Zaya got down from the bed slowly, trying not to wake her sleeping friends. She tiptoed cautiously towards her locker, unzipping her bag and removing a familiar round object.
The Phoenix emblem, she then crept out of the room, locking the creaking door silently behind her.
Stealthily, she got out of the hostel in minutes without anyone noticing. Dashing out through the gate, oblivious to the dozens of armed guards who surrounded the place and finally arriving at the city.
After a long while of sprinting continuously on the tarred walkway, Zaya stopped in her tracks catching her breath. "That was harder than I imagined," she muttered. Hands resting on both knees as she panted heavily.
Slowly lifting herself back up, she attached the Phoenix emblem to her chest. Its energy engulfed her body, covering it with a stylish black and purple battle suit with the sign of a sharp purple paw in the middle.
The city was calm, no trace of human life except for a few cars that continuously whizzed by. she switched on her watch and asked, "What is the location of the Scafell Spike?".
It responded, "Approximately thirteen miles away from your precise location." Following the response a huge truck passed by and without a second thought, she leapt, landing on the top of the truck.
"What could a huge truck be up to in the middle of the night?" She asked herself, alert as anything could happen in her soon-to-be apocalyptic world.
After a while, she began dozing off. The huge truck parked beside a neon lit bar. The sound of lively music jolted Zaya awake, startled, she activated the purple sword in her hand, striking it in various directions, afraid she was under attack.
She tapped on the Phoenix emblem attached to her chest twice, a hood and mask evolved from the nano suit, covering her head along with her face.
The old man who drove the truck came out slowly, a walking stick in his hands as he struggled to walk towards the bar. Zaya looked down towards the truck, wondering what an old man of that age could be transporting at midnight.
Zaya leapt from the truck, landing on the ground, she walked into the bar. Neon lights of different colors flashed around the room, music filled the air as they all danced.
Everyone in the bar stopped in their movements, their gazes falling on a black and purple figure with glowing eyes and a terrifying aura, they all fell silent.
Zaya walked through the staring eyes, towards where the attendant of the bar stood, sitting on one of the wooden barrel closest to it.
Standing behind the counter was a fat middle-aged man with a gray long beard.
"Welcome to Haley's Bar, I'm Carol, the manager and attendant.
Do you care for a drink, umm...".
"Call me the Phantom Paw and give me your best drink," said Zaya, dropping a bunch of euros on the counter table. He smiled as he raised his hands up, signalling to the others in the bar, the loud music and raucous laughter then continued.
Within a few seconds of pacing, Carol brought the drink Zaya asked, handing it over to her along with a glass cup. Zaya received it cheerfully. She then proceeded to the actual reason she was there.
"Do you know the mountain called the Scafell pike?" Zaya questioned as she poured herself a drink.
"Yes," the white-bearded man responded as he attended to someone else, "The mountain is very dangerous and most of the people who have gone to the mountain recently have reported seeing red ghosts. Carol explained.
Zaya sensed that carol had spoke the truth, but what did he mean by ghost? She asked herself.
She was about to ask him the question when there was a loud noise from outside of the bar.
From the truck that was parked outside, a bunch of men with swords, axes and guns came out from behind, immediately shooting at the bar. Everyone laid on the ground in order to avoid the bullets, all including Zaya.
The old man who had driven the van earlier stood up from his seat and walked towards the other three men, dropping his walking stick halfway.
He then spoke, "I just recently got to this city and I've heard the different rumors flying around the place about treasure in Pike".
He then grinned maniacally. "Now I don't want you children obstructing my plan, so why don't we play this fair and I get all of you killed now and you won't have to die later.
There were confused looks on their faces, none of that made sense, Zaya gritted her teeth hard, not because she was angry at whoever this man was, but because she was terrified.
On the left side of his neck was a tattoo with "four" written on it, Zaya knew that could only have meant one thing, the upper four of the dragon clan.
She wasn't too stunned about how she hadn't figured it out before, the old man seemed to have used some sort of enchantment to hide his primordial energy signature.
He raised both of his hands towards the ceiling as he spoke an enchantment, a dark mist appeared from the ceiling, covering the entire bar.
Zaya was sure the others couldn't see them, but she could. This is what carol meant by ghosts, this dragon wasn't any ordinary half breed.
The three men who stood behind the old man shook tremendously, as they shed their skin off. Zaya was on alert, she remained on the ground, trying not to warrant any attention.
Fire blazed from their shed skin as their whole bodies began to reform, they became fire beasts. The old man then spoke eerily, "Kill them all," he walked out of the bar, back into the truck.
The mist cleared, Zaya had to make her move now. Not that she cared about the people, or that some of them had gone to Scafell Pike in search of the treasure, but this wasn't their battle—it was hers.
Two swords appeared in both of her hands, beaming with intense purple energy. Zaya dashed towards the closest fire beast, ignoring the unending streak of bullets that were continuously shot at her. Thanks to the automated shield from her nano suit, the bullets only hit her and fell to the ground.
In a swift slash, Zaya decapitated three of the fire beasts, sending fresh blood splattering on the bar's floor. She walked out of the bar, gazing straight at dozens of fire beasts glaring in her direction. They dropped their guns as dark energy encompassed their blazing bodies. With their primordial energy signatures rising, it was time for the real battle.