Approximately 700 years ago

The light of the sun shone brightly from up above, bathing the bright emerald ocean in its light. In the distance, a massive construction rose from the ocean, a coral reef growing from the ocean floor all the way up above the water. The coral fortress was painted in every color imaginable, it was all so… ugly.

The Grey Horde, the Queen of her Hive stood on the cliff overlooking the beach and the battle below. She saw her hordes clashing with the kreacean army as it held the reef, and the only land approach to their fortress. They weren’t going to hold, and no one was going to come to their aid. The others were all too occupied with their war against the other races from the third Iteration. She was free to crush them. She could not move against the kreacean’s of her own Iteration, not without the others all throwing a fit. But these… the third Iteration was now fair game, and if she couldn’t crush the others, she would at least wipe out these ones.

The fools had refused to flee along with the other third Iteration races, they had announced their neutrality, had said that they would stay away from this conflict. The fools thought that they could benefit from the first and second Iterations protection while taking advantage of their focus on the rest to grow in power. They had been attacking her territory, and trying to make it look like it was monsters. But they made a mistake, they’ve done it one time too many, and she discovered the truth.

And now they would pay. She glanced down next to her at the dead body of their emissary. The fools thought that they could sue for peace. She didn’t know what kind of a relationship these kreacean had with the skreen on their world, she didn’t understand the third Iteration skreen at all. They… cooperated with one another, hundreds of hives had arrived to the Infinite Realm as the strongest, unlike her and the second Iteration where one hive had conquered all others. Perhaps the kreacean’s thought that there could be peace between them.

She looked at the battle, at her forces attacking the defenders. The bombardment of powers that killed her army that had no end. It had been more than two hundred years since she had arrived in the Infinite Realm, more than enough for her to build up her army. She had troops to spare. She had already used most of her army boosts, making her army incredibly powerful. Soldier for soldier, the kreacean were stronger, but she had the numbers. And her powers were increasing the stats of her army, the kreacean had no leader to do the same. None that could empower them at least.

Then, something changed. A massive pillar of water rose from the ocean and then smashed down onto her army, killing hundreds of her soldiers. Through her telepathy, the connection that all skreen had with one another, she could hear their dying screams amplified by her skill. She was far away that it was just an echo, but it still hurt. She steeled herself and watched as towering shapes started coming out of the ocean. Kreacean that were as tall as buildings, wide and armored with their powerful carapace. Their War forms had finally come out to play. They didn’t look like the ones that she was familiar with, but then all races had differences depending on the Iterations. The War form’s carapace was the same color as all the rest of their Iteration, red with yellows and greens splattered in. Kreacean were usually all born in the same form, unlike the skreen that had dedicated forms for different tasks. But sometimes, about one in a thousand, a war form would be born. A kreacean that could grow to a far greater height and power. The Framework had just made their power skyrocket. The twenty War form’s reached the beach and started pushing her army back.

The Grey Horde turned to her left and looked at her Champion. She focused on him, putting her hand on his shoulder and activating her Monarch’s Grace. Red energy surged around him and he grimaced, and then the energy surged into him and his eyes and mouth opened wide, his pincers twitching uncontrollably. And then it was done, his power surged. She pulled back and then she activated her Battle Presence and a light exploded out of her, giving boosts to all those around her.

“Go, Trklak,” she ordered.

Her champion nodded, rolled his shoulders and getting accustomed to more power, then he jumped down from the edge of the cliff, his personal warriors following. He had no wings as her other champions, he had been born without them, a birth defect that had almost cost him his life in infancy. The brood mother that spawned him took pity, and placed him with the workers instead of killing him. Trklak had grown up in the mines, and when the Framework arrived, he finally had a path to fulfilling his destiny. Now, he was her most powerful asset, her right hand in all things.

Trklak reached the battlefield and the battle changed immediately. She saw as her army, the skreen that were the part of it—because she did have other races serving her—jerked into motion. And then in a few short heartbeats, the entire skreen army became one single entity. Trklak led the charge as her army smashed the kreaceans back, as they swarmed the War forms. She watched with pride as Trklak turned the tide of battle.

The bombardment from the fortress intensified as Trklak led her army down the reef toward the massive arched gate. The ocean shook and churned as the kreaceans used their powers to try and flood her army. But for every one that they killed, five more were just behind.

