Chapter 448: Yellow zone.

Almeida’s eyes slid into slits as he looked at Anukin. He leaned in a little, looking at him like a teacher waiting for a student to confess to breaking a chair.

"Is the place you’re talking about... in the Yellow zone?" Almeida asked slowly.

Anukin nodded so hard his head looked like it might pop right off his neck. "Yes! Exactly there!"

Almeida let out a long breath and rubbed his temples. "Well, I’ll be damned. I never would have guessed in a million years."

"Wait, wait, wait," the Grand Elder interrupted, waving his hands in the air. "What on earth is a ’Yellow zone’? Why does it have such a name?"

"Because everything that goes in there ends up dead, like a pig in a butcher shop," Almeida said, shaking his head. "During the war, that place got hit the worst by all sides because it was the first town we used as a temporary base. The humans would capture it this month and we would take it back the next. We fought over that small territory as if our lives depended on it. We had our gases, the humans had their experimental gases. When they mixed together, they created a nasty sludge gas that mutated every single thing within that territory, and not in a good way."

Some of the humans in the tent suddenly started to wonder how old Almeida was. Him and the other Somnivores. None looked a day over thirty.

Almeida looked at Zyra and said, "It’s not technically forbidden to go there, but no sane being lives there. Nothing with fur, feathers, or legs! Just toxic plants mostly. Heck, even the plain old rocks are dangerous. When rain hits them, they let off a strange gas that can melt a person dead in one second." His voice dropped an octave. "And worst of all? Alien abilities don’t work there. My powers won’t work, and neither will those of the Soul Maidens’. Something there just seems to strip energy from everything."

He turned back to Anukin, squinting again. "Are you absolutely sure about this? Don’t try to play with us or you won’t like how I handle you."

Anukin blinked rapidly, his eyes wide with panic. "Yes! I swear! Erik picked that creepy place on purpose because the Soul Maidens are weak there. They can’t even use their souls to send messages or heal themselves when they are hurt. They can’t fight back. We are weakened too, but they have it worse than we do because we are naturally stronger and faster."

Lady Valarie folded her arms and sighed loudly. "That sounds like a terrible place to go. Going there without studying the area first is basically asking to get turned into soup. We need a solid plan. A map. Maybe some strong gas masks?"

Zyra shook her head stubbornly. Her eyes were burning with a fire that said nobody was going to stop her.

"I don’t care if the rocks breathe fire," Zyra declared, her voice firm. "If my mother is in that place, I am going right now. She has waited way too long to be rescued, and I’m not waiting another minute. Nobody has to come with me."

"Oh, please. As if I’d let you have all the fun," Hunter snorted. He took two steps backward and tapped his link band. "Task force, gear up! We’re heading into a toxic wasteland. Basically a trip to an amusement park."

Almeida let out a dry laugh and nodded. "Count me in too. I’m going with you, Zyra. First, because I can’t let you wander into a death trap alone. Second, because I really need to see with my own eyes what kind of filth Erik has been cooking up over there."

Suddenly, Solazo’s face went pale. He looked at Almeida with wide, frightened eyes and practically lunged forward.

"No, no, no! Almeida, you can’t go!" Solazo yelled, looking like he was about to burst into tears. "Your body is already unwell in strange ways. If you go to a place where abilities don’t work, your body is just going to get weaker and fall apart!"

Ivar chimed in immediately, nodding so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. "For once, Solazo is right! Stay here, I will go in your place!"

Hunter stopped in his tracks, his eyebrows pulling together into a deep frown as he looked between Almeida and the others. "Is there something wrong with you, supreme leader?"

Almeida puffed out his chest and gave a smooth, casual wave of his hand. He tossed Solazo and Ivar an assuring smile that said shut up before you embarrass me.

"I am perfectly fine," Almeida lied smoothly, wiping a tiny fake smudge off his sleeve. "Never felt better. Solazo just likes to worry about everything."

Zyra didn’t waste another second arguing. "Alright then, anyone who wants to come, step up and follow me."

Double layered hazmat suits materialized on the table, and she told everyone to wear them. She picked one and handed it to Almeida.

He chuckled, "I highly doubt that it will fit....they are too human."

Zyra shook her head and pointed at the white suit. "It’s a one size fits all kind of suit, I do not want you dying because of me. My husband has been through enough parental heart breaks. I can sense that your body has been corrupted. It’s spreading....fast. You could die."

Almeida nodded once and took it. "Do not tell Hunter."

"For now." She answered.

After everyone was ready, she raised her hand and slashed through the air. A glowing, humming portal tore open right in front of them, sparking with wild energy. Without flinching, Zyra stepped straight through the swirling light.

Hunter marched into the portal next, with the task force hustling right after him like a line of over-eager ducklings.

Almeida gave a quick, dramatic bow to the worried crowd left behind, flashed one last cool grin, and strolled into the portal right before it snapped shut.

In a flash of blinding lights, Zyra and the others materialized at the exact coordinates. She tossed a paralyzed Anukin to the side like a bag of unsorted beans.

The wind howled around them, kicking up clouds of thick, pungent, yellow air.

The portal snapped shut behind them, and the group braced themselves for a nightmare of dark smoke and jagged ruins. Instead, what met their eyes took their breath away.

It was a vast, open wasteland, but it didn’t look like a scene of destruction at all_ it was breathtakingly beautiful. A vibrant sea of colors stretched as far as the eye could see under a soft, golden sky. It did not appear to be the same place Anukin had described.

Almeida blinked, turning in a slow circle as he took in his surroundings. He looked left. He looked right. He looked down at his boots. There were no armed guards patrolling the area or stern security forces standing watch. "This was not what I was expecting."

Zyra slowly turned her head toward Anukin, her black eyes narrowing into two dangerous slits.

"This is the place I swear.... the perimeter defenses however, only Erik knew how to disengage those." Anukin stammered