The world outside a school was a nightmare. The sky was an eternal storm of gray and black, and the streets were crawling with the undead. Weak zombies, their flesh rotting and hanging from their bones, mindlessly wandered the grounds of the dilapidated school. Some bumped into the rusted chain-link fence that surrounded the building, while others clawed at the windows. Beyond the fence, survivors moved in small groups, dispatching the zombies with whatever makeshift weapons they could find—baseball bats, rusty crowbars, even broken chairs and shards of glass. Gunshots echoed in the distance as another group fought off a horde, the chaos of the apocalypse playing out just beyond the classroom walls.

But inside the classroom, the scene was... bizarrely normal.

Ryzen sat at one of the old wooden desks, his large frame barely fitting in the small chair. His elbows rested on the graffiti-covered desk, and his eyes were fixed on the front of the room, where Espen stood.

Except this wasn't the usual, chaotic Espen. No, this version of her was dressed in a makeshift teacher's outfit, complete with a buttoned-up blouse, a pencil skirt, and glasses perched on her nose. Her wild hair was tied up in a surprisingly neat ponytail, and she held a piece of chalk in one hand, her other hand resting on her hip as she stood in front of the cracked blackboard.

Her energy, however, remained the same.

"Alright, class," she announced in a mock-serious voice, tapping the chalk against the board. "Today's lesson is Lore 101: The True One and the Monarchs. Pay attention, or I'll throw something at you."

Ryzen couldn't help but smirk. "You look ridiculous! Haha!"

Espen shot him a glare, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses. "Quiet, you. I'm teaching here. Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to lore dump this stuff on you?"

Ryzen leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest, still grinning. "Alright, alright. Lay it on me."

Espen cleared her throat dramatically, tapping the chalk on the board again before turning to face it. She began drawing a large, crude circle in the center of the board. It was messy, uneven, and more than a little wobbly, but she pretended not to notice.

"So, let's start with the basics," she began, her voice shifting into what was clearly her attempt at sounding professional. "The Monarchs. Those big, bad stone assholes we've been facing off against? They're not just random bosses wandering the land. No, no, no. They're actually the destroyed remnants of the *True One's* body."

Ryzen frowned, sitting up a little straighter. "The 'True One'?"

'There's always a big bad. Of course there is.'

Espen nodded, turning back to face him, her glasses slipping down her nose slightly. "Uh-huh. Hell's Deity. The big boss of... well, Hell. You see, the True One was too powerful to walk on Earth. His presence alone would've torn the whole planet apart. So, in all his super infinite wisdom, he decided the best way to manifest was to—get this—kill himself."

Ryzen blinked. "Wait, the guy offed himself?"

Espen grinned, clearly enjoying his confusion. "Yup! Killed himself and split his body up into a bunch of little pieces. And those pieces? They became the Monarchs."

She turned back to the board and started drawing what looked like multiple stick figures surrounding the wobbly circle. "These," she said, pointing at the stick figures, "are the Monarchs. Each one is a part of the True One's body, so when they manifest on Earth, it's like his power is leaking through them. But here's the kicker—the more his blood spreads, the more he spoils the Tree of the World."

Ryzen raised an eyebrow. "Tree of the World?"

Espen sighed dramatically. "Yes, Ryzen, try to keep up. The Tree of the World is this ancient thing the Paladins created hundreds of years ago. It's kinda like the glue that holds everything together—Earth, the fabric of reality, all that good stuff. The True One's blood is corrupting it. The more it spreads, the more he can manifest. He's using his Monarchs to spread that corruption, and eventually, he'll be able to pull himself back together and walk the Earth again."

Ryzen's face darkened as he thought about it. "So... if we don't stop the Monarchs, the True One's coming back?"

Espen nodded, tapping the stick figures with the chalk. "Exactly. And if the True One comes back, it's game over for everyone. Earth, Hell, everything. He'll consume it all."