The Grey Horde saw that the enemy was occupied enough with Trklak, and turned to another of her commanders.

“Send them now,” she said and the Karura nodded his head, his eyes going blank as he used his telepathy.

A few moments later the sky was filled with Karura, flying toward the fortress, The Sky Horn, another of her champions leading the way. The sky above them twisting and the clouds darkened as the used their powers. Then, lighting smashed from the sky, hitting the fortress and killing the defenders. Her aerial force gave Trklak the chance to get close to the gate. She saw him pull back his hand and then strike forward with one of his powers. A massive red fist flew out of him and smashed into the gate fashioned out of bedrock. The gate cracked, but somehow held.

Trklak pulled back for another attack when someone from above the dropped down to meet him. A kreacean, smaller than a War form, but still taller than Trklak. The two met in combat and she could see the ground around them crack as they clashed. The warriors on both sides died as they tried to interfere, simply as a result of the power the two wielded.

She watched intently, wondering if Trklak would prevail. In the end she could only trust that he would be victorious. The battle raged all around the two. Her army trying to break the gate while defending from the attacks both from the ocean and the fortress. Her sky squadrons bombarding the fortress, but ultimately doing little damage. The kreacean ruler had reinforced it enough that it was not going to fall that easily.

The Grey Horde watched and waited for the opportunity to strike.

Then, with a massive screech that sounded from a thousand throats at the same time, her army surged around Trklak. She saw him use her army as an extension of his body, and smash them into his opponents. All those that he controlled died as he sent them against the kreacean, his power was too great. But then her champion’s plan was clear. The kreacean was killing her people, but on the reef, he had little room to maneuverer. A thousand skreen surrounded him, and soon they buried him under the weight of their corpses. Trklak jumped into the air, focusing his power and then attacked.

The kreacean was held down by the corpses, and Trklak shone with bright red light. A beam of energy smashed down and vaporized the corpses surrounding the kreacean. She saw the enemy holding his four hands above his head, trying to protect himself, but it wasn’t enough. The beam cooked him inside his carapace, and then it too failed and melted to sludge that evaporated.

Trklak landed, his sacrifice of thousands to open a way finished. The Grey Horde approved. He pulled his hand back and attacked the gate again. The great red fist smashed into it again, and this time the gate exploded inward, opening a way into the fortress. Her army charged, following Trklak into the fortress.

She watched as the sound of battle outside the fortress abated, listening instead for the battle inside. The ground and the ocean shook, screams came out of the walls of the coral fortress as her army fought its way through.

She was starting to get nervous, as the fortress had nearly fallen into her hands. She looked around, wondering where the enemy ruler was. She couldn’t act before him, as that would leave her army open for him to strike. And yet his fortress was nearly in her hands. Why are you waiting? She wondered.

Just as she was about to move, the earth shook. And then the wall of the fortress cracked open as something red flew out of it. The Grey Horde recognized Trklak as he was flying through the air across the beach to smash into the cliffs beyond. For a moment she froze, but she saw the faint flash of red as Trklak hit the cliff, telling her that he was still alive.

“Go to him,” she said to the Karura next to her and then she stepped forward all of her being focused on the hole in the fortress and the being that was now climbing out of the hole.

“Grey Horde!” The kreacean leader yelled, his voice booming across the distance. “Miserable worm! Your kind is worth no more than fish shit, come let me teach you your place!”

The Grey Horde didn’t lower herself to screaming across the battlefield. Instead, she spread her white wings and took to the sky, flying toward her foe.

The time she had spent in the Infinite Realm had taught her that only personal power mattered. She needed to be strong if she was to keep what she had. She had always been a queen, ruling and commanding her people. The Framework had allowed her to make her people powerful, but she had realized that she needed to be stronger, that to survive she had to have the power to smash her foes.

She flew over the beach and reached the fortress, her opponent, Ezarih Jevashi glared at her from below. He was a War form, far larger than she was, as tall as a two story building. She knew that he was powerful, and his power over the ocean great. She hoped that by staying in the air as much as possible she would be able to avoid his power.

She needed this, to push herself and her future evolutions in the direction of combat. Only feats could shape her class, and this was the only thing that she could do to guarantee a powerful evolution.

