CHAPTER 65: BEFORE THE FALL

[CONTINUATION—]

From the shadows between the trees came a low, rattling groan— the kind that made the ground feel colder.

"GRAahhhhhh"

The first zombie stumbled out— a twisted, armored thing with bone plates fused into its shoulders and ash dripping from its mouth like smoke.

Behind it came more, stepping out one by one from the gloom. Their eyes burned faintly red, hollow and cold.

Soda stood up straight, her hair brushing against her cheek as she turned to face them. "Guess we’ve got company..."

Stephanie smirked despite the tension, then frowned with confusion written on her face "Wait, are those? Real life Zombies?"

"They’re illusion, idiot" Soda muttered, flexing her fingers.

The zombies moved immediately, the sound was chaos—

THUD-THUD-THUD

The ground vibrating as their feet pounded the earth. Leaves scattered. Arrows flew again.

Soda’s wings unfurled completely, slicing the air with a sharp whoomph. She took off in a blur, wind spiraling around her as she twisted midair, redirecting one arrow with a gust that sent it back into the skull of its shooter.

Thunk! The zombie dropped.

Stephanie lunged forward, her blade igniting faintly with a violet glow. She met the first creature head-on, slicing through its side, sending black dust spilling like ink.

"You know?...we could make a pretty good team..." Stephanie muttered between swings.

"Don’t flatter yourself," Soda snapped, blasting a gust that sent three zombies tumbling backward into the trees.

The wind screamed. Branches cracked. The forest felt alive— pulsing with motion, light, and sound.

One zombie lunged at Soda from behind— but her wings folded sharply, spinning her in a half turn. She kicked upward, the wind amplifying her motion, and the creature went flying into another with a deafening crash!

Stephanie spun her blade again, breathing hard. "Okay, I’ll admit..." clang! She parried another strike. "...you’re not completely useless."

"Wow," Soda muttered, sending another wind strike that tore a zombie’s arm clean off. "I just saved your ass, don’t be an ass-hole"

The zombies kept coming— more of them now, crawling from the fog and trees, moaning low and deep. One of them jumped at Stephanie from above (a tree), and she ducked, rolling just as it smashed into the ground behind her.

Soda dropped beside her, wind swirling at her feet.

"You take left"

Stephanie snapped "You don’t tell me what to do, no one made you a leader."

Soda ignored her so they launched together.

For a brief moment, their movements synced— Soda’s wind creating openings while Stephanie’s blade cut through the gaps. The forest echoed with sounds of impact, slicing air, snapping wood, and the guttural cries of undead things collapsing into dust.

Then, silence again.

Smoke drifted between the trees. The air smelled of burnt moss and iron.

Soda lowered her stance, breathing heavy. "That all of them?" Stephanie tilted her head, scanning. "For now?."

Soda brushed her hair back, her glare still half-aimed at her partner. "Next time, when I say take left, do it."

Stephanie smirked faintly, sliding her blade back into its sheath. "Next time, try thanking me for not letting you die."

Soda gave her a long, cold stare, then a laugh. "This is not working, it’s not gonna work, I don’t care what Principal Darren or Camila gotta say... I’m not teaming with you. EVER."

"That was what I was gonna say, I’m done. Good luck finding that relic all by yourself self, if only there’s any relic around here in the first place..." Stephanie said, sharp and angry.

And with that, she turned— wings folding behind her as she walked away, she walked down the next path leading back to the camp. Her footsteps was steady, the air bending softly around her as if it obeyed only her.

Soda watched her go, her smirk fading slightly. "Yeah that’s right, keep going...i don’t need you anyways" Then, She turned and kept going further, hopefully she finds this relic and report back to the camp.

***********************

"Where are we even heading?" Valkyrie asked, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face.

"I don’t know," Bulb replied, his tone half playful and half weary. "We keep walking till we find this thing..."

The forest swallowed their words. Only the soft hum of distant wind and the whisper of leaves filled the silence that followed. They moved side by side, boots crunching faintly over the uneven earth. Every now and then, their shoulders brushed: accidentally, awkwardly... followed by a quick step apart.

For a long stretch, they didn’t speak. Valkyrie’s eyes traced the moss-coated trees... Bulb’s gaze lingered on her profile more than once, but he quickly looked away whenever she caught him. The silence grew heavier, like the forest itself was holding its breath.

Then—

"I wanted to tell..."