Ryzen leaned forward, processing the weight of her words. "And I was supposed to marry one of these Monarchs?!" He covered his mouth, about to vomit."

Espen turned to him, grinning. "Oh yeah, you were totally gonna get hitched to one of the True One's subordinates. That would've made you a zombie, by the way. A permanent one. You'd have lost your free will, your mind, everything. You'd have been just another mindless servant spreading the True One's blood and corruption across the world."

Ryzen shuddered as he bowed multiple times, "Thank you thank you for saving me!"

Espen raised the chalk, pointing it directly at him. "Why of course!"

Espen grinned, turning back to the board to continue her explanation. She started drawing what appeared to be a tree, though it looked more like a blob with branches. "So, the more the True One's blood spreads, the more it spoils the Tree of the World. And once the tree is fully corrupted, he'll use it to pull himself back together through his Monarchs and his zombies. It's like a massive interdimensional puzzle—except the pieces are covered in blood and rot."

Ryzen spoke, his voice dry. "Uh, question?"

Without missing a beat, Espen turned and whipped the piece of chalk at him, hitting him square in the forehead. "Raise your hand properly, student Ryzen!"

Ryzen rubbed his forehead, smirking. "OW! DAMN BRAT!"

"No yelling in my class!"

"Tch! Anyway, But seriously, what's your deal in all of this? Why did the Monarch say you should've been dead?"

Espen paused at the board, her back to Ryzen. The classroom fell silent for a moment, the sounds of distant gunfire and zombie groans faintly filtering through the broken windows. Slowly, she began to write on the board again, her movements slower, more deliberate.

She started to speak, her voice softer than before. "I'm the daughter of the True One."

Ryzen's eyes widened in shock, his mouth opening slightly. "Wait... what?"

'And here I am strolling around with this girl! There's a large target on us!'

Espen continued writing, despite the tremor in her hand. "My father... the True One... he locked me away because I wanted to experience Earth. My mother is a human." She paused, the chalk hovering in the air as she glanced over her shoulder at Ryzen. "I wasn't supposed to exist. I was a mistake—a half-human, half-demon hybrid. Father didn't like that. At all."

Ryzen stared at her, the weight of her words sinking in. "Your mom was human?"

Espen nodded, her back still turned to him. "Yeah... I guess I got my chaotic side from her. But my father—he saw me as a threat. I wasn't like the other demons. I was curious. I wanted to know what life was like outside of Hell. So, he locked me away, deep in the abyss. I was supposed to rot down there forever."

Ryzen felt a surge of anger on her behalf. "That's... messed up."

Espen let out a small, bitter laugh. "Yeah, tell me about it. So, one day, I got tired of being locked up. I broke out. Killed a bunch of Monarchs along the way, too. That's why they're all mad at me—they want me dead because I threw a wrench in their plans. And now I'm here, trying to stop my dear old dad from corrupting the world. And to also make the most out of freedom,, spending those nights alone by myself with no one to talk to really messed my head up."

Ryzen stared at her, feeling a strange mix of awe and sympathy.

'In some ways…she's a lot like me. Spending so much time alone, all we crave is for freedom, despite how corny it all sounds right now in my head. Before I met her, I used to hug myself every night because I was lacking so much.'

But something caught his eye. He looked at the board, and for the first time, he noticed that the words Espen was writing didn't match what she was saying. In fact, they didn't even make sense. It was all just a jumble of scribbles and gibberish.

He chuckled softly. "Espen... you can't write, can you?"

Espen froze, her hand still holding the chalk. Slowly, she turned to face him, her cheeks tinged with red. "What? Of course I can! I just... I mean..."

Ryzen stood up, walking over to her. Gently, he took her hand—still holding the chalk—and guided it to the board. "Here, let me help."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Espen's breath hitched as his hand covered hers, guiding her movements on the board. Together, they began to write out the explanation she had just given, the letters finally making sense. The chalk moved smoothly under their combined touch, and for a moment, the room was silent, save for the soft scraping of chalk on the board.

