Eni slowly descended into the depths of the collapsed bunker. The concrete steps crumbled beneath her heels, falling into the darkness with a dry rustle. The air here was stagnant, heavy, saturated with the smell of damp earth and something sickly-sweet.

  "Be careful, Eni," the Voice whispered, and a note of almost genuine concern flickered in its intonation. "The darkness hides those who have long forgotten the taste of life."

  As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, Eni saw them. Two zombies. They stood in the center of the cramped hall, their bodies gray, mangy, their clothes reduced to tattered rags. Seeing living flesh, they let out a hoarse, gurgling sound and moved forward, clumsily shifting their deadened legs.

  Eni gripped the axe. She rushed at the first one, striking blow after blow. One, two, five... She hacked at its torso, burying the blade into the yielding, rotting flesh, but the zombie stubbornly kept coming at her. By the fifteenth strike, Eni felt her arms turning to lead. The heavy axe began to feel unbearable, her breathing ragged.

  "Eni..." the Voice spoke, sounding disappointed. "Don't waste your strength. Try... cutting off the head. Only the brain holds this corruption in the body."

  Eni gritted her teeth. Gathering what was left of her strength, she took a wide swing, aiming for the withered neck. The blade went in like butter. The first zombie's head hit the floor with a dull thud, and its body instantly went limp. She dealt with the second almost professionally—one precise swing, and another corrupted corpse was put to rest forever.

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  Breathing heavily, Eni looked around. Among the trash and debris, she noticed a glint of metal. It was a sword—long, iron, with a worn hilt but a perfectly sharpened blade. She tried to lift it, but the weapon's weight made her hand waver. "Damn... I'll have to leave it," Eni sighed sadly. "I can't carry both this and the axe."

  "No, Eni. You can take it!" the Voice exclaimed delightedly. "Every great hero knows the secret of a spatial bag—a magical storage where you can put things without feeling their weight!"

  The Voice paused for a moment, as if scanning the space around her. "But... I don't see anything like that on you. No bag, no storage amulet... I don't understand how you're going to..."

  Eni suddenly froze. She covered her face with her hands, feeling a burning blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. She crouched down, nearly crying at the absurdity of the situation. "God, this is so weird... It's SO STUPID..." she groaned.

  "Eni, what are you talking about?" the Voice sounded genuinely puzzled.

  She stood up abruptly, silently. With a stone-cold face, without saying a word, she took the heavy iron sword and... calmly shoved it under her uniform. The sword vanished without a trace.

  Dead silence fell in her head. "Ahem..." the Voice finally managed, its majestic tone cracking with genuine shock. "What an... unusual place to store things you've chosen... E-Eni. That's... certainly original."

  Eni chose to ignore the deity's sarcasm. She adjusted her uniform, trying not to think about how ridiculous the situation was. Looking around the bunker, she noticed that the hall was only the beginning. Six dark passages gaped in the floor, leading even deeper.

  "Eni, I'm warning you now," the Voice became serious again. "On the second floor, there's much more corruption. A whole pack of zombies down there."

  "I know," Eni cut in, feeling the new power of the Card pulsing in her veins. "But they're pretty weak. Time to see what I can do."

  And she stepped into the darkness of the lower level.