Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night
Chapter 246: False Paradise

The journey to Elysium was not exactly a long one. Though it could have been traversed much quicker if Zane had gone by his lonesome. The fact that the women by his side demanded to accompany him on this diplomatic visit meant that Zane was forced to drive them with the armored HuNovelFireee. A vehicle that took hours to arrive at the final destination.

When they gazed upon Elysium, it was as if they had entered a fantasy world. One far removed from the realm of Earth and its reality. The walls had tall, and spiring towers which were laid out every few meters. Towers which were filled with members of the Cult's militia, who no doubt protected the city from any outside threats.

Whether it was the walls themselves, or the towers which pierced the heavens, everything was elaborately crafted, no doubt from materials scavenged from the undead, and refined in the various buildings which were granted by the system and its settlement management feature.

Unlike Gravestone, which was built around the ruins of an old-world city, and thus, its walls were less than methodically planned. Elysium was built entirely within the new world. Located strategically within the Sierra Mountainside, it not only had access to critical resources like fresh water, timber, and stone. But it also was designed with defense against the undead in mind.

The city was built like a concentric castle. With three walls, each of varying size. The outer most wall was the shortest in height, but the largest in terms of area between it and the next of its kind. This territory was primarily filled with large swaths of agricultural land. Farms and ranches took up the bulk of the areas constructed here. But there also existed small towns built around them.

In fact, Zane was surprised to see that the depth between the entry gates, which they passed through without incident due to the invitation letter he had received, and the next wall, was well over ten miles in length.

Of course, after passing through the farmland, and seeing a large amount of crops being grown, and animals being raised for their pelts and meat. Zane and the girls eventually made their way to the second wall without incident.

Once inside the second wall, which stood quite a bit higher than the outer wall, and had a moat around it, much like the outer wall had, Zane found that this area was far more urbanized. And no doubt was where the majority of Elysium's population settled.

The area was filled with fachwerk style houses, shops, and factories that looked as if they were straight out of Medieval Germany. Or one might dare say a stereotypical fantasy town. The streets were paved with cobblestone and were highly organized. In a way that Gravestone simply wasn't.

Shops were hawking all kinds of goods. Whether it was food, equipment, or simple oddities, either scavenged from the wasteland, or built themselves from scratch. One thing was certain, the quality of life in Elysium was significantly higher than that of Gravestone.

Children ran through the streets without the slightest care that the world outside the walls which surrounded them was a desolate wasteland filled with undead monsters that would want more than anything to tear the flesh from their bone.

And parents ran after their children, similarly free of such worries. It was only after seeing such a carefree environment that Zane was starting to understand why Valeria was worshipped as a goddess by the people who settled beneath the safety she provided.

Elysium was a proverbial paradise in a wasteland of a world filled with death and suffering. Even Zane had to admit that his previous notions of Gravestone being self sufficient, and better off than anyone else in the world, were thoroughly shattered by what he saw when visiting Elysium.

And he was not the only one. Angelica, who hid her facial features with a white hooded cloak, looked around in astonishment. Feeling quite inadequate towards the so called Goddess who could provide such a utopia for her followers, while all she could do was to heal the sick and the wounded.

Zane did not notice this lack of self worth in Angelica's green eyes. Instead, he continued forward through the city's streets to the third and highest wall. Only the most loyal and devout of the Goddesses' followers could exist within this wall.

And though Zane did not realize it yet, the people who lived atop this hill, which overlooked the rest of the city, were more lucky than he could possibly understand. It was not just the height of luxury which they enjoyed. But protection against Lilith's hunger, and that of her Horde.

Of course, there was no way for Zane to understand the sick and twisted secret which this false Paradise had for its inhabitants. And thus he blindly walked into the lion's den, proceeding through the third wall, before eventually coming across his final destination.

Atop this hill sat a large castle, whose walls stood even higher than the third and final wall. Truly, the one who lived in this fortification was more important than any other human being within this city. And it was she who had invited them all this way.

