As late night turned into early morning, the wind picked up and began to howl through the trees. The moon that should have been shining in the sky was strangely absent, covered by a darkness thicker than the heaviest stormcloud. Even the lights from the streetlamps seemed weak, unable to penetrate more than a few feet into the darkness.

Inside her home, Evie stirred slightly, feeling strangely hot against her sheets despite the cold winter night. She rolled over, trying to adjust, but her head throbbed with an intense ache that made her wince in pain. The bed creaked under her and she groaned, feeling a wave of nausea and disorientation wrack her body. Then she heard the creak again.

“That’s strange, my bed doesn’t normally sound like that.”

Disoriented, she opened her eyes, blinking several times, to try to focus her blurred vision. The room was nearly pitch dark, however, and she could hardly see her hand in front of her face. When she spoke, her voice was raw and raspy, each word feeling like it was tearing at her throat to come out.

“Mom, is that you?”

In response, all she heard was a third creak a third time. This time, her addled brain realized it was the house’s floorboards and not her bed.

“Ugh…”

She reached for the box of matches beside her bed and moaned, already dreading seeing the light burning her vision. Then she froze. Where was the light shining under the door from the lamps hanging in the living room? They couldn’t all have gone out… And it was hard to remember, but hadn’t there been a full moon when they were walking home from the bar?

With a growing sense of dread, Evie reached down, and felt her fingers close around the sword hilt left lying next to her bed. Time seemed to slow as she felt her knuckles tighten around the grip, even the sound of the wind rattling her window drowned out by the blood pumping in her ears.

She heard it long before she saw it. One creak, and then rapidly a second one, and her instinct took over. Without seeing, barely even thinking, she rolled off the bed, rotating so that her sword-arm struck upward as her body fell. First she heard a “wumph” as something struck the bed, right where she’d been lying, then she felt a searing cold as her flailing sword struck something above her. Ignoring the pain, she ripped the sword horizontally, just as she’d been taught, and felt it tearing through the substance with little resistance. Without even a cry, the darkness above her felt apart, rapidly vanishing into roiling smoke. And suddenly she could see. Not much, but enough to be terribly, horribly afraid.

Three more black forms lingered in the corners of her room, watching her slowly get to her feet. Rather than hiding in the shadows, they seemed to exude darkness from their bodies, filling the air around them with a jet black nothingness that swept away light and heat. Completely unaffected by the death of their comrade, the shapes watched her through crystalline eyes of white, red, and blue. Unlike the glowing eyes of a wild cat, however, these seemed to suck in light and warp the air around them. Humanoid, but oh so inhuman.

Without warning, all three Virus ran at her together, coming at her with perfect synchronicity and precision as if controlled by an invisible hand. Evie ran at the one charging from her left, desperately trying to avoid being surrounded, and parried the strike from an arm transformed into an obsidian blade with her sword. Using her nightstand as leverage, she jumped into the air and launched a kick with all her might at the face of the Virus she had blocked, knocking it back two steps. Without pausing, she landed and swung her sword in a backhanded arc, decapitating the second Virus coming from the center of the room.

Evie stopped her swing, preparing to face the third virus, and had she been fighting humans, she would have been in time. A person may have, probably would have paused at seeing their companion brutally cut down, but the third Virus never faltered. As Evie raised her sword to block the incoming thrust, she felt the fist whiz past it and connect with her stomach, doubling her over and sending her sword tumbling from her suddenly numb fingers. Without pausing, the Virus raised its leg and sent its knee crashing into her head. Evie barely managed to twist to avoid the full force of the blow, but it still sent her careening back into the side of her bed with a crash.

Eyes blinded with pain and blood trickling from her broken nose, she felt the two remaining monstrosities drawing closer to her and desperately fumbled for her sword. She gasped in anguish and frustration, begging her useless limbs to move a little faster to find her weapon or least help her move out the way. Her eyes cleared enough to see one bladed arm and another fist raised against her and she immediately shut them, steeling herself for the incoming blows.

“[Hamsa Talisman]!”

Evie heard the voice and her eyes flew open. The sword-armed Virus that had been seconds from cutting her in half was frozen in place with a huge glowing hand pulsing on its chest. Outlined by the shining light, she saw her mother, hardly well-enough to stand just a few hours earlier, calmly pivot and plunge a long-bladed knife straight through the chest of the final Virus. Rapidly withdrawing it, she struck again two more times, once at its stomach and a final blow into its face, causing it to disintegrate into smoke.

“[Soul Drain].”

