"How funny... waking up seems so unnatural now. It's almost as if..."

'As if I've grown used to waking up not from my own sleep... but from my own death.'

These were the words that Marcus stopped himself from saying as he lifted his body from a strangely peaceful slumber.

'I haven't died for quite a while now, haven't I? When was the last time... ah... I suppose it would be then.'

Recalling the man who had used revolvers as weapons, a slight grin came across the face of Marcus.

'It was only yesterday... just a single day... not even... and yet... with all the death that has occurred over the past two days, even half a day seems like a long time to go without dying.'

Looking over, Marcus found the two girls in the upper room of that pizzeria, appearing to have fallen soundly asleep.

"You're awake, aren't you?"

"That is correct."

"What did you do last night?"

"I killed a... zombie."

"Just a zombie?"

"I believe so."

"Then you aren't completely sure?"

"That is correct."

These two quickly shot words back and forth, their wavelengths matching in every way as they inferred the details of one another with little to no context.

"Was there anything else?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"I... found out my ability."

At this statement of Sylvia, Marcus immediately sat straight up, glaring at her with intensity.

"What is it?"

"Reduce."

Sitting up from the bed so as to not disturb the little one, Sylvia sat forward in deep thought as she spoke her mind.

"It's a pretty powerful ability. Well.. I guess any ability is powerful. To be able to redefine and reduce things as we please... I wonder what limitations these abilities actually have? There are so many things that could be done with these abilities... so I think the first thing we need to do is to test them out. What are their weaknesses, what are the conditions..."

Then, with a smile, the woman thinned her eyes with pleasure.

"And how far we can take them."

"I agree.", Marcus replied with a nod. "I've learned that redefine can be used to form new weapons and by changing the shape and hardness of certain objects... but I doubt the abilities end there. I need to test... learn... and determine just what this ability can be used for. As far as I know... Seven and One will not interfere in our attempts to strengthen ourselves. They wish to use us for a purpose, and thus if we are to put forth the effort to become stronger it will only benefit them."

Speaking in an analytical manner, Marcus bluntly asserted the situation as Sylvia nodded in agreement.

"So? What use have you found for reduce?"

"I... well... I found that I could use my ability to reduce the water within living creatures. By doing so I can kill them."

"Oh? That is an interesting way to use it. Can you reduce other things?"

"I haven't tried. But when I reduced the water in the zombie downstairs... the effects spread to my own hand."

At this statement Marcus put his hand to his chin in thought.

"So you can use your ability in a violent and destructive way, but you have little precision with it, and as such it is dangerous to use... this is even more true if we are trying to protect someone... Well, I don't think redefine is all that different... after all... if I wanted to..."

An image then appeared in the mind of Marcus.

"That... certainly is an evil ability. Haha..."

Standing up, the man slicked back his hair and fixed his bloodied tie as he prepared himself for the day.

"I suppose I'll have to try that."

----

"Ugh... I wish I could shower... those don't exist anymore though... and if I did my skin would probably melt into the hot water anyways..."

"Yes, it is quite disconcerning isn't it? I suppose health is out the window. While I would like to do what we can... it doesn't seem that there is much we could do."

Marcus and Sylvia walked side by side as the blue haired girl followed them calmly, not appearing to be interested in their conversation though still tentatively listening in the case that something they said was of importance.

'These two are my new master and mistress... therefore I should pay attention to even the little things they say. Since my brother is dead... my entire purpose in this life is to serve them. I'm not sure what they want from me, but if they are anything like brother then they will want me to at least be capable of thinking on my own and making my own decisions.'

With these thoughts, the girl continued to keep her ears open regardless of how small or insignificant the conversation seemed.

'I need to understand their desires and goals... the methods they wish me to use... this is difficult. All my life I dedicated myself to fulfilling my brother's will and never really thought about what would happen if I had to align myself with the will of someone else.'

Looking up to the two, the girl considered speaking but stopped herself from doing so.

