Milo, disappointment still fresh from losing his armor, carefully placed the diamond in his backpack and proceeded through the desolate city. A sudden realization struck him—the town prison might have become a haven for survivors since the inmates would've been locked inside.
Upon reaching the prison, Milo found it sealed off, with iron-barred doors and electric fences surrounding the perimeters. The sight of two dead guards, decomposing and discarded, sickened him.
“How could zombies do something like this.” Milo said, horrified.
Summoning his courage and resourcefulness, Milo used a knife from one of the fallen guards and a makeshift insulated tool crafted with a stick and vines to cut through the electrified fence. Once inside, he removed the wooden planks blocking the entrance.
As Milo entered, a brawny, middle-aged inmate with a long beard grabbed him. Two others pointed their guns at him.
“Another infected, sir.” One guy with the shotgun said to the big guy.
The bulked guy pulled out a knife, ready to cut his neck.
“No, no?! I- I promise I'm clean” He reassured the bearded inmate, whom Milo mentally nicknamed John.
John put him down, the other two guys still aiming. He sat on the nearby bench and explained to him what's happening.
“Sorry kid, nowadays, most of the zombies have mutated with the "exe" virus.” John said, clenching his fist.
“Mutated?!” Milo said, shocked, “But how? what can they do?!”
“These creatures are no longer human, as you might have seen, their demonic transformations can make em’ morph into human illusions, making it impossible to tell if they are even human.”
Their tense exchange was interrupted by an elderly, thin inmate who claimed to be able to detect the zombie’s evil presence. John's expression shifted, a mix of surprise and anger. Recognizing the old man's revered status among the prisoners, Milo understood he could detect zombies and had been protecting the inmates from the demonic threat.
With a hint of disappointment, John pushed him into the solitary confinement room, the old man stepping in and locking the door.
“Umm… sir-” Milo said, frightened. “May I leave…?”
“Of Course young boy…” He said, “But first, I need one little favor…”
Suddenly, the old man's face morphed into a scaly, demonic visage, his hands twisting into menacing claws.
“Wha- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!” Milo yelled, backening away as he pulled out his knife.
The creature grinned malevolently, "I'm merely a servant of a greater power. And you, my unfortunate friend, possess something that my master desires."
Paralyzed with fear, Milo screamed for help, pounding on the now-closed door. The monster's chilling words echoed, "Unfortunately for you... my boss isn't easy to please..."
Milo's voice shook as he stammered, "W-what do you mean? What are you people?"
"Wait, no… he means the diamond..." Milo whispered, realization dawning on him.
"Precisely," the demon hissed, his eyes gleaming with malice. "And you will deliver it yourself."
Then, in a blink of an eye, a hole opened below Milo’s feet, it quickly became larger, Milo desperately tried to move, but his legs felt numb. One foot slipped through the hole as he tried pulling himself out of the hole.
The ‘old man’ laughed, then kicked him inside the hole, then snapping his fingers to close the hole…
“Done.” He said as he walked out of the room. “I killed that monster.”
As Milo fell deeper and deeper, he began to question his life decisions.
"What the heck? Why am I still falling?" he cried out in fear.
Milo quickly pulled out his flashlight, pointing it downwards, no end in sight. The walls of the hole had strangely disappeared, leaving him falling through an endless void. Panic set in as he realized he could die upon impact.
He floated in the silence, only able to hear the sound of wind filling his eardrums, he was alone.
But just as he was losing hope, he spotted a glimmer of light in the distance below. He wasn’t in a void, but in a really, really, deep hole. That’s when he realized, he had no time to plan how to survive the impact.
How bad would this hurt? What should he do? What could he do?
Then, it clicked. He quickly pulled out the magic diamond. He begged it to transform into that glimmering armor, maybe, somehow, it would save him.
"Transform, I beg you!" he pleaded, hoping for a miracle.
He felt the diamond shaking again, and he celebrated. This time unfortunately, the diamond only shined briefly, then shapeshifted into a not so big object.
“A shield! What will I do with a shield in a free fall!” He yelled.
He reached for the diamond shield; the diamond’s magic immediately spreading around his boots, and chest, causing those parts to become diamond, his armor was back. Unfortunately, due to Milo’s stress, it didn't cover his whole body.
Milo could see the light quickly increasing in size, in less than a 10 seconds he would hit the floor. He got prepared and counted down,
Five, Four, Three, Two, One…
He slowly closed his eyes, waiting for the pain to come.
He heard the scratching sound of the diamond boots hitting the ground. In a normal situation he would have broken all his bones, especially because he fell standing up.
But luckily, the diamond covered boots absorbed the impact!
Milo was thankful to have fallen standing up, saving himself from dying painfully.
After helping Milo, again, the diamond from the boots, shield and chestplate merged back together and transformed back to the diamond.
He instantly put the diamond safe in his backpack, for any later use.
He looked at his surroundings, this wasn’t a hole, not a bunker either, he was in the city landfill.
