"WAKE UP!" screamed the voice inside her head. She recognized it... The Huntress, that strange woman who helped with her Evolution. This realization regarding the voice proved fleeting.


    As the terrible rider''s blood-red eyes landed on Vicky, a strange feeling took over her heart. It consumed her, the need to destroy, to kill, to slaughter and maim. She felt the need to fight, exterminate any resistance against her will.


    She wanted; needed to conquer; to claim what was rightfully hers; to rule over the world as its heir. Vicky felt the call of battle, of struggle, of bloodshed... Of War...


    The red horse neighed on the hill, and its rider took off towards the city. Within his wake came the uncontrollable slaughter.


    Around Vicky demons battled demons, angels slayed angels, and humans, the final survivors, began fighting amongst themselves.


    Everyone screamed around her, but she didn''t care as her blood pumped and her heart pounded. She desired combat, yet she knew she couldn''t, since this was only a dream.


    Just as the killing reached its height, everything suddenly stopped. The city seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as every sound of battle went mute. Above Vicky, a loud neighed echoed through the buildings.


    Everything turned peaceful as, from the split sky, a rider descended. Her winged-horse was deep blue, carrying tranquility in its wake.


    Its rider wore a full battle armor, hiding all of her body, except her eyes, which were serene, light blue. In her hand, she carried a long lance made of some divine metal.


    She rode down to the ground, and clashed with the red rider outside of Vicky''s view. She didn''t see them meet, but the blow reverberated through her whole being. The sound of metal meeting metal rang inside her skull as the final dream fell apart.


    ...


    The feeling hadn''t passed as Vicky''s eyes snapped open. The need to destroy and kill it overwhelmed her mind.


    In her confused and wild state, she nearly hadn''t noticed the disturbance in space. Darkness consumed the room, yet Vicky sensed her environment without sight. A few meters away, she felt forms moving in the darkness.


    At first she believed it was one of her friends, but no, they were too tall and muscular to be thirteen-year-olds. Some were even more gigantic than Aunt Astrid or Uncle Leslie.


    She felt seven forms moving in the shadows, approaching the bed with weapons drawn. As the realization of danger hit her mind, a strange sense of tranquility took hold of her.


    In her mind she carried the peace of that woman, riding the blue winged-horse. While in her heart, she carried the war of that man, riding the red horse.


    Vicky felt unbound by human emotions like worry, confusion, anger, and fear. She felt the threat approaching, and without giving it much thought, she acted.


    First, she checked on all six of her friends. Each of them calmly slept on the gigantic bed. She felt Henry lying partially on top of her, which was a bit distracting.


    Only the archer remained. Vicky did nothing too extensive with him. She just reached forward, through a portal, then grabbed onto something, and pulled her bloodied hand out.


    Within her grasp, the man''s still beating heart rested. She stared at it for a few seconds, then let it fall on the stained floor. It landed the same time as the archer''s body collapsed.


    After a short wait, Vicky opened a final portal on the ceiling. Through it, the free-falling man entered with terminal velocity, breaking the wooden floorboards as his body crumpled into a pile of broken bits and pieces.


    With bloodshot eyes, she looked around at what remained of Henry''s bedroom. The furnitures, including the enormous bed, broke into splinters. Gore covered everything from the broken floor to the ceiling and walls, with two semi-intact bodies contributing to the disgusting decor.


    She took a few deep breaths before transforming back into her human form. Her own body wasn''t much better than the room, but at least her own blood remained inside her body.


    She felt a bit proud of herself. Fighting off this many enemies in a surprise ambush wasn''t easy, but she managed to do it without getting hit once! Her only disappointment was nobody remained whom she could interrogate.


    Curiously, she walked up to the archer''s corpse. His armor hadn''t disappeared, which was quite strange. It meant he wasn''t wearing an Item, but a real, physical armor. The weapons also remained after everyone''s death.


    With her Locator passive ability, she easily sensed the space around the man''s face, creating a mental picture of his appearance.


    Extensive scarring marred his face and body. Not a single portion of his corpse was left untouched.


    She also noticed weird inaccuracies over his body. For example, none of his fingers were the same length, even his arms didn''t match. He was also missing his reproductive organ.


    Intrigued, Vicky walked to the woman''s corpse, and checked her body too. She had similar defects and scars. Her breasts weren''t the same size, her ears were also different, and the legs differed in length.


    Sadly, examining the other corpses proved impossible. But even examining only these two caused a horrible feeling to spread over her. These corpses didn''t feel right. Even how they acted during the fight seemed inhumane. They felt pain, but otherwise didn''t care, or had any real self-preservation.


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    It felt similar when they fought those zombies back on Harold''s island. They lacked strength and exhibited wild behavior. They were closer to uncontrollable beasts than humans.


    These felt almost human. Their combat skills rivaled trained fighters'', while their physical prowess exceeded most Ascended''s. If Vicky would''ve been a melee fighter, she would''ve most likely lost the battle.


    Another issue rose in her head, and the thought terrified her. For some reason, they all had different body parts, almost like someone artificially made them... And there was only one person capable of such...


    As this thought hit Vicky''s mind, a strange feeling came over her. Something was wrong, but it took her a second to figure out. A meter behind her, a third corpse appeared.


    Confused, Vicky turned around, but it was already too late, as she felt the cold metal pierce the skin of her chest...