Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

He did not know exactly how to describe Phoenix, or at least its current state. Other than the fact that it appeared to be on the surface a peaceful coexistence between the Living and the Dead. A bizarre occurrence, so much so that Zane genuinely believed he might be hallucinating as he walked among the city streets in a dazed and confused state.

Humans and Undead alike were entirely unguarded by the outsider who walked around as if he were suffering from a giant fever dream. Zane honestly had an urge to reach out and touch the locals to see if he was really seeing reality.

But before he could do so, Zane was approached by a young woman, who could tell he was not a local due to the way he was dressed and how he was acting. There was a cheerful tone in her voice, and a name tag pinned to her blouse. Which itself was almost like a uniform of some kind.

"Welcome to Phoenix, a haven for the living and dead alike! Thanks to the benevolence of our Master and Goddess, Serena, we here in Phoenix are able to live a peaceful life, free from the worries of the wasteland outside our borders! Since you are new here, how about you accompany for a brief orientation? After all, I am sure that everything you see is deeply confusing."

The woman appeared to not be willing to take no for an answer as Zane warily evaded her attempt to latch hold of his arm. In fact, his hostile actions caused the bystanders, whether they were living human beings, or undead monsters to look at him as if he were some kind of ruffian.

"Get your damn hands away from me, woman! What the hell is going on here? Serena? Is she the Horde King in charge of this place? What kind of sick, twisted joke is this? I have seen strange things throughout the wasteland, but I have never seen a farm as despicable as this!"

The woman looked at Zane with a gaze of pity. Not recognizing the term farm, as meaning a city designed to keep humans fat and happy in order to be used as meat for the undead masters secretly in charge of the city behind the scenes.

As for the trouble he was making, the guide wanted to calm Zane down, but suddenly a woman appeared before him. Having seemingly teleported out of thin air. She had long, and wavy crimson hair. As well as matching eyes. The fangs which protruded from her mouth showed Zane that she was of the Vampire lineage of undead.

Even Zane was enamored by the almost divine charm which the scarlet beauty was exuding. But she took one look at Zane and immediately knew who he was. Quickly dismissing her servant as she personally took the opportunity to meet with the Prince of Death.

"Mary, you have done enough. This guest is far more distinguished than you are qualified to welcome. Go and rest, you have earned it.

As for you, I must say, you look just like her… So the rumors are true, the Prodigal son has finally returned to paradise? I know what you might think, Zane, that this is merely a trick on my part to keep the local human population docile and fattened. But make no mistake, I genuinely believe that the path to prosperity is a peaceful co-existence between the living and the dead.

Here, in Phoenix, both of our needs are met. I protect humanity from the monsters at the gates, providing them with the food, water, and comforts they need to survive. While in return, they pay a small tax of blood to me and my kin. There is nothing sinister going on behind the scenes. This is just how things are done here.

Zane did not believe Serena\'s words for one moment, and was quick to chastise her for her attempts to fool him. I mean, peaceful co-existence between the living and dead? That was simply not possible in this world!

"You really think I\'m stupid enough to believe that nonsense? Now that you know who I am, I assume you will be alerting your siblings of my whereabouts? I mean, Victor just chased me out of his domain after all. I\'m sure he would be delighted to know you caught his prey for him!"

Zane was aware that Serena was an entity he could not escape from now that he was directly in front of her. Nor could he fight against her. Even so, he was prepared to fight to the death if need be. As it was better to go down swinging than to present his neck to the Vampire Queen in front of him.

However, the scarlet-haired beauty surprised him by scowling when she heard the name victor. Immediately expressing her revolt towards the man.

"I will forgive you, for you are ignorant of the insult you have just given me. But don\'t you dare compare me to Victor! That fucking bastard. I owe him a great debt of blood for the last time we met.

Zane, you seem to be mistaken about things. Which is not surprising considering the fact that until very recently you were hiding among the living. Make no mistake about it, m,y siblings and I are not nearly as united as you think we are.

Sure, we do not fight among ourselves, and instead cooperate for the greater good of our people, something which the humans are incapable of doing. But there are two primary factions among us fighting for supremacy secretly behind the scenes.

There are the Fanatics beneath Balthazar, who worship Death herself as some kind of a cosmic entity of destruction. One who will bring an end to the old world, and instead create a place for the dead to inherit the Earth. And in doing so, seeing themselves as the instruments of her destruction.

And then you have the moderates who rally behind Lilith. Secularists, who believe in pursuing greater individual power, and working together towards such aims. They have no real belief in Death as a physical being, nor do they consider the religious fervor of the Fanatics to be conducive towards a functioning world.

But… You see although those are the two primary factions among our ranks. There are other, individual Horde Kings like myself who possess an enough power that we can tell those two lunatics to fuck right off. And hence why I was able to create this oasis in the desert.

Zane, you are a welcomed guest here, and a distinguished one as that. Unlike Lilith and her lot, I have had the luxury of seeing your mother in person during my initial transformation. I know who you are, and I know the power of who is backing you.

So long as you wish to stay here in Phoenix, I will do everything I can to protect you and ensure your proper growth. However, at the same time, you\'re more than welcome to leave if you can\'t find it within yourself to trust your own eyes.

I will pretend as if I never saw you, and you can continue on your journey of self development unimpeded by myself, or my siblings who are hunting you. But you should be aware before you make a decision that thanks to me, there are over one million living, breathing human beings here in Phoenix. Who live peaceful lives, protected by my Horde.

I do not extract a pound of flesh from my citizens Like Lilith does, nor do I desire to feast upon their hearts like Victor might. Rather, I require a mere donation of blood, voluntarily given by my subjects, to sustain myself and my growth. I am, after all of a far more noble lineage than those monsters who call themselves my betters. One that does not require devouring human flesh to thrive…

In fact, look around and truly observe what you see here. There are no zombies, or ghouls, or other monsters among the ranks of the Undead who dwell in my domain. Rather, this Sun City is ironically the home of vampires and humans.

So tell me, do you really believe that under these conditions, such a peaceful society can not exist?"

Zane looked around. And indeed, the only undead he could see were of the Vampiric variety. In addition to this, plenty of humans seemed to be thriving in the area, and happy at that. Was this really the way that Phoenix was? Or was he being fooled by the local Horde King?

He honestly couldn\'t tell, nor did he know if he should stick around and discern the truth himself, or try to flee at the first given opportunity. It was a decision however, that he would have to come to one way or another.