Far away, deep beneath the Blood Marsh…
Inside a vast underground chamber, countless cocoons lined the walls, ranging from human-sized pods to towering giants, each pulsing as though alive.
A calm figure stood before them, writing notes. He looked almost human, only his ash-gray skin and crimson eyes betrayed what he truly was.
Without emotion, he studied one of the cocoons.
"The thirty-seventh evolution failed. The regeneration rate was acceptable. The skeletal adaptation was incomplete."
He closed the journal.
"Proceed with the next evolution."
At his command, several intelligent zombies carried fresh corpses toward another cocoon. The figure watched without excitement or anger. To him, every zombie was simply another step toward perfect evolution.