Ezarih roared, his upper arms raised high, the pincers opening wide. Only her |Threat Assessment| saved her. Her body twisted, her |Soaring| skill made the air as welcoming to her as the ground. She beat her wings in a quick succession, moving to the side as a pillar of water exploded from the ocean intent on colliding with her.

Ezarih pushed himself out of the wall and jumped, the water pillar curving to hit him and then push him further up. She blinked her eyes as she saw him riding the pillar of twisting water, his lower arm set holding two crossbows that he fired in her direction.

Bolts that shone with power flew at her, and she used her |Blink| to evade. She called to her awakened item, and two gauntlets appeared on her fists, she pulled them back and then punched the air in front of her focusing on her |Perfect Transferring Strike: My Fists, To Shatter the Mountains| and her will warped the space in front of her, sending her strike forward. Ezarih evaded, his pillar twisting in the air as he fired his crossbows again. Her strike hit his pillar of water with an explosion of water, but it did no visible damage to it as the water just reformed back.

She knew that she was going to need to close the range, and fight him in melee. He was too strong and his water allowed him too much maneuverability. She was confident that she had more stats, it was what her focus was. But Ezarih had to have something in reserve too. She took a deep breath and started activating her perks.

Monarch’s Endurance. And her endurance soared.

Unstoppable Monarch. And her base stats increased.

War Titan. And her body grew, matching Ezarih in size.

True Link - Hive. And she connected to the members of her Hive on the beach. Then she drew on their power, their stats flowed into her.

With her True Link, her stats soared beyond anything she had ever had before. She felt like she could level mountains with a single strike. Ezarih prepared, his crossbows replaced by hammers.

The Grey Horde dove through the air, using her |Monarch’s Flight| her now massive wings creating winds that shook the sky. Ezarih threw an attack at her face, but it broke against the barrier of her movement ability. She smashed into her enemy, taking him away from his pillar and into the air. She put him through one of the towers of his fortress and then down into the courtyard cracking the reef and making the walls fall. Water spilled in as she rose above the kreacean and smashed her fists on his carapace, using the power of her stats alone. Her skill perk sent shockwaves deep into his body, damaging his organs. She cracked his chest and green blood started to flow.

She was far stronger than him now, and she pulled her hand back focused on her skill and prepared to end it. And then a wave of water smashed through the opening in the wall and hit them both, the water engulfed her whole and she couldn’t see nor hear. She felt the water carry her and then pull her deeper. She realized that she had been carried into the ocean, that she was being carried deeper toward the bedrock.

Above her she could see the sun shining through the surface of the water, getting smaller and smaller. Ezarih dove into the water, his body swimming toward her, his hammers ready.

She tried to move, but her wings weren’t meant for the water, her body was too large and too heavy. Frantically, she tried to think of something that she could do, of some power that could help her, but there was nothing that could help her now.

Ezarih drew closer, his eyes shining with glee.

She couldn’t let this be the end. Her people were watching from the shore, they were waiting for her to arrive triumphant, to lead them. She was their Queen, and she wouldn’t, she couldn’t fail them.

She was their Triumphant Queen!

She felt something bubbling down deep inside, and then as if a lever was pulled, something clicked. She saw a notification in the corner of her eye, but the power was fighting its way out of her before she could even look at the notification.

Ezarih pulled his hands back, ready to attack with his hammers, and the Grey Horde unleashed her power.

—Shatter All—

A wave of power exploded out of her. The water around her was violently pushed back, so fast that most of it evaporated. The wall of receding water and steam smashed into Ezarih and he simply ceased to be. His body exploding and disappearing into the madness that she had unleashed. Suddenly, she was falling through the air, was being pushed by the air that was coming in from above where her power had opened up the way to the surface.

She smashed her wings downward, and pushed herself up as she looked at what she had done. The ocean around her was gone, a sphere of nothingness surrounded her and the bedrock beneath her was pulverized into a crater. She soared above the water and saw that she had created a tsunami that had smashed into the fortress and the beach, breaking itself on the cliffs above it.

Her army had retreated, she saw, and her True Link told her. Her army stood on the cliffs as the water was violently pulled back to fill the hole that she had made. She used her |Perfect Mind Link| and spoke to Trklak, telling him to have his forces scour the fortress and destroy Ezarih’s shrine, if they hadn’t already, the enemy would not be reborn in this world. And then her people in the fortress climbed up to the walls and the windows, looking out at her flying in the air still in her Titan form.

