He made a move

" Convert " Mark willed.

His soul energy plummeted as his stats increased.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

24yrs 9mnths 4wks 4days 19hrs 25mins

NAME: Mark Evans

RACE: Human

Evolution: Fetus

AGE: 17/100

Soul energy: 0/50

Vitality: 500/500

Strength: 90

Agility: 64

Endurance: 100

Intelligence:38

Mana: 60

Skills:

Steel body 100%

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mark, what's going on outside?" Anne inquired as she walked toward Mark, who stood at the door, his eyes glittering with excitement.

Mark did not respond, which made Anne more curious. She reached for the door and opened it wider, bringing what was happening outside into view.

Leo, who was still seated, caught a glimpse of what had interrupted their chat through the open door.

"No wonder he is smiling; he now has a chance to redeem his broken pride," Leo thought to himself as he noticed Mark smiling while staring at the creatures making all the crunching sounds.

Anne stepped back unconsciously as she saw the creatures outside, panic and horror etched on her face.

"When I thought we could escape!!"

"When I thought it was all over!!!"

"We barely escaped, how well we..."

"Is this truly the end?!!"

Her mind raced with questions as she tried to make sense of the scene before her.

In front of her was the cause of her fears, the source of her hopelessness. Countless creatures stood before her, creatures she remembered so well as their images were still fresh in her mind from the recent encounter. Overwhelmed by their strength, size, and numbers, they had no choice but to escape. Yet, now, those very creatures stood before her.

Rays of twilight bounced off their ebony exoskeleton, showcasing its polished beauty. Their mandibles clacked, creating a crunching sound as they chewed and cut through the monster harpy bird's flesh.

Their silver companions stood over them, guiding the creatures as they marched towards an unknown destination. Their movement in rhythm created a symphony of matching soldiers.

They were unaware of the audience they had unintentionally gathered.

Mark stood there with a smile, his fist clenched and his heart pounding with vigor and excitement. Anne stood frozen, panic and horror were evident on her face as her mind raced trying to find meaning in her existence, while Leo sat cross-legged, looking at the creatures with an indifferent expression despite being the weakest among the three.

"Mark, close the door before they take notice of us," Leo ordered.

Mark complied as he hesitantly closed the door, a look of indignation on his face.

Anne took a heavy breath to calm her nerves as the scene before her changed from what she deemed as horrific to that of a grand mahogany door, which, despite the flood and blast waves, still held its radiance of elegance.

"Anne... Are you alright?" Mark inquired, noticing Anne beside him.

Unknowingly, sweat had gathered along her forehead and brows, glistening in the twilight.

"Sorry... I just fell into a daze... What are we going to do? Did they follow us here? There seem to be more of the soldier ants here... How will we survive this time? We are practically trapped... Do we wait it out? Yeah, we wait it out... But what if they somehow get here..."

"Anne!!! It's alright... nothing will happen... I... We are here for you," Mark comforted her, sensing the fear and panic in her eyes.

It was an expected reaction, considering she had almost died at the hands of those creatures, and now they had come back.

Mark hugged her, his large body covering hers. Her figure shook slightly before calming down, relishing in the warmth and comfort of his embrace.

Leo watched them, his heart aching with jealousy.

"All in due time..." Leo comforted himself, convincing himself that he still had a chance.

"Guys, let's think about what to do now... Do we wait it out as Anne said, or should we attack to increase our strength before going to the outside world, as the doors are now wide open?" Leo stated, his voice indifferent.

"Really, man... Really," Mark retorted, feeling it was not the time, especially with Anne still shaken by the presence of the ants outside.

"It's okay... I'm fine now," Anne said, releasing herself from Mark's embrace, her complexion a bit pale.

"Anne, can I please have a moment of your time?" Leo inquired, noticing her condition. He had assumed she was just scared, but there seemed to be more to it.

"Man, let..."

"Don't worry, I am not that heartless," Leo interjected, understanding what Mark wanted to say.

