Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night
Chapter 177: Nightmare Part II

Zane was surprised about what had happened to him just now in this dreamscape. After all, earlier in the day he felt oddly comfortable with what he had done, after nearly losing his mind thinking about it. Yet the moment he fell asleep, he seemed to be haunted by it once more.

What could have possibly been the cause for this temporary resolution regarding the internal turmoil he felt at the idea of cannibalizing the hearts of the Awakened survivors he slayed? No matter what, Zane could not understand the answer.

In the end, he was forced to dwell upon his own identity. He was truly half human and half undead. And he had known this for a while. But until now, he either outright rejected what it had meant, or suppressed it deep within his own heat and mind.

But here and now, he was forced to confront this reality. Sure, he had gained significant strength in a short amount of time by eating the crystallized hearts of the awakened. But at what cost? His humanity? Perhaps if this was six months ago, prior to the outbreak of the apocalypse, he would have no problems with this.

After all, until very recently, he did not even consider himself a human being, but rather an outsider in a world ruled by humanity. And yet he experienced with the likes of Olivia, Elena, Angelica, Madison, and recently Lily had begun to slowly humanize him. Even if his body itself was becoming more and more like an undead monster with each level up he gained.

Surely one part of his identity would consume the other eventually, right? Yet as Zane silently thought about this, the mysterious stranger watched him carefully, almost as if she could read his mind, and could tell exactly what he was thinking.

Still, she did not speak, rather; she let the man think for himself. After all, independence was something that Zane needed in order to experience growth. And she wanted more than anything for him to become stronger, both physically in the form of his combat prowess and emotionally as a sentient being.

Thus, she watched silently until Zane had finally solved the turmoil in his heart regarding his conflicting sense of self, and the reality of his identity. In the end, Zane sighed heavily. It was perhaps the heaviest sigh any living being had ever made.

In allowing the air to escape from his lungs, Zane finally managed to let go of the past, which had always haunted him, and any confliction he felt towards his identity as an undead-human hybrid. As he did this, the colorless reality of his mental space slowly began to gain color.

The dead trees and bushes began to come back to life as foliage began to bloom, bringing the world within Zane's mind back to life. Or at least half of it. The other half remained the same dark and dead interior, the only difference being the color being brought back to it.

Ultimately, the darkness and the light, the living and the dead split the sky in half. One side with a blood red crescent moon, and the other with blazing sun. Not only had the sky been perfectly split, but so two had the world below. With the lake being split between crystal clear blue water and a pool of blood.

The sudden revitalization of Zane's mind cast out the shadowy demons in his heart, who had until now only been kept at bay by the mysterious stranger. When the woman saw the changes to Zane's mental space, even she could not help but gasp in shock, before her full luscious lips eventually curved into a warm and gentle smile.

Zane stepped forward to the woman, who had retreated to the dark side of the lake, and grasped her hands, thanking her for the guidance she had given him that allowed him to fully comprehend who he truly was, and what he wanted in this world.

"I don't know your name… And I honestly doubt you will give it to me, even if I asked. But whoever you are, thank you… I know now what my purpose is in life… And I will strive towards that goal until the day I die, even if that may be tomorrow.

The mysterious woman who appeared to be guiding Zane's journey in this new and troubling world he found himself in smiled when she heard this, and kissed Zane on the forehead like she had done before, all while bidding him farewell.

"It will be some time before I am able to speak to you again, Zane… I am just happy that I could help resolve the conflict in your heart. Although I have things to do, just know that I will always be by your side, and in times of great danger I will silently guide you to safety, whether you realize it or not…"

Before Zane could respond to this sudden proclamation, he awoke within the real world to replace a pair of blood-red eyes staring curiously at him. Zane was so startled by this that he tossed and turned out of his covers, only to fully realize that the eyes that were staring at him belonged to Maya.

When Zane realized this, he sighed in relief, and pat the girl's multicolored hair, before climbing out of bed.

"Damn it Maya, you scared the shit out of me!"

Zane's affection for the girl was immediately distracted as immediately after petting her hair, he heard a groan come from by his side, followed by a harsh tone which he was all too familiar with.

"What the hell Zane? Why the fuck did you hit me?"

It was none other than Elena, who was mending the slap she had just received by her lover while yawning, clearly too tired to be angry with the man despite the vicious words she had used. Zane felt the need to explain himself and was quick to do so in an attempt to avoid the blame.

"It was Maya! She was right here staring at me while I slept!"

However, when Zane looked back to where Maya was standing just moments before, she was nowhere to be found. Zane found this especially alarming when Elena called him on his "bullshit."

"Yeah right… Zane, the door is locked. There is no way Maya could have gotten in here… Are you sure you weren't just seeing things? Like a sleep paralysis demon, perhaps?"

Zane immediately got up and walked over to the door, which he confirmed was fully locked. This, of course, would not have been possible had Maya actually been in the room and escaped before she could be further chastised. Naturally confusing Zane as he stared at the locked door in disbelief.

"What the fuck?"

But Elena didn't let Zane stay startled for long, instead climbing out of bed and undressing from her pajamas, where she immediately beckoned Zane to join her in the shower.

"Come on, don't dawdle. If you do, we are going to be late for breakfast!"

Zane took one last look at the locked door, and back to where he had so vividly seen Maya staring at him just moments before, and decided that perhaps Elean was right. Perhaps he was seeing things, especially after the nightmare he had just received.

With this, Zane then followed Elena into the shower, where the two of them would emerge from the bedroom not long while meeting the others for breakfast.