Zinnia's Tree - Day 3

### Dawn of the 3rd day

The 7 once more enters the temple, already feeling the familiarity, they open the book.

> *"Tik. Tok. Tik. Tok. Your time is running out. "*
>
>

They close the book. Looking up, The fox that was there the day before is sat next to the chest, swishing its tail, waiting. The seeds are taken from the chest, with a whisper telling them: "Hope." The fox scrambles up the stairs, leading yet another goose chase across the lands. Odd enough, they happen to pass through The Empire... and into the mountains that reside behind the castle. The fox stops at a tree, then sits, waiting. They have reached Hope. They gaze upon the tree... they look at one another, nod, then drop the seeds, allowing the whispers to enter their mind.

> *"IT IS NOT TOO LATE. TURN BACK NOW. GO! BEGONE FROM THIS PLACE. DO NOT TRUST THE TREES."*
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Then, they all fall to the ground, falling asleep...

They "wake" up in a small, stoned cramped room. Zinnia enters their minds, greeting them with her usual cheerful voice. "You've been the seeker for a little while now... how about becoming the hider? It's a simple game." The room they were in was connected to a maze. They had to simply flick all the levers, before Zinnia found them. The player on the top of the glass, guides them to the levers. "Now... let us begin, shall we? Hehe..." One by one, they vanish to different parts of the maze. And the games begin.

The corridors were silent. Each step they took, an echo sounded across the room. There were six levers to find, and to leave they had to flick them all. It was only 15 seconds before a scream rang through the hallways. That's when fear came over them. Looking up through the glass, you could see Chizzy, eyes wide with fright, hands covering her mouth. It looked like she screamed... yet her sounds could not reach those from below. Faster, they began to frantically search for the other levers.

There was another scream, echoing in the hallways once more. Following the scream, the hiders hear a boom, and a flash of golden light rises from the glass, then fades away... The sudden realization came over them. Knowing The Empire is rich, they had a surplus of items, one of them being the totem. Illios became the second victim. They had no idea how many levers they had pulled, but one by one they were dying, and fast. The other yell was cut off after a second, Sytamni watches as a trident flies in front of him, and hits something with a thud. Giggling could be heard throughout the corridors. Kasumira was found. They had little time. Chizzy was frantically trying to guide Edelle, Edelle barely stumbling trying to keep up. Chizzy suddenly stopped, wide eyed. She pointed, with a hand covering her mouth, tears streaming down her face in fright. Edelle slowly turned, to be greeted by floating pieces of armor.

> ***I. FOUND. YOU.***
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Sytamni could hear the last scream, he was the only one left. he could hear the running steps of the hunter, and he could only look up to where Chizzy was. Run. Run. RUN. RUN. BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE. There it was. The last lever. Sytamni sprinting as fast as he could, he could hear the armor getting closer. He pulled the lever, just as he felt something very sharp against his back.

> *"Awh... I guess you won... :>. I suppose I better let you go. It was fun, Mortals. May we meet again."*
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They blink, and suddenly they're in a room. Confused, they look at each other, surprised they're even alive. The ground is like water, it ripples from under their feet, but they do not sink, and it is green. Another whisper enters their mind... it is Hope. The 7 were greeted with more of a welcome greeting this time, whereas the other two trees were more on edge. But they didn't want to waste time any longer than they should. They wanted answers. So Hope got to the point.

As we all know, Zinnia is the eldest of the 7. But none of them knew that she wasn't of the Overworld. She is a nymph of the Faewild. She arrived into this world from a meteor during the Calamity, with a tree infused in its center. Crash landing in a desert, all there was, was sand. Seas of powder filled her vision as she stepped out into the world. However, after 7 days, she died. The cause of her death... Hope could not remember that far. Only that she died on the seventh day.

During the time in the desert, there were days that rained meteors, and days that there were sandstorms. Very few days were clear. But she had to take shelter somewhere, and the meteor wasn't going to do it. She found the temple that the meteor struck before landing. That very same temple was the same temple where the 7 have been getting their seeds.

These days, Zinnia doesn't choose to watch over the Overworld, slowly spreading her nymph-genetics. She chose to play. Her playing... wasn't just playing ring around the rosey around a tree. It involved the same challenges that the 7 have to undergo. They all died. And what she did to them after they died? She ate them. She used the tree to consume their bodies, and took their souls and trapped them within the tree, forever experiencing torture, and nothing else.

This was all Hope was allowed to give, however. But it didn't seem right... so Edelle asked: "Are you scared?" Scared. It was such an understatement for the feelings that the sisters feel towards Zinnia. Of course they were. Should they fail Zinnia, their life would perish, becoming one with Zinnia. Their minds, forever receiving the same judgment as the captured souls. Hope gives them another stone, for them to keep until the time comes.

> *"Oh children of the Overworld, your fate intertwines with ours by the passing day, should you stray from our given path, the door to succession shall fade..."*
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And with that, they fall to the ground, falling asleep... They wake up, and not to their surprise, it's Zinnia, waiting for them. She found out that they know where she came from, and what she's been doing to the people that failed her challenge "You... don't want to play with me anymore... Do you?" Though hesitant, they responded that they still do. It's not like they could say no, could they? This made her happy, ironic for someone to be happy when they're a murderer, right? She asks for the stone. They didn't give it to her, they only showed her with a firm grip on it. This time, she didn't get angry. Rather, she just smiled, then stepped back. Her business was done.

> "See you lovelies <3. May we meet again..."
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She turns, and disappears in a whirlwind of leaves.