“What is this?” Milo said, then realizing he somehow teleported to the edge of the city, “The landfill? Strange, It’s emptier than usual.”
Indeed, as Milo said, there was only a third of all the scrap metal and trash there once was. Did people somehow raid this place too?
It didn’t take long to learn what happened to all that metal, he turned around, that’s when his jaw dropped. He saw an oxidized, giant 50 meter high robot. The robot seemed to be off since his eyes wheren’t lit up; its leg scratched from zombie claws, the arm full of torn apart cables, armed with spiked feet and radioactive liquid leaking from the palms.
"HELLO!!! IS ANYONE IN THERE?!" Milo screamed impulsively at the giant robot, not considering the potential consequences.
The robot's eye lights abruptly turned on, shining brightly as it swiftly rotated towards Milo. In the process, it accidentally released some of the leaking nuclear waste around him. The toxic substance formed a river-like encirclement, eliciting panic from Milo.
"No! No! I didn't come to fight!" he desperately tried to communicate, but the robot remained unresponsive.
As the robot advanced, it forcefully stomped its 100-ton foot down on Milo, intending to crush him beneath its spikes.
"AHHH!! I am too young to die!" Milo shouted in terror, bracing for the impact.
But destiny had different plans. Instead of being crushed, Milo found himself wedged between the robot's enormous spikes. The foot's size had inadvertently spared him, yet left him trapped and disoriented.
"WHAAAAT?! Come on! Move your leg, stupid robot!" Milo cried out, feeling both frustrated and grateful to have survived.
Suddenly, Milo felt a peculiar breeze against his back, as if a hole had formed in the ground. The sensation grew stronger as the hole seemed to expand, its edges glowing with a dark purple aura.
"Is... Is there a portal forming below me?" Milo wondered, desperately trying to move away from the hole, only to find himself completely stuck.
Just as the robot managed to free its foot, the portal enlarged, causing Milo to plummet through it before it snapped shut.
Understanding the dire situation, Milo closed his eyes and wished for teleportation to a safer place, bracing himself for the worst.
Surrounded by darkness, the faintest breeze of air was the only sensation he could feel or hear.
"Please don't be bad..." Milo whispered, praying for a better outcome.
Reaching into his backpack, Milo managed to pull out the diamond with trembling hands.
"Pl... Please transform into... A parachute!" Milo pleaded between panicked breaths.
Milo frantically shook the diamond, as if it were a magical genie's lamp. However, the diamond's shine remained feeble, indicating its unwillingness to transform again. The diamond's power was connected to the good nature and selflessness of its bearer, qualities Milo lacked.
"Transform!" Milo shouted desperately, hitting the diamond in frustration.
The diamond's light only dimmed further, and due to his selfishness, its power became obstructed, causing its color to shift to a dull gray.
"What is this?!" Milo yelled in anger. "Why did it become gray?! What did I do to deserve this?!"
Left with no choice but to wait for the diamond's help, Milo attempted to meditate, hoping to fool the diamond. It didn't work.
But as he closed his eyes, Milo noticed a faint light emerging from below.
"Already? But... the diamond hasn't done anything yet!" Milo's breaths quickened as desperation took hold.
"HELP!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, shaking the diamond with all his might.
His attempts proved futile; the diamond's light sensed the darkness within him.
As Milo rapidly approached the portal's end, he desperately hugged the diamond, praying it would help him float.
The light grew brighter and brighter as Milo glanced down, spotting a pile of what seemed to be leaves mere seconds before impact.
"Is that a pile of vines?!" Milo thought, bewildered.
He took a deep breath, counting down to the inevitable collision.
"3, 2, 1..."
Instead of the anticipated sound of shattering bones, Milo simply landed on a pile of overgrown vines which had absorbed the impact, sparing him from a potentially fatal outcome.
“Huh, that wasn’t that bad…” Milo muttered,
Milo swiftly stood up and scanned the area for any significant source of light, eventually spotting a torch loosely held within a triangular container. He effortlessly retrieved the torch, illuminating the walls of the room. Intrigued by the intricately carved artwork on the ancient walls, Milo struggled to decipher the images but recognized the diamond of light being seized by a distorted monster leading a horde of other monsters against a powerful figure. Time had taken its toll on the carvings, rendering the two objects held by the human-like hero impossible to discern.
Eager to document his discovery, Milo quickly snapped pictures with his phone.
"This is going to be an incredible find!" he marveled.
As Milo examined the room further, he whispered, "This looks like some kind of dungeon..."
His attention was soon drawn to a strange door in the darkest corner of the dungeon. A peculiar red glow emanated from the edges of the door.
"I guess I don't have any other choice..." Milo muttered to himself, steeling his nerves.
He took a deep breath, charged forward, and flung the door open, stumbling into an unusual room. The doorway was swiftly overtaken by rapidly growing, pitch-black vegetation.
Surveying the room, Milo noticed a dark substance oozing from the rocky ceiling. Unbeknownst to him, he had walked right into the heart of danger.