Espen's face was flushed, her heart racing as Ryzen's hand guided hers. She wasn't used to this—this closeness, this... tenderness. Her usual chaotic energy seemed to fade for a moment, replaced by something softer, something she didn't quite know how to handle.

When they finished writing, Ryzen stepped back, smiling down at her. "See? Not so hard."

Espen quickly pulled her hand away, her face still red as she awkwardly laughed. "Haha, haha! Yeah, uh, thanks. Let's just... let's just keep going with the lore, alright?"

"From now on, for 50 clips an hour, I'm gonna help you write!"

Espen stuck her tongue out at him. "Shut up."

She turned back to the board, still flustered but trying to focus. "Okay, so... where was I? Oh, right. Our powers."

She started drawing again, this time sketching what looked like a scythe—though, as usual, it was more of a wobbly, abstract version of one. "So, I can turn into a scythe. Pretty badass, right? When I'm in scythe form, I emit black and red shadows. The black ones cause enemies to rot—like, their flesh literally starts decaying where I slash them. The red shadows cause a bleed effect, making them lose blood faster."

Ryzen nodded, intrigued. "Makes sense."

Espen continued drawing, her enthusiasm returning. "And when I latch onto you—like, not in scythe form—I can increase your strength, speed, and durability. That's because of Hell's mana, called Inferno. It's like... a supercharged energy source. When my soul is connected to yours, you're basically drawing on Inferno's power, which makes you stronger."

Ryzen raised an eyebrow. "So, it's like a battery?"

Espen paused, thinking. "Yeah, kinda like that! Except way cooler and more hellish. And, uh..." She scratched her head with the chalk, clearly trying to remember something. "Oh! And it also boosts your healing abilities. Like, you saw how fast you were regenerating during that fight, right? That's all thanks to Inferno. It's like... super-charged regeneration."

Ryzen nodded, impressed. "Not bad."

Espen grinned, clearly proud of herself. "I know, right? I'm awesome."

For a moment, the two of them stood there in the quiet, the chaotic energy between them replaced by something softer, something... deeper. But then, as if remembering something painful, Espen's smile faltered. She glanced down at the chalk in her hand, her mind drifting elsewhere.

She remembered herself as a child, crying and reaching for her father as he abandoned her in the abyss. She could still see his cold, indifferent face as he turned his back on her, leaving her alone in the darkness. The memory hit her like a punch to the gut, and for a moment, she felt that same crushing loneliness she had felt all those years ago.

Quickly, she pulled her hand away from Ryzen's, her usual chaotic grin snapping back into place. "Haha, haha! Let's, uh... let's just continue the lore, yeah? No need to get all touchy-feely."

Ryzen watched her carefully, sensing something deeper beneath her laughter, but he didn't push. Instead, he nodded, stepping back. "What's next?"

Espen twirled the chalk between her fingers, her grin returning full force. "

Espen, still wearing her mock-teacher outfit, twirled a piece of chalk between her fingers as she faced Ryzen, who was sitting at his desk. The chaotic scene outside the school, with fading gunfire and the moans of distant zombies, was a stark contrast to the bizarre calmness in the classroom.

She turned to the blackboard, her makeshift ponytail swaying. "Alright, so we've covered how the True One's blood corrupts living things—people, zombies, Monarchs, all that fun stuff. But here's where it gets interesting…"

Ryzen tilted his head, his usual mix of curiosity and exasperation bubbling up. "Interesting how?"

Espen grinned, her eyes glinting with mischief. She tapped the chalk on the board, beginning to draw what looked like a series of random objects—a chair, a book, a pencil—each one crudely sketched in her usual chaotic style. "His blood can also influence anything it touches, and when it marinates for a while, things go boom!"

Ryzen blinked, folding his arms. "Anything?! Like, objects?! I don't wanna fight a fork or some shit.."

Espen turned to face him, her grin widening. "Oh, absolutely. Even the most mundane objects can become something far more... entertaining with a little bit of the True One's blood."

