[center][img]https://imgur.com/ajqPHAY.jpeg[/img] [sup][sup][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjExNi5kOGJmZDguVEdsNklFSjFjbTV6LjE/hughs.regular.webp[/img][/sup][/sup][/center] [right][sub][color=D8BFD8]Elysium Island[/color][/sub][/right][hr] While she was impressed by how much damage her little army had done, she knew it was too early to celebrate. She could see it all through her minions. She’d seen the men drop to the ground, her golem taking out a few guns easily. She’d anticipated some backlash, but the ghost army one of them created was outright overpowered compared to her undead. She cursed where she hid. The fireballs made quick work of her army, incinerating the golems. Her connection to them broke as they turned to ash on the stairs to the mansion. Liz knew it wouldn’t be long before the thirty minions would join them, and yet the conversation the man was having with his earpiece caught her attention. [color=D8BFD8]"Fuck, fuck, fuck."[/color] She pressed her palms to the floor, already summoning her next army, but it was too late. The man moved through her remaining undead like they were nothing. She lost sight of him in the mansion, and she couldn’t pinpoint him based on the sound of his movements alone. Then he was standing above her, her eyes wide as she stared up at the smirk on his face. Her jaw dropped as she realized how drop-dead gorgeous he was. His hand rose to aim at her, then, and suddenly every rose colored flag about him was scarlet. [color=D8BFD8][i]Summon, summon, summon![/i][/color] A black bolt of crackling magic shot from his hand, aimed right for her chest, and Liz poured her energy into her palms as she braced for the attack. The flooring burst open quickly, splintering around them, and a large hand rose from beneath the earth just in time to capture the impact of the bolt. The golem she’d summoned immediately burst into ash. Its body was no challenge for the magic the man had summoned, but it had served its purpose well. The particles filled the space between them, and while neither could see each other, Liz took it as a chance to [i]run[/i]. She bolted towards the foyer, running like her life depended on it. The sound of mary janes against flooring was the only thing he heard apart from a breathy taunt sent in his direction. [color=D8BFD8]“Bye, sexy!”[/color] Her temporary escape wasn’t enough, unfortunately. She’d just skidded around a corner, heart leaping in her chest as she saw the remains of the front door ahead. Still unsure if the man had followed her. With that type of magic, she imagined he was right behind her ready to strike again. Maybe he’d grab her by her hair, and the last thing she’d see before electrocution would be that darling face of his. It would be a nice way to go, despite the fear that shot through her spine at the thought of death. Yet none of it mattered, either way. She was running towards the door, towards possible freedom, when a blinding light suddenly filled the foyer. She shut her eyes tight, and threw her arms up into her face. Her feet tripped on air, and she hit the ground just in time for a huge blast to shake the mansion. … Everything [i]hurt.[/i] Her skin felt hot. Not even the fun kind. Just raw and boiling and painful. She groaned where she laid on the hot flooring, and every twitch of her body sent licks of pain shooting through her nerves. The floor beneath her was like laying on a bed of hot stones. The smell of smoke and the sound of crackling fire and bullets overwhelmed her senses. She squeezed her eyes tight before opening one just a crack. Her bleary vision was still fogged over by a white sheen left behind by the burst of light from earlier. Outlines of dark smoke and bright arcs of flame along the doorway were the only shapes she could make out. The mansion was on fire, and she felt like she was already burnt to a crisp. [color=D8BFD8][i]Get out. Need to get out.[/i][/color] She needed an ice cold bath and a heavy slather of aloe. She’d experienced enough sunburns as a child to understand why her skin felt this way. Except this burn was a million times worse than that. It was all over her skin. The light had cooked her right through her clothes. Her feet and most covered parts, thankfully, hurt the least. She pressed her raw hands against the hot floor beneath her and whined as she lifted her head from it. Slowly, [i]painfully[/i], she pushed herself onto her scarlet red knees. [color=D8BFD8][i]What the hell happened?[/i][/color] She thought, wincing and whimpering again as she stumbled to her feet. Her body was stiff as she moved. Everywhere her clothes touched her body felt like knives being dragged across her skin. She had half a mind to strip naked before she made it to the doorway, her raw hands grabbing onto the warm wood of the frame. Her vision was still impaired, and she had to rely on her memory of the entrance to decide where to go next. There’d been grass just past the guns. Nice, green, cooling grass. She yearned for something cold against her skin. She’d have thrown herself into the water, if she wouldn’t have to walk so far to get there. So, body quaking with the pain of her burns, Liz used every ounce of will she had left to stumble her way to the grass. She couldn’t care less about the undead outside or who had drawn their attention outwards. She needed to cool down, or she was going to faint. Her body hardly made it down the stairs. The air outside already felt so nice against her scarlet skin. Steam rose from her body like she’d just been cooked. She [i]literally[/i] had. Her pain was unbearable by the time she reached the edge of the sidewalk at the base of the stairs. The edges of her blurry and white vision were going dark. Her feet had just stumbled off the edge of the concrete, her body crumpling against the grass, before she felt herself begin to faint. The grass wasn’t cool like she’d hoped. It was ashen beneath her. Whoever had cooked the mansion had burnt the grass around it too. [color=D8BFD8][i]"Water."[/i][/color] She managed to croak before losing consciousness.