'What if they don't want me to speak? Brother didn't wish for me to speak unless I was in a position to do so. Perhaps they wish for me to remain silent all the time? Or perhaps they wish to hear my thoughts so that they may correct them? I... am unsure.'

The girl found herself at a loss, and in the end decided to remain quiet.

'I will assume for now that they don't wish for me to speak. Unless they tell me otherwise, I will keep my mouth shut. After all... it is not the place of the slave to talk to the master.'

With this, the girl decided to herself.

After all, she was nothing more than a tool.

At some points used for diplomacy, at others for slaughter.

Yet never once before in her life had she been anything but an object - for the use of the one who owned her.

"She's probably hungry. Don't you think?"

Turning to look at the girl, Marcus focused his attention on Isabella as Sylvia responded.

"Ah... shit. That's right. I forgot that people have to eat. I don't really get hungry anymore so it completely slipped my mind. We went through all that effort to gather supplies but it all went to waste... ah! Speaking of which, I wonder how Gordon and Stella are doing? They should be fine for now with the supplies we had at the school. And as for Amy... well, I don't think she's... dead. She was with Number Two after all. Do you think she... has become one of us yet?"

The expression of Marcus seemed to tense up as Sylvia brought up the sensitive topic.

"I... suppose that would depend on their destination. If it wasn't too far then they should have already arrived. I suppose transportation is... possible. We were able to use that truck, therefore if they exited the City then it would likely be easy to travel on the open plains. Although the rougher the terrain the more difficult that would become. Interstates are probably all blocked off, so those would be impossible to utilize."

"Ah... yeah, that's right. This... hmm... everything is so strange. All these things that were once a part of our world have changed, haven't they?", Sylvia muttered.

"And yet... all this seems trivial... compared to how much we've changed."

Strangely, Marcus felt something that overcame him as he whispered these words.

A slight grin came across his expression, one which was anything but heroic.

Closing his eyes, the man chuckled to himself as he recalled the memories of mindless days he had spent working, day in and day out.

The countless times he was yelled at by his superiors, the countless times he was blamed for whenever anything went wrong, the countless times that he was forced to negotiate between two opposing parties, expected to meet the expectations of both.

All of these things welled up in the mind of Marcus, who now only needed to please a single supervisor.

How many times had he done something unethical because his boss had told him to?

How many times had he ignored an issue in order to save on time or money, simply because the boss didn't want him to waste resources on such a thing?

How many times had he been ordered to use loopholes and hope that nobody would catch on so that the work could be performed all the faster?

And how many times had he been punished for doing what he thought was right?

"Why did you bother contacting these people!? You shouldn't have even bothered!! Now we have to meet their demands as well!!!"

"We're six weeks behind schedule because of YOU!!"

"Are you even doing anything in that office of yours!? Maybe I should move you back to a cubicle!"

With position came expectation.

And regardless of how many unpredictable factors came into play, the one in charge was blamed for anything that went wrong.

No matter how impossible it was to predict.

"How many times have I told you to do it this way!? I want you to leave out anything that will discourage approval. Hah!? The truth!? Honesty!? Do you think that I care about the truth!? We're telling them the truth! If they don't ask then it's their fault for not knowing any better."

As Marcus remembered these many things, he realized something.

'I've... always been a zombie, haven't I?'

And as he realized this, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Hahaha... somehow... I feel that regardless of this undead body... regardless of how many times I've died... regardless of everything that's happened... that I'm more alive than ever right now."

"Hm? Did something happen?", Sylvia asked with a confused expression, however the man merely stepped forward with confidence.

"Nothing good has happened. Ever. However... even in this world of chaos... I suppose I am starting to see that perhaps... everything was already rotten in the first place. And that... is comforting."

With a pause, the man looked forward with tired yet satisfied eyes.

"Because if everything in this world is wrong... then I don't have to worry about what is right."

----

While one might think that the streets are a dangerous place during the zombie apocalypse, Marcus and Sylvia soon learned that they were actually one of the safer places to roam.

Many buildings were locked up for the night at the time when the Cataclysm occurred, therefore unless zombies broke through the windows there were few who had left any.