Before Ryzen could ask any more questions, Espen's eyes landed on something lying on the teacher's desk. A small, seemingly harmless pencil. Except, this pencil was smeared with streaks of dark, congealed blood—blood that pulsed faintly, like it had a life of its own.

Espen's smile grew even wider. She picked up the pencil, holding it delicately between her fingers as if it were a precious artifact. "Take this, for example."

Ryzen squinted at the pencil. "A pencil? What's so special about—"

Espen held the pencil up, inspecting it closely, her voice shifting to a more serious, almost academic tone. "This pencil has been touched by the True One's blood, since this entire school is infected. And when his blood seeps into something, it changes it. It makes it... alive."

Without warning, Espen clenched her fist, crushing the pencil with a sharp snap of wood.

Ryzen jumped in his seat. "What the hell?!"

The pieces of the broken pencil fell to the floor, but almost immediately, they began to shift, twitching as if some invisible force was pulling them together. The wood splinters fused, stretching and twisting unnaturally. The blood that had once stained the pencil soaked into the wood, giving it a grotesque, pulpy texture.

Slowly, the broken pieces of the pencil began to reform into something much larger. It grew taller, its body morphing into a rotten, humanoid figure. Its limbs were long and twisted, its skin decayed and peeling. But the most horrifying part was its head—where a face should have been, there was only a sharpened pencil tip, gleaming dangerously in the dim light.

Ryzen's eyes widened in horror as the creature stood before him, towering over the desk. "WHAT THE—"

'She wasn't lying! This is crazy!'

Before he could finish his sentence, he let out a high-pitched scream and jumped back, falling out of his chair and scrambling across the floor like a terrified child. "WHAT IS THAT?!"

Espen, meanwhile, doubled over in laughter, clutching her stomach as she watched Ryzen's panicked reaction. "Oh my god! You screamed like a little girl!" she said between fits of laughter.

Ryzen screamed, "Kill it!"

The pencil-headed zombie staggered forward, its limbs creaking as it moved, black blood dripping from its rotten body. It let out a low, gurgling moan, its sharpened head gleaming ominously.

Espen wiped a tear from her eye, still laughing. "That's how strong my father's blood is. It can turn even the most boring objects into *that*."

The zombie pencil lurched forward, its wooden limbs groaning as it reached for Ryzen. He scrambled backward, his voice cracking with fear. "I'M GONNA BE SICK!"

Espen's laughter slowly died down, and her expression shifted. Her eyes narrowed, and her playful smirk returned with a dangerous edge. "Time to take care of this."

With a swift motion, her fingers extended into sharp, black claws. She stepped forward, her movements fluid and predatory, and with a single slash, she sliced through the pencil zombie's midsection.

SLASH.

The creature split in half, its body collapsing to the floor with a wet, sickening thud. Black blood sprayed everywhere—across the walls, the desks, and unfortunately, all over Ryzen.

SPLAT.

Ryzen froze as the blood dripped from his hair and face. For a moment, he sat there in stunned silence before his stomach lurched. "I'm... I'm gonna be sick..."

Espen stood over the remains of the zombie, wiping her hands on her skirt like she'd just finished doing some light housework. "See? Easy."

Ryzen gagged, wiping the blood off his face. "I didn't sign up for this..."

Espen chuckled, but then her tone shifted to something more serious. "But that was just a small demonstration. The Monarchs are a thousand times stronger than that little guy. If we're going to stop them all, we need to get stronger. A lot stronger. And with my knowledge of how to kill them, we'll really be unstoppable."

Ryzen, still trying to clean off the black blood, looked up at her. "And how exactly do we do that?"

Espen's eyes gleamed with excitement. "By devouring zombies and Monarchs."

Ryzen blinked. "I'm sorry, what? I'm not eating zombies. Nope. No way!"

Espen nodded, pacing as she spoke, her voice filled with that chaotic energy she always carried. "With Inferno Mana, we can absorb their strength. Every time we defeat a zombie or a Monarch, we can consume their power and use it to grow stronger. So stop being a little wussy!"

