chapter 180

Alex, the first champion, stepped out of the shimmering gateway, the melody within them a defiant counterpoint to the cacophony of moans that filled the air. This world was a desolate wasteland, choked by overgrown vegetation and littered with the decaying remnants of civilization. Buildings stood like skeletal monuments, their windows vacant eyes staring out at a world overrun by the undead.

Anya, their fragmented consciousness, crackled with static. "Welcome to world Z-23," she rasped. "The enemy's influence here is… different. It's cruder, more primal, but no less dangerous."

The air hung heavy with the stench of decay, a constant reminder of the threat that lurked around every corner. Alex, clad in their temporal suit, surveyed the scene. Unlike the world shrouded in despair, this one pulsed with a different kind of darkness – a cold, relentless hunger.