Rushing over to Evie, Anastasia placed her hand on her daughter’s forehead and calmly used a second skill. The hand on the stricken Virus pulsed one final time before its whole body shattered into tiny motes of light. For a second, Evie forgot the pain in her stomach and nose and her mouth dropped open with wonder as the lights circled the room around them. Then they coalesced on her mother’s hand and she felt warmth and relief flood through her body. Her broken nose reset itself and her winded lungs greedily drew in breath. Shaking, she leaned over into her mother’s hug.

“Evie.”

She barely had time to comprehend how close the Virus had been to killing her before her mother pulled back from the hug and pulled her to her feet. When Anastasia spoke, it was in a rapid whisper – eyes flitting around the room searching for any signs of movement or corners that looked too dark.

“We have to move - I think there are more of them. We’ll be safer outside where there are others.”

She grabbed Evie’s hand and nearly dragged her from the room, barely giving her enough time to grab her sword on the way out. They ran down the hallway, into the living room, and both stopped short.

At least ten more Virus stood waiting in the living room, each one a void in space sucking away the light from the hanging lamps. Among them, was the biggest Virus Evie had ever seen. It stood more than 8 feet tall and as wide as the trunk of an oak tree, towering over both Evie and her mother.

“A juggernaut…”

Her hands were white with terror on the grip of her sword, but there was a touch of wonder in her barely audible voice. She’d heard stories about these massive monsters – champions of the Virus – but she’d never imagined seeing one here in Richmond let alone in her own home. When her mother spoke, however, her voice was calm and steady as she held out her knife towards the juggernaut.

“Behind me Evie. Watch my back.”

“But-”

“Behind me.”

Belying her frail body, Anastasia’s voice was firm as a rock she slowly edged forward towards the juggernaut, knife outstretched in one hand, other hand glowing with a soft, yellow light.

Evie’s heart raced with panic, eyes flitting from one virus to the next, but always returning back to the menacing red eyes of the juggernaut hardly moving as her mother inched closer. It couldn’t, shouldn’t, be possible, but the hulking abomination looked so confident. Smug even. The whole world seemed to wait with bated breath, the only sound the soft creaking of the floorboards under her mother’s feet and her wildly beating heart.

Then Anastasia struck and time jolted back to life. Her mother darted forward with a speed and ferocity Evie had never seen in her, especially not in her weakened condition. First her knife, then her glowing hand, assailed the monster in a flurry of rapid jabs. Anastasia struck left and right, high and low, but every strike was deflected with contemptuous ease. Each time she struck, the juggernaut’s hands and elbows were perfectly placed to intercept, the blows hardly registering on its semi-corporeal skin.

Evie watched, frozen with fear and awe as her mother fought a battle that seemed increasingly hopeless. Nothing she did had the slightest effect on the juggernaut and it seemed only a matter of time until it was done playing with its food. Then Anastasia stumbled, unable to land properly from an overextended lunge, and the beast raised its massive fist.

“Mom!”

With speed borne from desperation, Anastasia threw herself behind the kitchen table as the fist plummeted towards her. Without even the slightest resistance, the table splintered under the force of the punch, sending wood flying in every direction. Anastasia was flung backward, straight past Evie and into the wall behind them. The entire house seemed to lurch as the juggernaut slowly stood, its fist reemerging from a hole wider than Evie was tall in the house’s foundation.

Evie stood slack jawed, her mind numb as the juggernaut turned towards her.

“What do I do? I can’t fight this thing. Nobody can. How…”

She stood, legs shaking, needing to see that her mother was okay, but unable to take her eyes off the Virus. Summoning all the courage she had, she tightened both hands on the sword's grip and willed her legs to run at the beast, but before she could take a step forward, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Her face turned to see her mother slowly limping forward. There was blood flowing from a cut on her temple and her left arm hung limply by her side, but her voice was still calm and in control.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Sweetheart, when I attack again, I want you to run. If you can make it outside, run for the militia station. They’ll keep you safe.”

“No mom, I won’t leave you! We’ll fight it together.”

“If you do, the rest of them will attack both of us.”

The remaining Virus were still standing there, unmoving, watching them like sentinels. Three of them were standing in front of the door and another two had moved to block the hallway back to their bedrooms. One more stood by each window, blocking any path she could take to exit and snuffing out any light trying to enter, or leave, the small house.

“If you run, you have a chance. Get help, I’ll be right behind you… Now!”

Without waiting for a response, Anastasia charged forward at the juggernaut, giving a primal roar.

“[Holy Aura]!”

Her whole body lit up with the same yellow light as her hand and she sped until she was nearly a blur. She struck at the juggernaut with slashes too fast for Evie’s eyes to discern and, for a second, the juggernaut fell back, lines of light forming across its arm and thigh where the knife met its body. But Evie knew her mother couldn’t hold it for long. This was her strongest attack skill and it would sap her limited strength quickly.

