Then the undead came into scene. Thousands of demons crawled out of their various hellholes and joined the half-breeds in their fight against humankind. With the undead on their side, they started to lay siege on the cities. For the first time, I felt unsure of our victory on this war. But the king didn't even have a trace of uneasiness. That was until our intelligence group discovered that the demons sent a message to the kingdom of Schwarzwald, stating that they should remain neutral if they do not want to be their second target. It surprised us, we always thought that the enemies we were fighting against were mere monsters, brainless primitive brutes. But what came after was more shocking: Prontera was the main target. And the creeps that currently attack the walls? They were a tenth of their actual army size.

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Chapter One. Hope and Doubt.

Edward fell down, face first, into the ground. The icy soil greeted his face, scraping his already numb cheek. Exhausted, he inhaled; damp earth as well as its scent filled his nostrils. He lay there, motionless, half-wanting that the falling snow would just pile on him, suffocating him..

For a moment, he was wondering what he was doing.

"Edward get your ass back up, I need some help here!" a voice from afar said, waking him from his conscious slumber.

He got back up quickly, and looked around the vast courtyard. Hundreds of tombstones littered the area, crosses adorned with icy stalactites, and covered by a thin sprinkle of powder snow. Then he ran towards two faint figures. He cursed as he stumbled out of balance a few times, apparently still wobbly after that last strike.

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Lyla struggled, arms blocking all attacks dealt to her. No matter how tired she was, she couldn't bear to put down her defence. She stared at disbelief at her assailant. After all of her attacks, it was still standing, brandishing its decaying arms. She looked at the points where her fist struck; what used to be its organs were now mere empty holes.

And yet it still stands.

The corpse continued, letting out a barrage of uncoordinated yet powerful swipes. Its nails clawing, ripping her skin, and staying there. Its crumbling face a blank slate, expressionless.

Just a little longer..

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"Lyla, now!" Edward yelled as he stopped behind her, foot digging onto the ground as he twisted his body, hands grabbing the end of an iron pipe. His companion responded by sliding under the zombie, and using the momentum of the move, kicked the corpse on its behind, pushing it towards him – just as he spun counter clockwise, and swung his arms, together with the metal, to the zombie.

The pipe, corroded beyond belief, shattered upon the sheer force exerted upon hitting its body. Only the part where Edward held the shaft remained as its pieces dug itself on the corpse's midsection, tearing its skin, straight to its stomach, and littered the air around them.

Edward, still under the influence of the spin's inertia, completed the spin, knocked over the mobile corpse with his left elbow, and drove the sharp edge of what was left of the pipe between the zombie's eyes.

No sound came from its rotten lips.

That's the problem with these . You never know when they're really dead.

Shivering slightly from the coldness of dawn, he stood back up, eyes scouring the frozen graveyard. He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing no signs of life.

I now consider walking corpses alive? I really must be going crazy.

He glanced upon his right, his companion standing beside a battered brick wall.

"Found it?" He called.

"Yup," She was smiling. "Come and see."

Behind the wall, alongside the rows of tombstones, were a hundred plants, each of them having five to six long pale white leaves.

Fragile, innocent, seemingly out of place in the cold, cold world.

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"Hvit plants." Lyla whispered.

Lyla picked a leaf, rolled it up, and lit one end with a lighter. Warmth soon spread all over her body as she puffed on the herb. She exhaled an air of contentness.

"So.." Edward interrupted, snapping Lyla back to the cruel reality. "Looks like our plans will continue."

"Your plan. Remember that." She hated it when things go his way.

"You can't back out of this one. We got enough leaves to last the journey. That was the deal."

She sighed. He was right. He was always right. Why did I have to agree on that? Dammit, I don't want to leave…

"Why do we have to go.. We can't leave this place, it's our only home."

"We have to go. Nothing's gonna happen if we stay here our whole lives. There's a better place-"

"Yeah, I know. You've been talking about that one for weeks-"

"-We can go there-"

"How do you know it even exists-"

"-I told you, this book-"

"That book only mentioned its name! We don't even know where it is! What if it's just a fairy tale, or.. or.. or…" She slumped down, words drowned by sobs.

Edward sat in front of her, his hands cupping her face.

"Just.. trust me on this. Please." Edward looked directly, sincerely, at her eyes.

For a few moments they were still, their eyes locked in some sort of indecipherable understanding.

Finally, She broke her gaze, and slowly nodded.

"Oneesan.." Edward wrapped his arms around her, and his sister did the same.

..Everyone.. please guide our way.