"Huh..." an enigmatic voice growled.
Milo felt a chill run down his spine as he cautiously turned towards the source of the voice.
"Who... Who are you, sir?" Milo asked fearfully.
"I am a superior being. You are not worthy of such information," the voice replied, tinged with anger.
Milo directed the torchlight towards the voice but could only make out a throne. From the shadows, a figure began to materialize.
"Are you... the one who destroyed the city?" Milo inquired, his voice trembling.
"I might have... I created the virus exe... The mutated zombies ... You might be my next victim..." the voice exclaimed menacingly.
"I... I need to leave," Milo stammered, slowly backing away.
"Aww... I'll let you go if you do one simple thing... Don't challenge me..." the monster taunted.
"Are... Are you the demon king?!" Milo whispered, his terror mounting.
"I leave you one last chance..." The entity said, cutting him off.
"I- I promise! I will never come back here!" Milo pleaded, increasing the distance between them.
As he backed away, a rock tripped him up, sending his belongings flying in all directions, including the diamond.
“So… this is why one of my disciples brought you here…”
“No!” Milo said, yelling louder than he meant it to be. “It… It is… jewelry.”
“You’re fooling nobody, you peasant Ludwig.” He grunted, now sounding irritated.
“Never! I found it, and I'll keep it!” Milo exclaimed.
“H- how do you know my last name?” Milo said, trembling.
“Lets say, I’ve met your family members before…”
Milo was shocked. He was an orphan, never met his family, and had no memories from before he was 4 years old.
“Do you know who they are?” Milo asked, still shaking of fear.
“Oh yes, don’t worry, I killed them already.” He said, “I drank your mother’s blood like wine.”
“You are one of the last ones left…” He mentioned threatenly, as a maniacal smile covered his face.“Tell them I said hi in the underworld…”
“Wha-” he tried saying, before the monster summoned some shadow goblin-like minions.
The little goblins were pitch black and had wings the size of Milo's head. They all charged towards Milo and all attempting to stab him.
The diamond sensed the imminent danger and instantly transformed into the sword for Milo's protection.
The turquoise sword was decorated with rose red gems covering the golden handle. Milo quickly grabbed the sword, it was heavy from the blade but it was all he had.
The goblins all charged back at him, their sword pointing at Milo's heart. But he reacted quickly, swinging the blade with all his strength, cutting through all the goblins, vanishing them from existence.
“How did I just do that?!” Milo yelled, impressed by his own ability, now overconfident.
“It's that crystal of your's, the second legendary gem… I thought I destroyed it already.” He said. “Give it back to me, and I may not kill you.”
“The legendary what?” Milo questioned, completely missing the last part.
"The diamond of Light, the most powerful object in the universe..." He whispered, his voice tinged with malice. "If you want no problems, then... Give it to me..."
"What?! No!" Milo blurted out without thinking.
"I suppose I'll have to retrieve it myself..."
The demon slowly shifted from a shadow into his human-like form as he approached Milo, a maniacal grin plastered across his face.
"You seem familiar... Ludwig..." he whispered.
"What?! Stay... Stay back!" Milo yelled, his fear escalating as the monster approached even as he threatened on using the sword.
The malevolent being methodically raised his arm as it morphed into its human form. Milo couldn't help but notice that the creature's hand was adorned with razor-sharp claws instead of fingers.
The entity began to recite an enigmatic incantation in an unfamiliar language, resulting in the manifestation of a peculiar orb between his claws.
The orb bore a striking resemblance to a black hole, yet it exhibited distinctive properties: it was as dark as a black hole, but fissures began to emerge on its exterior, unleashing crackling bolts of lightning.
With a simple flick of a finger, the orb hurtled towards Milo, who narrowly managed to evade the assault.
"Your people are no challenge for me!" the monster bellowed, abruptly rising from his throne. "I guess I'll have to dispose of you myself, just like your brother... Remember my name - The Exe."
In an instant, Exe teleported behind Milo, poised to tear him to shreds.
The sword swiftly reverted to its diamond form before transforming into the diamond armor, which now enveloped nearly every inch of Milo's body.
Exe attempted to use his claws to slash through Milo's skin, but his efforts were thwarted by the impenetrable diamond armor. Instead, the forceful impact against the armor produced a deafening screech that nearly knocked Milo off balance.
"AHHH!" Exe howled in agony. The diamond's scratch unleashed a surge of radiant light magic that seared Exe's arm. "You... you will regret this..."
Left with no other choice, Exe, weakened by the damage to his arm, conjured a dark portal and vanished in a cloud of fury, leaving Milo to gather himself and assess the situation.
Milo's heart pounded fiercely in his chest as the reality of the situation sank in. His limbs quivered uncontrollably, mirroring the tremors that shook the room around him. The rumbling footsteps grew closer, louder, causing the floor to shake beneath his feet. Milo's fear-stricken voice struggled to form the words, "What is that?"
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