The sky was a dull light gray mush. A layer of clouds with no texture. Just a layer of nothing, the only variation being the sun in the form of a shining sphere of silver light that penetrated to illuminate the sight.

And quite the sight it was.

The Spine was a structure that resembled a mountain range but with its peaks and sides shaped by matter manipulators to resemble the bones of a spine. The enormous creation's effect was only amplified by its vulgar reputation.

Being the place where the Shadow of Quinheart chased the Red King and tore him apart, the Spine was the most famous sight in all of the world. Nevertheless, the land was deserted, thought to be cursed.

So as Liv walked on air from one peak of the Spine to the next she looked around and saw nothing. Cold winds blew in her ears as she breathed in the fresh air and heard her stolen bandit clothes flutter about, a single thought filling her mind. To her, she was the only human in the world at that moment. That peaceful moment, on top of a masterfully-shaped mountain surrounded by dried-up plains.

She was the only one left in the entire world. That's what she thought as she stopped on one of the sharp peaks. All until she heard the whistling of spears hurled at her. Her mind and eyes snapped to action as she clasped her hands to escape the volley.

For a second, she considered some kind of area guard. The next volley came in right after. It was a calculated assault.

Liv's expression twisted in growing rage so that even her father wouldn't have recognized her. Volleys of spears kept coming even after the second teleportation, so Liv teleported lower on the Spine and looked for the sources. Following volleys were miserable attempts as Liv appeared and disappeared in seconds.

It didn't take long to figure out the enemy.

Volleys came from hidden soldiers in an attempt to exhaust her through continuous forced teleportation. A simple but effective strategy if there were enough resources. And there certainly were.

But where did the soldiers hide? In craters. Craters shaped by matter manipulators. All prepared beforehand.

'They knew.' Liv's face went numb with the obvious realization. And when she most hoped for a sting of rage to wipe her mind, her emotions flatlined at the betrayal.

'My life has been a series of events that would have been more than enough to lead one to ruin,' she remembered some of Inu's words to her in their first meeting.

It was a sentence that could very well sum up any life if arranged correctly.

At that moment, she found the right words for herself.

'My life has been a series of events where people have chosen the world over me,' Liv sounded it in her head. Yes, it was right. And now it was time for someone to her. Even if it had to be herself.

With that, she disappeared.

Then appeared, floating on the side of the mountain in the ever-growing misty sky, her eyes finding a soldier peaking out of a crater. The man wore a black uniform, armed to the teeth. He looked to be a mercenary. A fairly old one at that with scars on his slightly wrinkled face. But when his eyes met those of Liv, he shuddered.

A clasping sound traveled through the air, but before it even reached the soldier's ears, Liv was behind him. Liv swept her open hand along the man's torso and it split apart. The man fell with open eyes, but Liv was gone before he hit the ground.

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Her assailants had noticed the development. As expected, the next stage of their strategy ensued.

Formidable soldiers began appearing along with smaller, caped individuals. Bodies with Spaces. The spatial manipulators disappeared quickly enough to avoid any damage and moved to transport more people to Liv. Doing battle head-on was fine with her. The lower ground wasn't her preferred environment, however.

She teleported higher and away, exhausting the enemy in the process. The strategy wasn't to outlast them there were too many for that. No, the strategy was simpler than that.

Just face them, go all out, and kill every single one.

Bodies chased her as she made it to a peak, maneuvering through the spine with animal-like movements. Liv crunched her nose in concentration, putting her hands up, her gaze focused. With strained fingers, she made her hands into fists. And as the Bodies neared with swift murder on their minds, she violently flicked her fingers out at the sky. Space folded, and the men reappeared high in the sky.

But as ten fell to their deaths, there was a skidding noise close by. And somehow with lightning speed and precision, one man made it through her defenses.

Before she knew it, he was there. She turned abruptly and faced a thin sword being thrust at her chest. Her reactions were faster than before to the point where every little sensation was registered with accuracy and the world felt slow, but that man was immune. When he narrowed his dark eyes into nothing but slits and put the blade through her, that same fear came creeping back. The fear she had meditated on and overcame in her deep mind showed its true depth when death knocked on the door to her soul.

Her eyes shook, looking down at the sword that had sunk horizontally under her left collarbone. Cool pain grew into a radiating burn the more it spread. And it spread fast. Liv felt a screech coming from deep inside but held it back.

Hakro said nothing, having lost his humor. It seemed with his comrades dead and multiple failures under his belt, he found the peak of his performance and it included no flaunting until the kill was dead.

Liv hated that.

Hakro turned twisted violently and tried to bring the blade down and pierce her heart. However, the blade remained where it was, an invisible force holding it in place with absolute authority.

Liv heard spears coming. She had to go fast. She tasted blood and spat it out in Hakro's face before clasping her hands as painful as it was. She had to take care of the bigger picture. More Bodies appeared, surrounding her as the rest reoriented themselves. Liv only teleported more into the sky and grew spikes from the ground. Women and men fell to have stone of the Spine run through their spines. Liv saw it as poetic. Or reckoned she would have if she actually saw it. In reality, she had to move fast.

Teleporting away from pursuers as she made her way further on the spine, disposing of the ballsy ones on the way. All so that she could find better ground to fight on and make stitches of stone to shove through her wound.

With approximately 40 corpses behind her, she reached the end of the Spine. A skeletal head with a crown, stained with crimson.

She then turned to face the rest of her assailants who had neatly gathered into one pack, all with their attentions on her. Moving like spiders through the bones of the spine, the Bodies coordinated for an ambush.

An irresistible smile grew on her lips as she envisioned her next move.

'Is it because using it makes you feel like him?' she recalled Inu's words once again.

They rang true back then. If she would have answered, she would have told him, 'Yes. It does.'

Hypnosis had made her sick to her stomach. It was a dirty power with an even dirtier reputation.

But how... How could she have let such a thing hold her back from using the most powerful of her abilities?

She scoffed at the notions as she looked at the army of Bodies quickly approaching. Suddenly projectiles were hurled. But without a flinch, she brought up her palms and the blades dulled as they met the invisible barrier.

Then her mind straightened, and her eyes emitted a soft glow as she opened her mouth. "All of you..." the soldiers froze in a trance, their focus intent on her next word. "Die."

For a moment, there was absolute silence as even the wind seemed to calm in waiting. Then blood spurted as dozens slit their throats, stabbed their hearts, and sliced open their guts.

Liv looked down on the disgusting animals as they fell into pools of blood. Every single one. Well, except for him.

Hakro Manus looked around with an open mouth and blinked in confusion before meeting Liv's smiling eyes. His world would end there on that bloody skull.