Evie leapt forward, moving for the nearest window. Just as her mother predicted, the instant she started moving, the remaining Virus broke into motion to further obstruct her path to the windows and doors. She tore for the nearest window, making as if she meant to leap through it, but when she’d run as far as she dared, she jumped - not for the small rectangular opening, but for the wall beside it – planting both feet on it and jumping back the way she’d come. The juggernaut's back was to her, fending off her mother’s attacks. She had it. Four steps. Three steps. She raised her sword. And the juggernaut turned.

Almost casually, it held up its hand and caught the blade, edge first, on its open palm. Her momentum carried her forward, her heart sinking as the sword failed to even break the skin of the monster’s palm. Its cold, red eyes glared down at her mockingly, as with a single, effortless flick of its wrist, it snapped the sword in two. Evie's mouth dropped open in disbelief as the far end of her sword dropped through the air in an almost graceful arc before clattering against the wood floor. It bounced once, twice, and then was still

The juggernaut towered over her, as, too late, Evie started to stumble away. She saw it raise its other hand, and for the second time that night, Evie braced herself for a blow she knew she couldn’t survive. She stood helpless, breath caught in her chest, feet rooted to the spot, and then she was falling - not backwards, but sideways, shoved away from the falling fist at the last possible moment.

She looked up, and for a second caught a smile on her mother’s face as she stumbled into the path of the fist meant for her. A single tear fell from Anastasia’s eye, and then the fist connected with the center of her chest. The whole world seemed to freeze at that moment – the smoky Viral essence reuniting with the deadly wound it had caused many months ago. The closed eyes and fleeting smile falling away from a withered face. The wide-eyed look of confusion on a young girl’s face who’s mind hadn’t yet had time to register what had just happened. Then Anastasia flew back, bouncing along the floor until her body connected with the wall a second time, and crumpled, unmoving.

Evie's scream was swallowed by the howl of the wind outside as the impact echoed through the small living room. Everything around her seemed to fade away as she staggered, then crawled towards her mother, ignoring the Virus all around her. Anastasia lay motionless, her eyes closed, a faint smile still lingering on her lips. She could have almost been sleeping, but for the crater in the center of her chest, ribs bent and broken around a chasm reaching down into her heart.

Tears blurred Evie's vision as she reached her mother’s side, her hands shaking as she touched her already cooling cheek.

"Mom, please."

Evie knelt over the body and howled, pain tearing through her mind, body, and soul. Around her the Virus closed in, surrounding her in a deadly vigil. She would have knelt there, paralyzed with loss, waiting to die beside her mother, but something impossible happened. In a bass so deep and powerful she thought it would shatter her eardrums, he juggernaut spoke.

“So long… “I’ve looked for you for so long.”

Evie’s face was torn from her mother’s, her utter astonishment banishing her sorrow for the briefest of moments. The beast stepped closer, seeming to savor in its victory. Evie stared up at it, completely helpless, but, even at the moment of her death, unable to fathom hearing the mindless villain that had loomed over her entire life speak to her for the first time. She stared around as all of the Virus continued to close in, seeming to exalt in the specter of her death. The juggernaut had no mouth that Evie could see, but its booming monotone continued as it approached her and slowly raised its fist.

“Daughter of heroes, hope of humanity. Goodbye.”

Evie closed her eyes, bracing for the end. And then, she heard a familiar voice in her head. For a second, she thought she was leveling, but that didn’t make sense. You didn’t get levels in the middle of battles. Instead, the voice said something she’d never heard before.

“Applied skill, [Guardian Angel], activated. Uses remaining, 1 of 3.”

And Evie exploded with light. It poured from her eyes, from her nose, through the pores of her skin. Her insides felt like they were on fire and she opened her mouth in a wordless scream causing more light to shoot from her open mouth. The whole world seemed to blink and shudder as the juggernaut’s fist connected with the brilliant light and just stopped. Light spread from her to the juggernaut and the nearby Virus and it was anathema to them, burning away the darkness of which they consisted. Beyond them, windows shattered and wood fell from the roof and walls, burning with a pale white fire.

The juggernaut stumbled back, roaring, though whether with pain or frustration Evie did not know. Amazed and bewildered, she slowly got to her feet, looking around. The shield pulsed around her, warm and protective, causing the Virus to shy back. Four of them had been burned away by the shining light, but six of them, including the juggernaut, still stood around her. One of the smaller Virus ran at her from behind, two swordlike appendages stabbing towards her, but it had no more success than the juggernaut did. The second it got near her the shield around Evie shone with the same white light as when it had first formed and the Virus was instantly incinerated

Evie looked from Virus to Virus, at the juggernaut, and at the door. The shield was already starting to fade and she didn’t have a weapon to hurt the Virus other than running at them and hoping she could catch them all before it vanished completely. She glanced at the door again, and knew she could make it out while the Virus couldn’t hurt her. But then she looked down at her mother’s broken body.