Mark believed Leo lacked remorse or empathy, as he had not shown any since the time they had known each other. Leo was helpful and caring, but only because he saw it as a duty or responsibility. Over the years, Mark had tried to instill sympathy and empathy in him, but he believed it was for naught, as he had never seen the tree he watered sprout a seedling.

Leo, in defense, had learned sympathy and empathy but barely showed it on his face; his actions spoke volumes. These actions, however, Mark had failed to notice, as they were not different from how Leo normally behaved.

Mark looked at Leo suspiciously as he gestured for Anne, who was also looking at Leo, to go to him.

Anne, with a look of doubt and question, walked away from the door and moved towards Leo, who still sat cross-legged on the wooden chair.

"Anne, please pull the chair closer and sit beside me..."

" You are acting suspicious!!" Anne questioned, finding Leo's actions unusual. Though they hadn't known each other for long, being alone during their time in the bunker had given her an overview of their general behavior.

Leo, who rarely engaged in small talk, barely conversed with Anne during their 25 days in the bunker, but now he seemed eager to talk.

Sighing, Leo said, "I will not bite... Just want to talk."

"Want to talk... What does he want to talk about..." Anne thought to herself, still feeling hesitant to comply.

"Okay, let's do it this way." Leo got up from his seat and walked towards her.

She involuntarily stepped back; Leo didn't stop as he leaned closer, close enough that their lips almost touched.

Leo's lips brushed past her as he leaned closer to her ear, whispering, "I understand your fears, but there are greater horrors out there. We have survived till now. Trust us, even if not me, trust Mark. We shall make it. We will make it, so please relax. It hurts to see you hurting. So please do not cry. We are here for you. I... We will make sure to protect you. Don't worry."

He walked back and threw Anne a sweet and gentle smile, one that would have looked beautiful if not for the blood on his lips.

"That's creepy... Clean the blood from your mouth before smiling," Anne chuckled, touched by Leo's words.

Leo scratched his head awkwardly as he cleaned his lips with a sleeve of the hoodie jacket he wore.

"Don't do that... here, let me help you." Anne took a handkerchief from her pocket, got closer, and wiped the blood off Leo's lips.

His indifferent facade broke as his eyes bulged in surprise.

"This is a thank you for cleaning me up earlier," Anne whispered to him.

"Soooo!!!... Are we fighting or hiding?" Mark inquired awkwardly, feeling like he was interfering with something.

"Yeah... We are fighting... I am okay now, so let's f*ck up those ants," Anne exclaimed, resolve evident in her voice.

"Are you sure..." Mark inquired.

"Yeah, don't worry about me... I am okay now," Anne threw Mark a reassuring smile.

"OK then... Yeah, you do look better... Wow, Leo, what did you tell her..."

"Some."

"That's a secret..." Anne interjected, winking at Mark.

"Oh!!!... If you say so... Then I guess we attack, or do you have a plan?" Mark inquired. He didn't think too much about what Anne had said, for he believed when he asked Leo, he would tell him, and Leo had nothing to say that he didn't already know.

"Get closer, I've got a plan..." Leo gestured. The three moved closer as Leo explained his strategy.

As he spoke, the gleam in their eyes revealed ways to easily overcome the ants, the formidable monsters they had little hope of defeating.

"Are you all set on the plan?"

"Yes."

"Yeah."

With resolute expressions, they agreed to Leo's plan, gearing up for battle.

"Anne, I believe you still have soul energy you haven't converted. Do so, and let's begin," Leo requested.

"Yeah... Convert."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

24yrs 9mnths 4wks 4days 19hrs 25mins

NAME: Anne Walton

RACE: Human

Evolution: Fetus

AGE: 17/100

Soul energy: 0/50

Vitality: 490/500

Strength: 39

Agility: 60

Endurance: 52.1

Intelligence: 50

Mana: 100

Skills:

Fire control 13%

Fire resistance 50%

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Did you focus on strength and agility as I told you to?" Leo inquired.

"Yeah," Anne responded.

"Mark!!!" Leo called out.

"I hear you..." Mark responded as he made a fist.

He walked towards the door that linked the reception room to that of the lost and found storage room. With his fist still clenched, he punched the door, breaking it down.