"Grrrrr!" Larger than an ordinary wolf, their friend-turned-beast leaped from branch to branch, stalking them with glowing hungry eyes. The lack of recognition in its yellow pupils placed them on edge. "What do we do?" Irene whispered. "If he attacks, we defend until we have no choice but to...kill." Celio spat decisively. "But..." "What? Do you think you can reach him in that state? Look at him, Irene. He's a beast!" As much as it hurt to admit it, Celio knew they wouldn't be seeing Marcus again. If he was like the werewolves in supernatural stories, then there might've been a chance to talk to him and get out of this situation without any bloodshed. However, this beast wasn't like the creature in those tales. The instant it changed, there was only bloodlust, and violence in its eyes. It turned on them, and chased them all the way to this point. While he was lost in thought, the beast flashed to the other side of their barrier. Issuing a deafening snarl, he lunged at the hudd
"We take action on three!" Brad hollered, ignoring the strange tension between them.He didn't care what relationship the two had with the beast. As long as they didn't jeopardize his life, he was more than happy to let them keep their little secret. As far as he was concerned, they were only partners until they reached open land and went their separate ways.After all, the woman he wanted to follow was no longer around, so why would he stick around to face unnecessary trouble?"One!" He got into his battle stance, a low crouch with his knife gripped backward as if he were about to slash someone's neck, and beckoned to the woman with his eyes.Thankfully, she got his message and didn't create a fuss. Walking to the other side of her friend, she held out her hands, palm up, and frost crackled on their surface."Two!""Three!" At his cry, the wood seemed to groan to live. Vines and roots shot out of nowhere, reaching for their hands and arms, while the beast on the branch lunged at them
Irene gasped and sunk to her knees, with tears streaming down her face. "Ella, you're finally here. Marcus...he..." "I know. I used a sedative to calm him down." Ella whispered and held out her hand to pull the woman back to her feet. She found them when the beast was scaling the trees. But she remained in the shadows and watched them fall into desperation. To gain the full loyalty of the regular humans, Ella even manipulated the mutated plants to attack them until they lost hope, before making an appearance. Her methods might be vile, and her schemes sinister. But to imprint a powerful image of herself in the hearts of her future followers, she would've even led mutated animals to encircle them before coming to their rescue. What Ella wanted was to recruit people who would never betray her in the face of personal gain or preservation. And to do that in this crumbling world, she needed to instill both gratitude and fear in the hearts of the weaker humans, which could've only been p
Ella watched the stream of servants with a baffled expression. Her brows furrowed deeper as she waited and waited, but the image before her eyes didn't change nor did it vanish. The scene of the streaming servants remained the same. The bright chandelier lights shone above her head, and the man who bought her sat beside her, and stoically received the guests' well-wishes. 'This is not possible...' Last she recalled, a rank 4 zombie had ripped off her head. So how...? How was she here? And why did the scene before her coincide with the day of her second marriage? Ella lowered her head and secretly pinched herself. 'Ouch!' The pain was sharp and real. She then pulled out her old and cracked phone to check the date. May 26th, 2024. At the time the rank 4 zombie had ripped off her head, it was 2027, three years after the end of the world. This was no illusion. By some freak twist of fate, Elladine Muzhir had been sent back in time! "What are you zoning out for? Lift your head and
The Vaahid Mansion was the biggest property in the wealthy residential area of Aurora City. Built out of white glass and red-gold cement, the entire structure released a resplendence of fiery radiance under the setting sun.After taking a quick shower and changing out of her cumbersome dress, Ella ran out of her new bedroom and exited the mansion through the back door. Upon catching this wondrous sight, her eyes filled with awe, and she sighed at the extravagance of the wealthy.In her past life, she was too distraught over her ex-husband's betrayal to enjoy and appreciate such beauty and splendor when Jabri Vaahid brought her here. And by the time she came out of the shock, the world was in chaos, and she was locked down in an underground cell.Ignorant of the dangers outside the cell, Ella did the unthinkable. She started a giant fire and threatened her husband to set her free if he wanted to safeguard the lives of those under his protection. Her gamble paid off and she got her free
As an individual who could have any woman he wanted, she still could not understand why Jabri Vaahid spent millions to marry her and have her carry his heir. But whatever the reason, she didn't care. After all, it wasn't like she would stick around to find out.Ella opened the door only a small crack and cautiously peered out at him with a deep frown."Can I help you, Mr. Vaahid?"Seeing her cautious manner, Jabri scoffed disdainfully. "You do know that I own you, right? If I wanted to jump you, do you think you could stop me?""Of course, I know. But I'm sure that's not what you're here for."Her confident and no nonsense attitude stumped him. Jabri shifted his weight to his other foot and hesitated for a brief moment, then resolutely stretched out his hand. "This is an ancestral heirloom. According to my family's tradition, as my wife, it now belongs to you.""Okay…?"Heirloom? She was only his bought bride, that too, for only two years. So why was he giving the heirloom of his fami
The feeling of holding a hot potato in her hands was awfully intense."I can't let anyone find out about the spatial space. Otherwise..."An image of her stripped and restrained on a laboratory bed, with wires and needles sticking out of her body like a porcupine, flashed in her mind and sent shivers down her spine.The scientists in the apocalyptic world could only be described with one term, and that was lunatics. The crash of the government and civilized society gave them free reign to unleash the demons in their hearts and do whatever they wanted. Capturing people with special powers, and performing extreme and unethical experiments on them, became one of their new hobbies.Ella had already died once. She did not want to become a test subject and die without a complete corpse.So this space and its ability...it could not be exposed!Sighing despondently, she left the spirit spring with a slight thought.Her room was silent, and she appeared on top of her bed. Ella didn't know if h