They both spoke at once, freezing mid-sentence.

Bulb blinked. "Uh... you go first."

Valkyrie shook her head. "No, you go ahead."

He hesitated for a moment, scratching the back of his neck, before exhaling sharply. "Alright," he said. "I actually wanted to apologize. For my sister."

Valkyrie frowned slightly. "Your sister?"

"Yeah... Stephanie." He looked down, kicking a small rock from the path. "What she did to you the other time...it was wrong. I’m really sorry about that."

Valkyrie’s brows furrowed as she tried to recall. "What she did?"

"The bracelet," Bulb said quietly. "The one you wore all the time. She broke it... on purpose."

"Oh..." The memory came back like a faint echo. A small flash of hurt, now dulled by time. "That?" Valkyrie shrugged softly. "I’d already forgotten."

Bulb chuckled under his breath, the sound low and nervous. "You always do that. Let things go like they never mattered. I just wanted to... you know... let you know not everyone in my family’s that cruel."

Valkyrie tilted her head slightly, watching him. "Cruel isn’t the word," she said finally. "She’s just... a bully. I don’t take her seriously anymore."

That drew a smile from him— faint and genuine. "Yeah, that’s fair."

They kept walking. The wind grew quieter, the air thicker. Above them, beams of light cut through the canopy in slender gold threads, painting their faces in soft glows as they walked through.

Then Bulb turned slightly. "So," he asked, "what were you going to say?"

Valkyrie hesitated. Her lips parted, but no words came. She blinked rapidly, like trying to clear her thoughts. "Oh, I...uhm... nothing. It’s not important."

"Not important?" he teased lightly. "You don’t start with ’I wanted to tell you’ and then say it’s nothing."

"I just..." she paused, clutching her staff closer. "Forget it, Bulb."

He chuckled, stepping in front of her, stopping their walk. "Come on, Val. You can’t leave me hanging like that."

She sighed, her wings twitching slightly behind her. "Bulb...you’re impossible..."

"Guilty," he said with a grin.

For a moment, neither of them moved. The forest was quiet, almost too quiet. Valkyrie looked down, kicking softly at the soil, her face a faint mix of nerves and something else she couldn’t name.

Bulb’s expression softened as he studied her— the way her eyes darted away, the faint pink in her cheeks.

"Valkyrie," he said softly, "can I say something... real?"

She looked up, meeting his eyes.

He took a breath, his voice lower now and more fragile. "I know what the Book of Hope says. Angels and Devils aren’t supposed to... well, this isn’t supposed to happen."

Her chest tightened. "W–what do you mean?"

"...What i meant is, it doesn’t matter to me," he interrupted gently. "I haven’t felt like this for anyone my entire life. Not even close."

The words hung in the air between them, thick and trembling. Valkyrie opened her mouth, but no sound came. Her wings quivered faintly.

"You don’t mean that," she said at last, barely above a whisper.

"I do." He stepped closer, his tone steady now. "I know I shouldn’t. I know what they’d do if they found out. But I can’t help it. Every time I see you, I just..." He stopped himself, laughing under his breath. "I sound stupid, I know."

"No," she said softly. "You sound... honest."

Bulb met her gaze. "Then tell me I’m not alone in this."

Her heartbeat pounded so loud she could almost hear it echoing in her ears. "Bulb," she whispered again, "you know the laws. The Book of Hope forbids..."

"Shhh." He raised a finger gently to her lips. "Forget the book. Forget the council. Just...forget it all for one second."

The world seemed to hold still. The air, the trees, even the drifting specks of light froze in that suspended silence.

Bulb leaned closer. "Tell me you don’t feel it too," he murmured.

Valkyrie’s breath trembled. Her lips parted— "I..."

And then—

CRRRRACKKK!

The ground beneath them split like shattered glass. The sound roared through the forest, echoing into the distance.

"ARGghhhh!" Valkyrie screamed, stumbling backward as the earth crumbled under their feet.

"VAL...!" Bulb’s voice was cut short as the soil gave way completely, the light around them swallowed by darkness.

They fell together— their hands barely reaching each other’s, fingertips brushing once before gravity tore them apart.

Wind rushed past their ears, howling like a thousand whispers. Dirt and roots ripped free, tumbling alongside them. Their screams tangled and vanished into the deep echoing void below.

THEN...SILENCE FOLLOWED