And then they started cheering.

She closed her eyes, letting their love wash over her. She turned her eyes to her notifications and read through them quickly. One of the notifications stunned her, but she continued reading.

Then she smiled at her triumph.

Name	The Grey Horde
Race	Skreen (Hivehome—Iteration 1)

Titles
Adventurer	Hunted more than 100 monsters	+5 to all stats, 5 000 Essence
Chief	Create an outpost	+3 to all stats, 1 000 Essence
Leader	Upgraded outpost to a town	+3 to all stats, 2 000 Essence
World Leader	Upgraded a town to a world capital	+20 to all stats 10 000 Essence
Undisputed	Unite your entire race under a single banner	+200 to all stats, Ruler’s Presence Aura, 5 000 000 Essence
One Against Many	Fight against more than 10 opponents and win	+5 to all stats, 5 000 Essence
One Against Horde	Fight against more than 100 opponents and win	+10 to all stats, 10 000 Essence
One Woman Army	Fight against more than 1000 opponents and win	+40 to all stats, Indomitable, 500 000 Essence
Enlightened	First in the world to evolve a skill to tier 6	+10% to all stats, 100 000 Essence
True Understanding	Evolve a skill to tier 6	+20 to all stats, 20 000 Greater Essence
Ruler	Become the sole ruler of a territory	+5 to all stats, 5 000 Greater Essence, Small Mansion (Town Upgrade)
Class Evolution VI	Evolved your class for the sixth time.	+150 to all stats, 150 000 Greater Essence (All evolutions total)
True Link—Skreen Horde	Attain a true link with a type of being	+100 to all stats, 100 000 Greater Essence
Beyond Understanding I	Focus your understanding of a tier 6 skill into a tier 7 skill. (1 skill)	+250 to all stats, 100 000 Essence (per focused skill)
Monster Hunter	Kill 5000 different monster types	+50 to all stats, 50 000 Greater Essence
Queen of the Triumphant Hive	Reach at least a combined power level of nine tiers. And embody an ideal.	+1200 to strength and dexterity stats, +5% to all stats, Shatter All, 100 000 Greater Essence
Genocide	Kill more than 80% of race from a single Iteration—Kreacean Iteration 3	+250 to all stats, 200 000 Greater Essence