Only those with an invitation from the Goddess herself could enter these walls. And when Zane handed the invitation letter to the guards who stood outside its gates, protecting the Goddess from any harm that may seek her out. They simply nodded their heads and granted Zane passage.

But it was Zane alone who was permitted entry, as it was only his name on the invitation. And because of this, Zane looked out towards the women in his party, where they gazed upon him with anxious expressions.

They had come all this way, only to realize that Zane alone was permitted entry into the Goddess's home. And when they all realized that, they were forced to debate among themselves about what they would do.

Zane sighed heavily. He did not want to part ways with his party, but he realized he should have expected such an outcome, and was quick to apologize to the group for his shortsightedness.

"I'm sorry... I should have seen this coming. We came all this way, only for it to be a complete and total waste..."

Angelica, however, was perhaps the only one in the group who did not share this sentiment. Spurred on by a hidden lack of confidence, she suddenly had a desire to know just how Valeria had accomplished to build such a paradise within this living hell that was now the Earth.

And because of this desire, she urged Zane to go forward, alone, without their support, reminding him in the process that he possessed more than enough strength to fight his way out of any trap that Valeria might try to catch him in.

"I know this may not be the wisest course of action. But Zane... We have come all this way. Are we really going to back out of this now? Now that we have seen what these people have accomplished all on their own?

Can you really sit there and tell me that we are going to forsake an opportunity to trade and cooperate with these people, even after you have seen all that they have accomplished? I know we should be hating them for what they have tried to do to us in the past, but Zane, we can learn a thing or two from these people, right?"

Though Angelica's words were filled with logic and reasoning, Elena was quick to intervene. Instantly shouting her opinion at Angelica, and Zane, who appeared to be entertaining the woman's words.

"No way! I'm not letting Zane go in there by himself! This is clearly a trap of some kind! Sure, he may be able to take care of himself in a fight, but what if... What if she drugs him? Have you ever thought of such a possibility?

I mean, there's a million ways this can go wrong, real fast! I won't let him go alone!"

Both women's perspectives were equally valid. It would be an enormous risk for Zane to take, especially if Valeria was really connected with Lilith after all. If she dared to appear before him, any strength he may have would be completely and utterly meaningless.

Lilith was a monster that Zane could not contend with on his own. The only problem is, he had not alerted the women in his party to what Maya had warned him about. They did not know the extra level of risk that was involved.

And because of this, Olivia threw in her lot with Angelica, forgoing the perceived danger as being worth the risk. And advising Elena to put her emotions aside and think about this matter rationally.

"Elena... I understand your feelings. Hell, we all do... But Angelica is right... Look around. I mean, this place is untouchable, even by the undead.

It's why it exists here! There have to be things we don't know about, things that are protecting them.

Things that we could really use! I know it's risky, but I think it's a risk we have to take. We can go and speak with the locals, and try to replace out more information, while Zane speaks with Valeria. I'm sure Zane can handle whatever she may be plotting against him.

Olivia's words made sense and normally would be enough to convince Elena. But every nerve in her body told her something horrible was waiting inside for Zane. Something he would not be able to deal with on his own. And that terrified her.

Still, the glances the other women gave her were enough peer pressure to force her to back down. And thus, Elena walked up to Zane, and grabbed the back of his head, where she kissed him, blushing as she broke away, and in doing so forced him to make a promise.

"Promise me you will come back to me in one piece, alright? Promise me!"

Zane chuckled, and patted the girl's crimson hair, and in doing so caused the young woman to pout, as he assured her that he would indeed return to her in one piece.

"I promise... You all go and replace out what you can about this place from the people in it. I'm going to go have a chat with this so-called goddess..."

After saying this, Zane walked past the guards who were waiting patiently for him to finish his discussion, and entered the castle grounds, where the gates shut behind him.