Cherry sprinted through the forest at a dangerous speed while following the red trail that was quickly fading. The blood moon was finally setting as the sun rose up from the other hemisphere of the planet.
Cherry, who wasn't in her blood mutant form, would occasionally make massive blood weapons and used them to clear a path as she speedily and hastily followed the trail. As she ran, the trail's hue would vanish and reappear repeatedly, making her rush even faster.
Cherry's energy grew thin as she finally made it out of the forest. However, she found herself facing a plain, empty, lifeless desert. The trail flickered as its colors disappeared and just before it left, Cherry was able to see where it led to.
From a distance, she was able to see a small, black silhouette of what looked to be a wall of some sorts. The desert's intense heat caused an intense mirage that altered the image. Confused, tired, and sleep deprived, Cherry begun moving towards the mirage through the hot, desert sand. Due to the heat, she made a shed over herself with hardened blood, but not even that could keep her from the rising sun's heat.
'If this is just a sunrise and its this hot, I wonder how hot this place can get during high noon.' She said to herself…
------
[Few hours later.]
Cherry's body burned under the heat as whatever drop of sweat that fell from her body evaporated before touching the sand. Though she did not need water at the moment, she couldn't keep feeding on blood to quench her thirst and keep herself cool at the same time. The heat did not stop her from moving on at a steady pace but it did make her consume more blood than normal.
It got so bad that she had to constantly consume little amounts in order to not die of thirst.
"Sure is a hot day, isn't it." A voice so calm, soothing, and caring spoke into her ear, but there was no one around. "Why not take a rest, my child."
Cherry's face developed a scowl as she replied saying, "Resting will only slow me down and will kill me under this sun. Buzz off…"
"Easy, Cherry," A female voice spoke into her other ear. "He didn't mean to offend you."
Cherry lifted her weary eyes and saw two people, man and woman, standing over her with gentle smiles on their faces. They wer dressed in white, glowing clothes as their shadows, which were non existent, covered her. Right now, the heat was causing the girl to hallucinate and these two people were her parents…who were dead.
Though Cherry's parents died mysterious deaths when she was only a toddler, she still had vivid memories of them from the pictures her brother showed her and the library of videos they recorded. Over the years, she'd watch them over and over again to help her understand what it was like having parents, but this eventually stopped working before it even got started.
"What do you guys want?" She angrily muttered. "Aren't you supposed to be in a better place?"
"Calm down, my daughter," Her mother calmly spoke while placing her hands on the girl's shoulders, but Cherry didn't feel anything. "My goodness," She exclaimed, "How you have grown so strong. My little Cherry's a strong girl now."
"Look at those big muscles on her arms," Her father cheered on. "Have you been working out?" He got so close to her face that Cherry imagined the hairs on his beard tickle her. She laughed for the first time in a long while but once she opened her eyes, they were gone.
'It's just a mirage, Cherry.' She reminded herself. 'Nothing else but tricks on the mind.'
"I beg to differ, sis."
"Ace!!" With her eyes wide open and her heart beating with surprise, she looked around for the owner of the voice, but there was no one. "Ace," tears started rolling down her eyes. "Are you here? Please answer me."
"You're nearly there. I'm closer than you think…" The voice suddenly stopped, leaving Cherry alone with her thoughts and tears running down her cheeks. She took a moment and processed what just happened to her before picking herself up and said, "Don't worry, Ace. I'll find you soon enough."
-----
*I'll find you soon enough*
"Did you hear that?" Ace, who was also in the desert but miles away from the base, treaded slowly while carrying Sky in his arms. Formally known for being a weakling, Ace, who now had the system and blood mutant gene, carried the girl with ease. The only problem he had was with the heat that made him sweat terribly.
[Negative]
The system replied.
[No life forms in your current vicinity.]
"I swear I heard something." Ace said again. "I couldn't make out who the voice belonged to but it was very familiar and clear.
[WARNING: Intense temperatures can cause hallucinations and make you hear things that are non-existent.]
"What's up with you, system?" He asked. "You've become quite chatty all of a sudden."
[System Updates happen once you gain enough experience. The stronger you grow, the more advanced I become.]
[Notifications: Two skills available. Only one can be chosen.]
[Blood Spray.]
[Description: The blood spray is a powerful skill that allows the user to spray out tiny drops of blood at dangerous speeds. If used correctly, these drops can tear through scales, flesh, and even bones.]
[System Scan]
[Description: The system scan is like a cheat that works for you. This allows you to scan your opponent and see if you can defeat them. However, not all opponents can be scanned and there is a catch for this skill.]
Ace read through both skill descriptions and at the moment, he was kind of siding with the blood spray but his consciousness kept drawing his attention to the system scan skill. He evaluated both skills and decided to chose the system scan, since it seemed to be more helpful at the moment.
[System Scan Skill Acquired.]
[Acquired added EXP:50]
[Level Up]
[Level 5]
[EXP:25/100]
[+1 Stat point earned. You currently have two stat points.]
"Thanks for the reminder," Ace said. "System, what is the catch for using the System Scan skill?"