Perks
Command (Class Perk)	You are able to send telepathic commands to those who are sworn to you regardless of their race or distance.
Queen’s Shield (Class Perk)	Once per day you may summon a shield of energy to protect you. The shield will manifest as a sphere around you and its power is equal to 2x your intelligence.
Commanding Presence (Class Perk)	Others feel more comfortable in your presence and are more likely to follow your commands. Strength of effect depends on your intelligence stat.
Inspiring Presence (Class Perk)	Once per week give everyone in a radius around you a morale boost. Dispel harmful mind effects depending on your level. Size of the radius depends on your intelligence stat.
Ruler’s Presence Aura (Title Perk)	You may unleash your Ruler’s Presence Aura, making it harder for people in your presence to go against your will. Strength of effect based on your will.
Queen’s Vision (Class Perk)	You may look through the eyes of anyone who is sworn to you.
Greater Inspiration (Class Perk)	Once per two months give everyone sworn to you a morale boost, a +10% increase to all stats, and a temporary skill |Pain Tolerance| allowing them to ignore pain. Dispels harmful mind effects depending on your level. The effects duration depends on your level.
Indomitable (Title Perk)	You are immune to all mind altering effects from opponents that are of a lower level or the cultivation stage than you.
Improved Learning (Class Perk)	All those sworn to you can improve skills at 50% faster rate.
Queen’s Fortification (Class Perk)	Any fortification you are in, has +50% to its durability.
Hive Born (Class Perk)	While inside your Hive you gain +20% to all stats.
Power of the Hive (Class Perk)	For every 2,000,000 people that serve you, gain 1 to base stats. Current: 5
Fertile Fields (Class Perk)	All growth inside the territories you rule have a +10% to fertility, including monster and people reproduction rates.
Monarch’s Grace (Class Perk)	Once per two months you force reality to bend to your will. You may temporarily grant one of your subject's great powers. Their highest way of power will temporarily be advanced to two tiers above their current one. They will gain perks, powers, and stats equal that of the most direct evolution of their current tier. It cannot give power beyond tier 9. Duration of the effect depends on your level.
Monarch’s Strike (Class Perk)	Once per day strike with great power. Your strike with the power of 500% your stats.
Monarch’s Endurance (Class Perk)	Once per day increase your endurance by 500%. Duration depends on your level.
Monarch’s Sense (Class Perk)	Once per month you may sense your entire domain, you will know everything that occurs inside the lands that are under your control.
Battle Born (Class Perk)	When in combat gain +20% to all stats.
Battle Presence (Class Perk)	Once per day give everyone in a radius around you and yourself a 80% boost to all stats for one hour. Size of the radius depends on your level.
Battle Trance (Class Perk)	When in combat all your senses are sharpened and you gain a +50 % resistance to all mind altering effects.
Life of the Hive (Class Perk)	Everyone in your service has their life expectancy extended by 20 years.
Unstoppable Monarch (Class Perk)	Once per day increase your base stats by 100%.
War Titan (Class Perk)	One per month quadruple your physical size and gain 50% to all stats. You are immune to stat sickness and impairment and have a perfect control over your body.
Weapons of War (Class Perk)	Once per two months increase the quality of your army’s weapons. All weapons that your army wields improve in quality, gaining +100% to durability. Can be used on max: 10,000 soldiers.
True Link — Hive (Class Perk)	Allows you to link with members of your Hive that are near you, and enter Linked State. While in the Linked State you gain an awareness of all the linked Skreen in your Hive and you may drain 5% from their stats and add them to yourself. Allows for the activation of True Link perks. Can only be linked to 500 Skreen at a time. Depth of awareness and the amount of Skreen in the link depends on your level stat.
Shattering Strikes (Skill Perk)	All strikes with your fists hold a fraction of your My Fists, To Shatter the Mountains and send out a kinetic force beyond your fists. +10% to strength. Strength of effect depends on your strength stat.
Hive Born: Immortality (Class Perk)	Your Hive protects you. You no longer age. The center of your hive has a spawning point. If you die, your soul will be sent back to your spawning point and your body recreated. Rebirth will make you lose 20 levels, plus 10 more for every time you died. If you have no more levels your soul will linger on the Ethereal Plane.
Shatter All (Title Perk)	Once per month you may unleash a massive kinetic force all around you with power equal to 1000% your strength, shattering everything in your way.

Class	Triumphant Queen (M)
Level	372
Combat Ability	Weight of Rule
Combat Ability	Shatter Power
Movement Ability	Monarch’s Flight
Support Ability	Triumphant Presence

EVOLUTION ATTUNEMENT BONUS:
Hive Queen	All Skreen in your hive gain +10% to their stats. Gain +10% to intelligence and +10% to wisdom.
Monarch	Your territories are more bountiful, crops and births are increased by 10%. Gain +10% to intelligence and +10% to wisdom.
Warrior’s Soul	Gain -20% to all ability cooldowns and +20% to stamina regeneration when in combat. +10% to strength and +10% endurance.
Battlefield Presence	Any soldiers under your command gain +10% to their stats while in combat. +10% to strength and +10% to endurance.
Triumph	Winning a war gives you a permanents +1% to all stats bonus. +10% to strength and +10% to endurance.

Passive Skills	Active Skills
Perfect Mind Resistance	Perfect Mind Link
Danger Sense >> Enhanced Danger Sense >> Threat Awareness >> Greater Threat Awareness >> Threat Assessment	Perfect Transferring Strike: My Fists, To Shatter the Mountains
Enhanced Balance >> Greater Balance >> Enduring Balance >> Unnatural Balance >> True Balance	Dash >> Greater Dash >> Spatial Dash >> Enhanced Spatial Dash >> Blink
Greater Flight >> Flying >> Greater Flying >> Soaring

Strength	3150
Dexterity	2848
Vitality	1521
Endurance	1593
Intelligence	2035
Wisdom	1774

With this one battle she had achieved her goal and done something worthy of a change in class direction. She wondered what her next Class Evolution was going to be.