Dawn on the Chimera continent did not arrive with warm golden light, but with a sweep of bleak gray. The poisonous miasma blanketing the region thickened in the morning, transforming the landscape of giant forests into a scene resembling a monochrome painting. Ashen-black fog drifted slowly between the colossal trees, as if drawn with thick charcoal strokes and dark ink-wash gradients. There were no bright colors here; everything seemed absorbed by the continent's primitive darkness.
On a steep cliff tens of kilometers from the coastal base of the Eclipse-Class Fleet, a shadow rested in absolute silence. It was one of the Elite Zombie Knights assigned by Sylvia. Wearing a tattered brown wanderer's cloak that covered its black steel armor, the zombie blended perfectly with the cliff's shadow. A hood concealed its head, hiding the pair of glowing red eyes that were the only indicator it was not a living being.