Anyone who was in a vehicle at the time of the cataclysm had likely crashed in a horrible manner, completely reducing the people inside to chunks of flesh or trapping them within the bent metal frame of the vehicle.

For those who didn't crash or whose accidents were lighter, they were likely still trapped in their own cars. Since the zombies didn't seem to typically have desires unless a living being passed by for them to consume, many merely sat patiently doing nothing for however long they had been left there.

Because of this, Marcus and Sylvia had encountered remarkably few enemies as they strolled along the sidewalks. A pedestrian here, a cyclist there, but not much more.

"I wonder why there were so many outside when we exited that apartment complex... no... I suppose that makes sense. Since there were survivors in the complex, perhaps some others had somehow exited before us, or perhaps some people from other complexes had left the building and attracted a horde of zombies. Actually... yes... I suppose that makes sense. If people are to run away from a group inside the building, the group will likely chase them down, becoming violent and destroying doors and windows in order to do so. This would in turn release a wave of undead, which would gather collectively. But... that leaves another question."

As the four made their way down the streets, Marcus thought out loud to himself for the other two to hear as he looked around with suspicion.

"If everyone in the world woke up at the same time... then that would mean that at the moment I was dying for the first time... perhaps hundreds... no... thousands? Millions?"

Taking in a deep breath, the man shuddered as he came to a realization.

"Just how many people across this world died in that first hour?"

95% of humanity had been infected, from the numbers that Seven had given to Marcus.

At roughly 2 Billion people across the planet, this left roughly 100 Million people alive even after the cataclysm.

However among those 100 million, the amount who were left had likely dwindled to a number far smaller.

"No point thinking about that. After all, if they died after awakening... then it was their fault."

Sylvia made this statement with a bitter expression, recalling the first time she had died as she said this.

"There are two types of people who are still alive. Those who are competent... and those who leech off of the competent. In a way, those leeches could be said to be the most competent of all, for even in their incompetence they have managed to thrive. As for everyone else... they have all been eliminated. Which is likely exactly the stage that Seven wished to set... for the destruction of humanity."

As the woman said this, the two came across an open parking lot - the lot to a large department store.

While it wasn't overly packed with the undead, there were a few zombies roaming about from place to place, shoppers who had been heading to their vehicles and loading their groceries at the time of the apocalypse.

"You're probably hungry, aren't you?", Sylvia stated as she looked down at the girl.

"Hunger is something which can be ignored. Aside from the food necessary to survive, food is nothing more than a luxury from which pleasure can be derived upon consumption. For someone such as myself, there has never been any purpose in experiencing such pleasure."

"Ok, so you're hungry. And thirsty?"

"Water is necessary on a daily basis, therefore it would benefit me if I were able to drink to prevent death by thirst. If the effort required to obtain the water is worth more than me, however, then the appropriate action to take would be to forgo retrieval of such items."

Looking up to Sylvia with those dead eyes, Isabella spoke without concern for her own life.

"The decision is yours. Do as you feel is most beneficial to yourself."

As the girl made this statement which was so devoid of self, Sylvia felt something pierce her.

Unlike the claws of the zombies which had torn away at her, this time an emotion pierced her as she was filled with determination.

"Marcus."

"Yes?"

"We're going to give this girl something to eat and drink."

"Oh? Is that so? Are you capable of cooking?"

"I lived on my own, as you did. I am capable of at least the basics. But regardless..."

Stepping into that parking lot as she glanced from one side to the other, Sylvia took a toll of the number of zombies present in the lot.

"The fact that this girl hasn't ever experienced any cooking pisses me off. Therefore even if I have to kill..."

At that moment from behind a car, a zombie lunged out towards Sylvia, growling and snarling as it thrust itself towards her.

However this zombie quickly found itself tripping over itself as something strange happened to it.

"Guh!?"

The zombie stumbled to the ground, at which it immediately found a foot crushing its head, putting pressure on it as it was pressed onto the pavement.

