Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

Tabitha had seemingly and temporarily regained a sense of clarity within her mind. Whether this was because her realm of control had been shattered upon Gwen's entrance into the tower's penthouse which the Horde King made her personal Reference, or some other matter entirely Zane did not know.

But since she seemed to be in a more lucid state, Zane chose not to deliberately provoke her, as she no longer seemed attached to him in such an obsessive, and frankly psychotic way which she had displayed only moments ago.

Gwen wanted to say something, but Zane quickly silenced her with a silent, but menacing gaze. As a result, the girl swallowed whatever insults she planned to hurl at Zane, while the man himself began to put on an act.

"You are correct to assume that we are loyal servants of Lady Lilith. But, with all due respect, I must ask are you aware of the current situation that is happening between Lady Lilith and Lord Balthazar?"

Using the term lady to describe, Lilith immediately provoked suspicion from Tabitha. There was only one Horde King who was given a noble epithet. And it was not Lilith. However, at this moment, she could hear the voices of the other Horde Kings in her mind as they cursed one another during the ongoing civil war.

Tabith, of course, had no recollection of how this had begun, because at the time she had been in a crazed state of mind. And because of this, she quickly understood why Zane was referring to Lilith by the title of "Lady."

War had broken out between the two factions, and the Horde Kings were fighting against one another in a global clash of ideologies. It was all so tiresome to the lucid Tabitha, who simply sat down on her sofa, whose surface was covered in tears. Of which she had no recollection of how this came to be.

But judging by there was a lapse in her memories, she chose to let it slide, and instead patted the seat next to her. Inviting both Gwen and Zane to sit down and speak to her on more comfortable terms.

"Well, don't just stand there. If your lady has dispatched you to my domain unannounced, it's because she wants something from me, right? Or… Perhaps the two of you have an enough mind of your own to avoid this stupid conflict altogether and came to me seeking protection.

After all, I may not understand why, but I get the feeling neither of those lunatics would dare step foot into Seoul even if it were the last thing they could do.

So spill the beans already. Who are you both really? Because I get the feeling you're lying to me about your reasons for being here…"

Gwen looked at Zane and shook her head. Warning him silently with her horrified expression not to reveal the truth. But since Tabitha had already seen through his lies, he decided to risk it. As even in her lucid state, she appeared to have no interest in the war which the Moderates and Fanatics were currently waging.

Perhaps she was like Serena in that regard. One of the so-called independent powerhouses of the world, and it was with this hope that Zane risked telling the truth.

"I'll be frank with you, Tabitha. I'm currently being hunted by Lilith and Balthazar. It was entirely by accident that I ended up here in your territory, and I should properly apologize for intruding upon your domain without providing proper respect to its owner…"

Tabitha raised a brow as Zane sat down next to her as she had previously commanded. A Tier I Horde King was being hunted by Balthazar and Lilith alike? In this world, there were not many like herself who would reject the commands of either of those maniacs. Which meant Zane did not have many friends to speak of.

Still, anyone who would invoke the ire of those two monsters was more than interesting enough for her to entertain. And because of this, she was quick to inquire further about what he had done to provoke such animosity towards him.

"Alright… I'll bite. Tell me, why would those two care about a pathetic little Tier I Horde King like you? And now that I think about it, Gwen weren't you also such a whelp? How did you evolve so quickly? I want answers, and maybe, just maybe I will let you two hide here in my territory until this whole ordeal blows over."

Zane started off his long tale with a disclaimer, basically saying she's free to believe him or not, and then he told Tabitha the whole truth. After a lengthy discussion about everything Zane had been through the last year, leaving out of course the crazed state he had initially found Tabitha in. The woman in question remained silent for a long time, while contemplating what Zane had told her.

When she finally spoke, it was as if a weight had been lifted off of Zane and Gwen's backs, as they silently and eagerly waited for their response.

"Hmmm… Frankly, I never cared for either side's beliefs. Balthazar believes he's chosen by death and has convinced most of us that we are all her children. While Lilith believes it's all a bunch of religious mumbo jumbo created to make us all Balthazar's minions.

But if what you say is true, then they are both wrong. And you are the one we should be following. Frankly, until you surpass me I have no intentions of worshipping you as some kind of messiah. But, I'm also not foolish enough to provoke Death by hurting you should your claims actually be true.

The fact of the matter is, you are on the run. And by the sounds of it, you leave a lot of traces behind wherever you go. Traces that will eventually be sniffed out by the minions of those two fools. So… Why not just stay here and let them kill each other? As you can see, neither of them is willing to come within a hundred kilometers of this place, right?"

Perhaps if Tabitha was always this same, then Zane would have no qualms of staying with her. Well, assuming he had some way to continue to develop his abilities that is. But that was just one of the two major problems preventing him from agreeing to her offer.

The fact of the matter is, Tabitha, when she lost her mind was terrifying not only to Zane, but Gwen as well. And it was uncertain if she would remain so lucid for the foreseeable future, or if she had some kind of bi-polar or multi personality type mental disorder where she could simply snap in and out of sanity at any given moment.

Because of these two things Zane politely declined.

"Although I'm thankful for the offer there are reasons I must respectfully decline."

Tabitha seemed to be slightly uneased by this. Perhaps she did not want such a powerful pawn to leave her side. Or maybe she had more belief in his words than disbelief. In doing so saw it as her duty to protect the son of Death, assuming he was not full of shit.

Either way, she was quick to try to convince him to reconsider.

"Oh? Name one reason why you must leave this refuge? It makes no sense to me why you would take such a risk when you are so vulnerable to those who are hunting you!"

Zane sighed heavily, before explaining the conditions he must meet to continue to progress which was similar but different to that of other horde Kings. He emphasized the speed of his growth via the consumption of awakened hearts, but he did not neglect to inform her about the much slower path of consuming blood crystals.

When Tabitha heard this, she was quick to offer a solution to one of the two major reasons Zane had to deny her. Instantly negating it as a defense.

"So? You're acting as if this somehow conflicts with your ability to stay here under my protection. There are roughly ten million undead frozen in this city. They were sacrificed as a means to enhance my power. But there blood crystals should remain.

Surely ten million blood crystals will help you grow quite rapidly, right? It's a far better method than hunting these so called awakened if you ask me. And the best part is they won't fight back, as they have been eternally petrified. All you need to do is to reap the rewards.

It might take some minor labor on your part, but in a year's time you will have gained a significant harvest, right? By then, you should at least have the strength to stand on your own, aside from perhaps running into something like a Tier IV or V Horde King. Of which there are only a few of us around the world.

It was an entertaining offer, one that Zane was forced to ponder.