutting through buildings, I didn't look back. I didn't want to see how close they were. If they were flying. If they were teleporting. I just ran.
The baby giggled.
"Is it just me," I panted, "or is he having fun?"
"He's having the time of his life," Nixie grunted. "I hate him a little."
"Same."
I was a little worried since we left the warehouse.
What's stopping those things from doubling back and attacking the people inside?
But Nixie seemed sure—too sure—that they were only after the baby and the necklace.
So we kept moving.
It wasn't just the assassins anymore. Other enemies started showing up. Different shapes. Different sounds. But the same unnatural hunger.
They knew where we were.
I was starting to think they had some way of tracking us. And not just "divine senses" or whatever. Something more specific. More direct.
Eventually, we made it to one of Nixie's safehouses.
"Safehouse" was underselling it.
It looked like a house ready for war.
Outside, it was just another run-down cabin in the woods. Peeling paint, cracked windows, one of those cursed wind chimes that never sounded nice. But inside?
The place was loaded.
Heavy-duty doors. Steel plates hidden behind wood paneling. Shelves of supplies, first aid kits, weapons, backup weapons, and weapons for the backup weapons. And tucked into the walls, behind sliding compartments, were machines I didn't even recognize.
Everything looked old on the surface. Vintage. Worn. But the tech underneath?
Brand new. High-end. Some of it is probably illegal.
While Nixie started restocking her ammo and checking the baby's pulse or energy or whatever metric she was tracking, I took a slow walk through the living room.
The floor creaked. The couch looked like it had been there since the 80s. But the surveillance system by the window was top of the line. Motion sensors blinked green in every corner.
I glanced at her.
Nixie, casually loading bullets into mags like she was baking cookies.
She wasn't even from this island originally. Just some outsider with a weird taste and weirder connections.
So why was she this prepared?
And more importantly…
Prepared for what?