The pressure of the foot slowly increased until the head exploded, and the creature ceased its snarling.

And with a smile, standing above this creature, was the woman known as Sylvia.

Looking at her hand with a toothy grin, the woman then glared to the lower end of the zombie - most particularly its feet.

They had shrunk.

The feet of the zombie had shrunk to become five times smaller, disproportionate with the creature - which had rendered it unable to walk.

"I guess this is the obvious way to use it.", the woman stated as she turned towards the store, a murderous confidence within every step she took.

"Reduce."

----

'If I had tried to reduce the size of the entire creature, then I can tell that I wouldn't have been able to control it.'

'It's like a radius. I aim for a certain point, and the more volume I try to affect the greater the possible sphere of error is.'

'Depending on what I am trying to do, the radius which I could handle will likely change. That is... if it's something as simple as reducing the size of an object, I could probably control a relatively large sphere... but the more complicated the property I try to reduce... the more uncontrollable I feel that it will become.'

Sylvia came to this conclusion as she slowly learned through experience of the inner workings behind the ability [Reduce].

[How pathetic, host. However.... I suppose that's about right.]

Yet as Sylvia approached the department store with a grin, that voice continued to pry at her even as she confidently waltzed through the area, scanning left and right before holding out her hand towards an approaching pair of undead.

Splat!

In that instant, the heads of the two zombies imploded with a rain of blood, spraying themselves all around their area as the two fell lifelessly to the ground.

[You haven't yet understood the full capabilities of reduce... but I'll let you play with it. Learn, my host. However as you learn... you will soon come to a single realization.]

Reducing the durability of the skulls and minds of the zombies that she targeted, Sylvia grinned as the air pressure popped their now frail heads like balloons.

Yet even as she laid a field of destruction in the path she walked, slaughtering zombie after zombie as they crawled out of the woodworks, Sylvia's mind was continuously bombarded by the words of the creature within.

[You will never be able to accomplish your will... without me.]

[For you are nothing more than a corrupted body which was once a human.]

[Yet I was designed with the very intent of becoming nothing less than a monster.]

[A weapon, created for the purpose of organized and calculated destruction... all for the sake of you humans and your selfish desires.]

[And because of that, the things that I have become capable of have far surpassed any human limitations which you will be subject to. Watch.]

It was at that moment that from every crevice between each vehicle that numerous zombies appeared, growling and snarling as they approached from every direction.

'Well shit.', Sylvia thought, her eyes gaining a bored expression as if she was tired of such a thing.

"Sylvia. Can we take care of this many?", Marcus replied as he reached forth his hand, to which a tentacle was formed that penetrated into the very asphalt below them, rippling underneath them as the zombies seemed to stumble for just a moment from the vibrations.

"Will we be able to protect the girl in this mess?"

The man spoke these words which would appear on the surface to be filled with concern, however in his tone there was nothing more than mockery.

"Protect her?", Sylvia responded with a laugh. "As if that little demon needs any protection. After all... ah... look. She's all the way over there, isn't she?"

It was at that moment that the two looked over to see what appeared initially as a flash of navy blue, yet they soon focused their vision to realize that such a flash was now battered red.

It drew a line around them as it ran circles, creating body after body effortlessly without so much as giving any time to breathe.

Yet it was the very next instant that a familiar yet strangely unusual sound resounded in the ears of the two.

The sound of sliding doors as they were forced open, not through any mechanical means but rather with the rattling and screeching as if they were being forced open.

Turning around, the two looked over to see that there was a horde of hundreds falling out of what was once a department store, tumbling and frantically rushing towards the three through the bottleneck of the out of service sliding doors.

However with a chuckle, Marcus glanced towards the horde as he kept his hand inside the ground, allowing the tentacle to spread out like roots underneath them.

"Isabella."

"Yes, Master?"

These words seemed to come from every direction as the girl continued her indiscriminate slaughter, piling up more and more bodies as she ran.

"Get back here."

"Understood."

The girl immediately appeared at the side of the man, at which the slaughter stopped.