She had no weapon, no skills, but she refused to flee. To run away from these monsters who had destroyed her life before it had even started. Who had invaded her home and took from her the woman who had been more than just a mother to her. The woman who had been her hero.

Something welled up inside of her. It was similar to the shield, yet not the same. That had been raw power so vast and foreign that it had almost ripped her apart. This was something new, yet familiar at the same time. A presence awakening for the first time, yet somehow feeling like it had always been there.

“Now.”

The presence within her began to swell, shaking her body as the force began to thrum together with the beat of her heart.

“We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat. They do not exist.”

It felt like a raging torrent of energy, something that she couldn’t hope to control completely; something she could only grasp onto and hold on as best she could.

“We will not have failure.”

The energy reached a crescendo, threatening to overwhelm her and swallow her body and soul.

“What is your oath?”

“To kill them. To destroy them all.”

There was no hesitation in her voice – she knew the words to say as if she’d been reciting them her entire life.

“Will you, to your power, cause Law and Justice, in Mercy, to be executed in all your judgements?”

“I will.”

“Do you solemnly swear to do your duty?”

“I do.”

And with her final words she felt an assent from the presence. For a second, the energy flowing through her quieted, and she could see the Virus standing behind the glowing light surrounding her. Only a few seconds had passed, but the world felt brighter, more full of life, as if the encompassing shadow of the Virus was breaking apart. She looked across at the juggernaut looming above her face and fury burned through her. Her eyes met its’, and her mouth curled into a vicious smile. She uttered a single word, or rather, a name. And her body began to transform.

“Victoria.”

Evie's transformation wasn't just physical, it was ethereal, a change that shifted the very air around her and felt as if it was stretching her plane of existence. Her body, previously dwarfed by the sheer size of the juggernaut, grew in size until she was nearly seven feet tall. Shredded pajamas were replaced by a clean white uniform with golden buttons fastened down the middle. A long, navy coat formed on her shoulders with golden epaulets and tails that fell down to her calves. Her disheveled hair became a neat, braided tail, resting on her neck beneath a broad tricorn hat.

“You have awakened the Tier 2 hero, Alexandrina Victoria Hanover of archetype ??? ???.

Skill gained - Victoria: [Sun Never Sets]

Skill gained - Victoria: [Reign of the Conqueror]

Skill gained - Victoria: [Cannonade]

Weapon gained - Victoria: Royal Navy Cutlass”

As the transformation completed, the shield around her dimmed and disappeared, returning the house to near darkness. The lamps on the walls flickered as the wind blew through the shattered windows and Evie stared at the remaining Virus. This time it was Virus that launched into motion, all six of them, including the juggernaut, running at her at once. But she was no longer the scared girl cornered in her living room; she was something else entirely, something beyond their reach.

She sidestepped the first Virus’ attack with ease, letting it run past her and slicing it in two with a cutlass summoned to her hand. She leapt, coat fluttering, as she bent her body in an elegant flip, landing gently outside the circle of onrushing enemies. With two quick flicks of her, she dispatched another Virus, its body starting to burn away as soon as her new weapon sliced into it.

With a grim smile, she pointed her weapon at the juggernaut and used one of her new skills.

“[Sun Never Sets]!”

Instantly, a warm bright light shone from behind her, bursting through the walls of the house and causing the Virus to cower back behind raised arms. She ran at them, and the sunlight followed her, moving in the air so it was always behind her back and pointed straight at her enemies. With two more cuts, it was just her and the juggernaut remaining.

It ran at her, casual arrogance turned into rabid violence as it raised its huge fists and unleashed a flurry of strikes at her. But the movement of the weakened beast that had appeared impossible to match mere moments before, now felt clumsy and slow. She sidestepped each strike with grace and ease, already darting to avoid the next blow before the juggernaut had even begun to deliver it. A wild swing shot past her shoulder and she sliced the arm off at the elbow. Spinning around behind it, she sliced through its leg on the same side, causing it to come crashing down to the ground.

Her eyes red with rage, she slowly walked around the fallen giant and removed its remaining limbs, leaving it lying helpless on the ground. Unlike the other Virus, it hadn’t immediately disappeared when she cut through it, but its form was beginning to dissipate under the onslaught of her sword and the sunlight streaming in behind her.

She stared down at the monster that had killed her mother, wanting to say so many things, but knowing nothing would quiet the roaring rage and sorrow within her. With one final motion, she drew back her sword, and put it through the juggernaut’s head.