Ryzen frowned, wiping his hands on his pants. "That sounds... dangerous. Is it even safe?"

Espen waved off his worry with a flick of her hand. "Don't worry about it. You can't get infected."

Ryzen's eyes narrowed. "And why's that?"

Espen grinned, tapping her temple. "Because you're already infected."

Ryzen blinked. "Wait... what?"

Espen nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! You're infected with me. Our souls are linked, remember? That makes you immune to the zombie virus."

Ryzen sat back, trying to process that. "So... I'm basically walking around with Hell's mana inside me?"

Espen clapped her hands. "Exactly! Isn't it awesome? We're basically unstoppable now."

Before Ryzen could respond, the door to the classroom suddenly flew open with a loud BANG.

Both Ryzen and Espen jumped to their feet, their bodies instinctively shifting into absurd fighting stances. Ryzen crouched low, his fists raised in a wildly exaggerated pose, while Espen stood with her hands raised in a comedic karate stance, her claws still extended.

They both stared at the doorway, ready for battle...

Only to find themselves staring down at a rooster.

Yes, a rooster.

The rooster casually strutted into the classroom, a cigarette dangling from its beak, completely unfazed by the chaos around it. It glanced lazily at Ryzen and Espen, puffing on the cigarette as if this was just another day in the apocalypse.

"So," the rooster said in a gravelly, nonchalant voice, "you guys friend... or foe? 'Cause if you're a foe, I'm gonna need you to hand over some paperclips."

Both Ryzen and Espen blinked, staring at the rooster in disbelief.

"A... a chicken?!" Ryzen stammered.

The rooster's eyes narrowed, smoke curling from its cigarette. "I'm a rooster, brats. Get it right."

Espen, completely unfazed, tilted her head. "Wait, did you say... paperclips?"

The rooster ignored her, casually inspecting Ryzen with a critical eye. "Hey, I know you. You're that suicidal idiot who does odd jobs for paperclips, right? Small-time stuff. Not exactly the brightest bulb in the box."

Ryzen's face flushed with irritation. "Damn you, Rooster! I'm making an honest living!"

The rooster blew out a cloud of smoke, completely unimpressed. "Yeah, well, it's not gonna be honest for long after you're super dead."

Ryzen stormed forward, getting up close to the rooster's face. "I'M NOT SUICIDAL! I'm just trying to survive!"

The rooster didn't even flinch. "Oh, I know you. You're the guy who tried bartering a half-eaten sandwich for a pack of clips, right? Yeah, that'll get you far in life."

Ryzen's face turned bright red. "THAT WAS ONE TIME! I WAS NEW! JUST STARTING OUT!"

Espen, watching the two of them bicker, slowly raised her hand. "Uh, excuse me... but what are clips?"

Both Ryzen and the rooster stopped mid-argument, turning to look at her.

The rooster sighed, taking another drag from his cigarette. "Clips. You know, paperclips? The world's currency now? You use them to buy items from the merchants who ride those giant turtles in the sky."

Espen's eyes lit up with curiosity. "Ohhh, that sounds cool! Can we get some?"

The rooster rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, if you're not dead by tomorrow."

Ryzen glared at the rooster. "Don't you have somewhere else to be, chicken?"

The rooster puffed out another cloud of smoke, completely unbothered. "Rooster. And yeah, I've got places to be. Just figured I'd stop by and see what kind of mess you random brats are getting yourselves into."

He had left the room, leaving Ryzen to say, "That was weird…"

Espen replied, "You guys have talking chickens and flying turtles in your world?"

Ryzen responded, "I don't know where the flying Turtles came from, no one does. And I don't know why a rooster is talking."

Seconds later, the Rooster stuck his head back in the room, saying, "I need your help. I'll give ya 100 paper clips."

Ryzen's eyes lit up after hearing that, saying, "100?! Well have a seat!"