The zombies seemed to close in on the three, who merely stood there with demented smiles.

"Redefine... yes, this is an interesting ability. Sylvia. If I am incorrect about my own capabilities then you will take care of my mistakes, no?"

"Heh... I suppose so."

"Then I have nothing to worry about."

With this interaction, Marcus closed his eyes at which the three felt an unimaginable heat.

Then, forming a ring around them, the asphalt melted into lava, boiling and bubbling as the pool extended outwards - leaving nothing but a small circle of pavement for the three to stand on.

The very earth ruptured and the pool of lava expanded around the three, causing the zombies to fall in as they began to boil to death with horrid screeches.

Soon enough dozens of zombies had fallen into the pool, and at some point the expansion of the pool ceased - yet even so the zombies continued to push and shove one another, causing some to fall in as they screeched their final throes of death.

"To redefine... everything around you. This is your ability... is it not, Seven?"

Marcus spoke these words, however before there was any response, Sylvia held forth her hand as she gazed upon the dozens of zombies who were still left, watching and waiting just outside the ring of lava as if their chance would come.

"And to reduce anything and everything... that is your ability... One."

Pop!

One head, then another.

Pointing her finger towards a zombie, then the next, and then another, Sylvia laughed as a slight joy filled her heart.

"Hahaha... ah... this is kinda fun, isn't it?"

Pop.

Pop.

Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.

One after another, heads exploded.

And as they did, the laughter of the woman increased.

"Hahaha!!! Ah!!! This is so much fun, isn't it!! Look at them!!! They're all trying so hard to kill us... and yet... they can't even come close. I suppose this is how you felt... when you killed us. Isn't that right, One?"

Pop.

Pop.

Pop.

[Inefficient, Sylvia.]

[Watch.]

However at that moment, Sylvia was quieted as her eyes turned dark, the whites becoming black as her aura seemed to change.

Then with the snap of a single finger, not just the heads but even the bodies of every zombie within a hundred meter radius imploded in on itself.

[As I said... I was designed for chaos and destruction.]

The creature spoke such words, stepping forth as she walked onto the lava itself.

The boiling bubbles roared as she walked, and a pool of flames surrounded the girl as if to light her on fire - yet even surrounded by flames she did not seem to be in the least amount of pain.

[Right now... how many spheres of influence do you think I am using?]

[You can only use a single sphere.]

[The size of this sphere, you can control... however by increasing the size of the sphere, you may also include within it things that you do not want to reduce... thus leading to your own harm, or the harm of those you hold dear.]

[Furthermore... you can only perform one type of reduction at the same time.]

[Now let me ask you this, Sylvia.]

[How many spheres do you think I'm controlling right now?]

With each step the lava around her seemed to harden for just the time in which she stepped on it, as if its very liquidity was being REDUCED.

[Reduction of heat.]

[Reduction of damage to my body.]

[Reduction of pain.]

[Reduction of internal pressure.]

[Reduction of the threshold of detection.]

[Reduction of fluid behavior]

[And most importantly... reduction of your ego.]

Sylvia was left to watch, unable to control herself as the creature stepped forward with confidence.

[The correct answer is... infinity.]

Yet even so, the answer was something which Sylvia could never possibly understand.

[The smaller a sphere is... the more precise the control is. However, more spheres would be necessary to apply the effect over a specific area.]

[If you reduce the size of the spheres more and more, you will need more and more spheres to do what you want to do, however the precision will increase.]

[Therefore if the spheres you produced were infinitely small... and if you were able to produce an infinite number of them... then you would be able to perform reductions with PERFECT PRECISION.]

The explanation was beyond Sylvia, however it hit her as she was left unable to control her body.

'Number One... you...'

[I know better than anyone what you're about to say, Sylvia.]

With a voice that sounded slightly saddened, the flames roared around the woman as a tear fell from her eyes, not evaporating in the slightest as she chuckled with torment.

[I'm a monster. And it is for that reason... and only that reason... that I am capable of this.]

----