Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night
Chapter 123: A Mysterious Stranger

While Angelica and the others tried their best to save Zane from his injuries, and awaken him from the coma he lie in, Zane was trapped within his own mind. In fact, the moment he shut his eyes, thinking that the Horde King would inflict death upon him, he found himself in a dark and colorless world.

But more peculiar, Zane found himself lying in the lap of a woman. A woman whose face he could not see, as she was covered by a black cloak and a matching veil. Nor could he even see the woman's eyes as they were covered by her ragged hood.

Yet beneath the veil, Zane could see that the woman was smiling, as she brushed his black hair with her thin and dainty fingers. There was something deeply familiar about this woman, even if Zane had never met her before. It was simply something he knew on an instinctual level.

However, before he could question just who this woman was, or how he knew her, she spoke in a voice that he knew all too well. As it was the voice he had repeatedly heard throughout the past few weeks, warning him of danger around every corner, and compelling him to do things he would not otherwise do.

"My c- Friend…. Are you alright? You came awfully close to death just now…"

Zane tried to get a better look at the woman, but still her features eluded him. He was about to sit up when the woman pressed him back down into her lap with a single finger. Yet the power in this finger was immeasurable. No matter how hard he tried to resist it, she kept his head in her lap, smirking beneath her veil as she did so.

"Don't try to move so suddenly. You have suffered grievous injuries, and it would be unwise to stir in your state. Just relax, as I stated, I am a friend… If not for my guidance, you surely would have lost your life a dozen times over by now.

But more importantly, how are you feeling about Zane? Emotionally, I mean… Have your newfound powers been affecting your thoughts at all?"

How was he feeling? Emotionally? That was not a question Zane had been asked in a very, very long time… He sat in silence, thinking about all that had happened over the course of the past month.

It was strange, but despite everything that had happened to him, Zane was feeling… Alive…. And he answered this question honestly to the strange woman, one who he did not know the identity of, but knew in his heart he could trust.

"For the first time in a long time, I feel alive… Though my body is clearly changing into something else. Something that if I'm being honest, I am deeply afraid of. Yet at the same time, I haven't felt this…. Human…. In years. With all of this in mind, I'd have to say that I'm doing alright despite everything that has happened to the world around me."

Though Zane could not see the face which made it, there was a very clear shift in the woman's expression that was only visible through the movement of the veil which concealed it. Even her voice had a slight inflection as she spoke a single question.

"How curious?"

Zane was about to ask another question to the mysterious woman when she spoke to him with a soft and gentle tone in her voice, an almost motherly tone, not that Zane had ever heard such a tone spoken to him before.

"Your wounds appear to be healed, but Zane… If you wish to defeat the Horde King Eliza, you will need to continue to gather your strength… And bolster that of those who surround you. The city you now reside within will be a good start on that journey.

Which reminds me… You did not have time to gather your spoils due to the interference of Little Eliza… So I have gone out of my way to get them for you, when you awake back in the real world, you will replace a small satchel in your pocket.

One that contains all the blood crystals of the undead which you and your friends have slain on this day. Consider it my gift for you. Now, before I let you go, is there anything you wish to ask of me?"

Was there anything he wished to ask of her? Of course there was! Hell, there were a million questions floating in Zane's mind right now, but every attempt he had tried to give voice to them, they were suppressed by this woman and her seemingly overwhelming power.

But if there was one question Zane wanted to know an answer to, he supposed it would be that… Something he was quick to give voice to.

"Who are you? And why are you protecting me?"

Despite appearing as if she was willing to answer Zane's questions, the mysterious woman simply shook her head, and smiled beneath her veil and hood, once more refusing to elaborate, and responding only with a cryptic message.

"Now is not the time for you to know such things… Soon enough will meet again, and perhaps then you will be ready to know the truth. But for now, just know that I am a friend, one who will continue to look after you, and ensure your development in this brave new world. I am afraid our time has come to an end. This is goodbye Zane… For now."

After saying this, the woman leaned down, pulling her veil down just enough to reveal her lips, yet the upper half of her face was still shrouded by the hood of her long and weathered black cloak.

In the instant her luscious lips made contact with Zane's forehead, the man awoke to replace his lips being kissed by none other than Angelica, terrifying him in a way which he had never felt before.

"What? What the hell is going on? Where am I? Why is Angelica kissing me?"

It took Zane several moments to recognize that he was in the real world once more, and no longer with the mysterious woman, one who felt deeply familiar to him. And when he finally realized this, Zane understood that he had awoken right into a catfight. One which he appeared responsible for.