Sea of the Dead Survival

"You truly have the curse of a raven," the little owl chided, glancing at the horde of zombies swarming below the mound. "Why not use your cursed foresight to doom the thief who stole the holy relic?"

"Because your shape-shifting can't make me a real raven!" Grayson drew his sword, its blade bursting with a dazzling radiance. The silver sword reacted to the presence of demon-kind, its glow illuminating the entire cavern.

He spun and grasped Katheren's hand, urging her up the hillock. "Aim for their necks; breaking the spine will ensure they stay down for good!"

Katheren raised her silver pistols, using the light from Grayson's holy sword to target a zombie scaling the slope. As it tilted its head back, she fired, severing its neck. Its putrid head rolled on the ground, and its body collapsed, face up.

Side by side, they surged toward the exit, silver bullets mowing down the zombies in swathes. But the undead kept coming, like an unyielding tide.

"I'm out of bullets!" Katheren announced while retreating, her voice loud enough to reach Grayson.

"We're close to the exit, stick with me!" Grayson shouted back, his grasp on the soul-eating silver sword firm. He plunged into the mass of zombies, whose gnashing and clawing was futile against the brilliant glare of the sword.

Elyra's immobilizing beam of light swept over the zombie crowd. Grayson's sword swung in a wide arc, bisecting the paralyzed monsters at the waist, their severed parts scattering.

Leaping back, Grayson soared into the air, his sword raised high. With a single, gravity-defying slash, the sword's radiant light sliced through a whole row of zombies in front of him.

The cleaved bodies remained upright, light bursting from their wounds. Then, with a thunderous roar, they exploded, their soul energy blast severing nearby zombies at the waist.

Suddenly, the entire cavern shook violently. Amid the quaking earth, a grotesque zombie giant emerged from the heart of the mound.

It flung its rusted double-bladed axe toward Grayson, who swiftly pushed Katheren down. The axe whistled overhead, splintering zombies in its path before crashing near the cave's entrance.

Grayson pulled Katheren to her feet, and they made a dash for it, exploiting the brief lull before the zombies closed in again.

Upon reaching the entrance, however, they found it blocked by the giant axe. Turning back, they saw the zombie giant approaching with heavy steps, surrounded by the horde.

"Sweetheart, I hate to say it," Grayson said, eyeing the advancing zombie giant and army. "But it seems we've run out of road."

Katheren looked at the oncoming undead mass, trembling in terror, her heart threatening to burst from her chest.

"Elyra, it's all on you now!" Grayson called out to the owl.

Elyra, the little furball, landed amid a red glow and transformed into a petite girl in a black feathered dress and red dancing shoes. She outstretched her hands, drawing a hexagonal sigil in the air and shouted, "Mass Morph!"

With a flash from the red sigil, the trio vanished from the zombies' sight. The undead, suddenly bereft of their quarry, ceased their advance, their vacant eyes scanning the area for any sign of the trio.

"At least we're not dung beetles this time!" Grayson, now in the guise of a praying mantis, inspected himself. Pleased, he flapped his blade-like arms approvingly.

"Stay put and don't go anywhere," he instructed Katheren, who had become a cricket, "and remember, don't let the zombies step on you, and don't get too close to the action!"

Then, he fluttered up to the axe handle where Elyra stood. "It seems you quite enjoy turning us into insects while you remain a bird. That's hardly fair!"

Unmoved, Elyra twisted her head 180 degrees to glare at him with large eyes and said, "I'm hungry."

"Don't even start, those zombies below are hungrier than you!" Grayson waved his mantis limbs, "Let's get to work. The big one's coming!"

As the zombie giant reached for the axe handle, Elyra, carrying Grayson, soared above the giant's head. Grayson leapt from her back and landed atop the zombie's cranium.

"Showtime, ho!" Grayson cheered, waving to Elyra in midair.

Gliding by, Elyra's talons raked across the giant's face. The zombie giant, irritated by the 'mosquito-like' bird, reached out to swat her away.

Elyra deftly avoided each swipe, irritating the giant further until it grabbed the massive axe, flailing wildly. Elyra redirected her flight towards the mound, drawing the giant's wrathful pursuit. The giant's colossal footsteps and wild axe swings left a morbid trail of flesh and blood in their wake.

"Now's the time to wrap this up!"

Grayson, his mantis wings beating furiously, signaled to Elyra. She immediately chanted a spell, reverting Grayson back to human form.

Plummeting from the sky, his soul-eating silver sword gleamed like a bolt of lightning, striking the zombie giant squarely on the head. The sword buried deep, leaving only the golden hilt exposed.

The giant halted, its eyes lifeless. The soul force within, rapidly drained by the sword, caused its body to shrivel. Within a wail of agony, it collapsed, its massive form crushing the remaining zombies beneath its weight.

Grayson clung to the hilt of his sword, riding out the fall, and leapt clear as the giant hit the ground. He looked over the fallen behemoth, which twitched briefly before falling still. He stood, using his sword for support, as Elyra landed on his shoulder.

"Bravo, little one, I'm growing fonder of you by the minute!" Grayson blew her a kiss, which she disdainfully ignored.

"Hungry as always. Let's eat!" He glanced at Katheren's hiding spot and said, "Change her back."

With a murmur, Elyra restored Katheren. As the girl approached, gratitude for their narrow escape evident on her pale face, Grayson embraced her.

"Alright, ladies, glad we're all in one piece," he said warmly. Elyra, uncaring, transformed into her favorite guise of a little girl and darted into a nearby cave with stolen provisions.

"Let's move on," Grayson sighed, putting away his sword and following into the darkness.

Ahead, Elyra, head down and clutching the Titan giants' special provisions, munched away. The scent of the sweet cheese, made from high mountain yak milk, made the food all the more palatable.

So engrossed in eating, she collided headfirst into a rock, her snack smacking her in the face. She tumbled to the ground, nursing her forehead and bursting into tears.

"You little nitwit, you'll eat yourself one of these days!"

Grayson rushed over, cradling her, and after much consoling, Elyra bit her lip and took a defiant bite of her provisions.

"Our way forward is blocked once more," Grayson remarked, tapping the stone wall with his clawed hand. He punched the wall, but it stood unyielding.

"Come on, darlings, let's find a cheat sheet around here," he encouraged, his and Katheren's swords lighting the way as they searched the walls.

At last, they found an inscription on a smooth surface: "When the Titan's son's gift meets the endless riches of the sea king, the mother of all gods shall grant you a path of light."

"Do you know what this means?" Grayson turned, eyes expectant, hoping Katheren could decipher the riddle.

She glanced back, her confusion clear. She hadn't understood a word, feeling utterly lost in the fog of the message.

"Perhaps I should ask that know-it-all bird." Grayson looked to Elyra, who sat obliviously munching away, wholly disinterested in their quandary.

"Never mind, I doubt she'll help." Grayson shrugged at Katheren, then after pondering the text a moment, he nodded. "I think I've got it. Wait here for me." With that, he strode back into the chamber of the undead.