I did not see the living room again. It changed, darkness displaced my environment, bereft of life and color. I even convinced myself I had turned blind in a sense since I saw only jet black ooze in every direction.

I had worried that this was related to any other stored memories.

My chest tightened when I noticed two familiar bright silhouettes in the far darkness, flickering.

"...Daddy? Mommy?" I called, almost a whisper.

Their white silhouettes turned around, and for a moment, I could imagine a smile on their face. My outstretched hand couldn't reach them, quite far from where I stood.

"No... Don't leave me." My feet took off and I ran as fast as I could towards them. "Mommy! Daddy!"

Try as I might, their silhouettes didn't grow closer and in fact, they were getting further away. Mommy and Daddy wouldn't leave me alone!

I ran and ran and fell down onto the icy, midnight-black floor. My blurry eyes strained to take in Mommy and Daddy's white silhouettes, who after a few seconds, scintillated—sweeping the entire area and pushed the darkness away.

Their bodies shimmered and suddenly they appeared right before me. "We're very sorry for what you'd to endure by yourself. We're..."

Mommy and Daddy hunkered and I immediately hugged both of them. I cried at their side, entreating and pleading for them to return no matter what.

"...We'll always be with you, my sweet Ava," said Mommy as her figure dispersed into the air.

"You're strong. I believe you can get past the obstacles in your way. Don't give up, okay? We'll always be watching you," said Daddy as he too, disappeared.

"Daddy! Mommy—"

A blinding flash of light repleted my vision before I could finish my sentence. While the light pinpricked through my flailing arms, it dissipated, deadened slowly as time passed. Not only had it taken me far away from Mommy and Daddy, but the supposedly calm ambiance it surrounded me with was pointless.

I never wished for anyone to separate me from my parents. And yet... I didn't know what to do anymore. Finding them was my priority, wasn't it?

'Find them', inveigled a garbled, inhuman voice inside my head.

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Find them, Ava. Staying here won't change anything.

"...Find them," I muttered—a bloodied medallion-colored hallway illuminated by flickering, fluorescent light quickly filled my vision.

A destroyed wall ten meters in front revealed the dark night shrouding the forest. Stars sparsely dotted the gloomy sky and around the white, crescent moon. Distant explosions could be heard, but I didna have to worry about it.

As a matter of fact, what heralded more, deserved better of my acuity was the dozens mutilated bodies around me. Severed legs scattered, and pools of blood slathered over the floor.

Intestines pouring out of a man's upper body elicited not more than a silent stare from me, not so much as perturbed by it. Neither incongruous nor strange, my mind registered the sight like I'd experienced it beforehand.

Did I? I couldn't remember much what happened the day before. Ah, perhaps Mommy would know.

"...I can get out," I whispered as I looked on at the freedom spread out liberally before me. It was up to my choice at that point, whether or not I wanted to step into the unknown world and did what I had to. Finding Mommy and Daddy would be my goal if I chose this option.

On the other hand, I could just stay in this place with Grandpa. He saved me from the bad guys and coddled my small self.

Did he?

A part of me believed so, but I killed again to save myself, and he wasn't there for me.

Mercilessly, my Aegis stabbed, sliced, tore apart those who tried and had harmed me. In a sense, the thing itself had been my only true companion for these past few days.

There was still the fact that I felt safe around Ayesha and Hope, not much so with Ludwig. The former two would protect me if they were given the choice, but then again, they were nowhere within sight as well.

And again, I was all by myself to make a difficult choice. Going out there to find Mommy and Daddy without anyone to support me, or stay put with those I trusted.

But you'll just hurt them by staying, Ava.

"...I'll only hurt them by being with them," I said. "But if I can... can do everything by myself, then..."

Supercilious as it was, I meant to only search for Mommy and Daddy. Yes, finding them was my purpose. Why did it become like this? I tried to find out why in my heart, but for some reason, I could not feel.

I felt empty.

"...Mommy, Daddy. I'll find you."

Taken over by these reoccurring thoughts and desires, I took a step forward into the vast world outside.

"Ava!!" shouted a boy.

"...?" I looked over my shoulders as blood trickled down my eyelid. "You're..."

Ah, that boy who helped me back at the outpost.

What was his name again?

Domitius.

No, that was his last name. Trying to scramble for it, the boy took slow steps towards me, his shoes soaked in the pools of blood of those I killed.

Don't come near me! This thought got stuck in my throat, and the words I wanted to say didn't come out.

Why was he not afraid of me? The boy uttered something as he traipsed through the corpses, perhaps calling my name over and over. He could be asking me to come back and not leave this place, but...

"...I'm going to find my Mommy and Daddy," I said to him.

Whether or not my words reached the boy, I'd decided to stay on this path. I looked at him perfunctorily, and a few seconds later, I turned my back towards him with only one goal pulling me forward.