Aurora City was one of the most prosperous cities in Cyprus. Surrounded by water on all sides, the country was a little island with an independent government.As the richest man in the Middle East, Jabri Vaahid did not only control some of the important political figures in Aurora City, but also had a voice in the country's laws and regulations. In a sense, his presence in Cyprus was tantamount to that of a king with a parliament government.At this moment, Ella stood next to the man in a floor-length black dress and diamond studs. Her black hair was tied in a bun, and showed off the slender curve of her neck. But that was about all the skin she showed. As the continuous shutters of cameras rang around her, burning gazes of envy and jealousy seared her skin.Without even doing anything, she became public enemy number one.The immensity of the man's status was truly hard to ignore."Mr. Vaahid, you were the dream husband of the affluent ladies of Aurora City. Why did you marry a woman
Irene gasped and sunk to her knees, with tears streaming down her face. "Ella, you're finally here. Marcus...he..." "I know. I used a sedative to calm him down." Ella whispered and held out her hand to pull the woman back to her feet. She found them when the beast was scaling the trees. But she remained in the shadows and watched them fall into desperation. To gain the full loyalty of the regular humans, Ella even manipulated the mutated plants to attack them until they lost hope, before making an appearance. Her methods might be vile, and her schemes sinister. But to imprint a powerful image of herself in the hearts of her future followers, she would've even led mutated animals to encircle them before coming to their rescue. What Ella wanted was to recruit people who would never betray her in the face of personal gain or preservation. And to do that in this crumbling world, she needed to instill both gratitude and fear in the hearts of the weaker humans, which could've only been p
"We take action on three!" Brad hollered, ignoring the strange tension between them.He didn't care what relationship the two had with the beast. As long as they didn't jeopardize his life, he was more than happy to let them keep their little secret. As far as he was concerned, they were only partners until they reached open land and went their separate ways.After all, the woman he wanted to follow was no longer around, so why would he stick around to face unnecessary trouble?"One!" He got into his battle stance, a low crouch with his knife gripped backward as if he were about to slash someone's neck, and beckoned to the woman with his eyes.Thankfully, she got his message and didn't create a fuss. Walking to the other side of her friend, she held out her hands, palm up, and frost crackled on their surface."Two!""Three!" At his cry, the wood seemed to groan to live. Vines and roots shot out of nowhere, reaching for their hands and arms, while the beast on the branch lunged at them
"Grrrrr!" Larger than an ordinary wolf, their friend-turned-beast leaped from branch to branch, stalking them with glowing hungry eyes. The lack of recognition in its yellow pupils placed them on edge. "What do we do?" Irene whispered. "If he attacks, we defend until we have no choice but to...kill." Celio spat decisively. "But..." "What? Do you think you can reach him in that state? Look at him, Irene. He's a beast!" As much as it hurt to admit it, Celio knew they wouldn't be seeing Marcus again. If he was like the werewolves in supernatural stories, then there might've been a chance to talk to him and get out of this situation without any bloodshed. However, this beast wasn't like the creature in those tales. The instant it changed, there was only bloodlust, and violence in its eyes. It turned on them, and chased them all the way to this point. While he was lost in thought, the beast flashed to the other side of their barrier. Issuing a deafening snarl, he lunged at the hudd
"Footprints? They must be close..." Ella narrowed her eyes and looked around. The wood was dark. Too dark to make out anything beyond ten feet. After reaching level 4, her five senses became sharper. Even then, she had difficulty navigating through this wood. The eerie ambience added a sinister vibe to the place, making her unable to relax. "Da*n it! If I knew this place would be so perverse, I would've never come out to search for them." She couldn't even travel on Radiance due to how difficult it was to see from above. Cursing under her breath, she checked her guns, making sure they were fully loaded, before following the tracks. The further she entered the woods, the colder it became. Controlling her crimson-gold flame, Ella encased it around her body in a dome-like shield for warmth and precaution against sudden attacks. Fearful whimpers, enraged snarls, and hungry growls rang out from multiple directions. Ella sneered and kept walking. After mutation, some plants with early i
Jax swallowed and absentmindedly stared at the sprawling trees. He couldn't understand why they were still stuck. Considering how long they've been wandering, they should've already made it to the other side by now. Did they take the wrong direction, or... A chill slithered down his spine. If they were going around in circles...under a mutated plant's manipulation...then Marcus wouldn't need to take his life. They would all be a goner. "Keep moving." Suppressing his fear, he led the remaining regular humans, as moving forward was their only chance to survive. For the umpteenth time, Marcus contemplated slaughtering them. They were no help. Their fruits ran out, and the noise they created was enough to attract a horde. Combined with the fact they weren't even certain of the direction to the stone mansion, they became nothing but a troublesome burden. Kill. Killing them will make everything easier. Killing them will... No. I can't kill indiscriminately. They're worthless, but th
BOOK 2: The Superhuman Queen Chapter 1: Building A Fortress "Haha! That's payback!" Ella chuckled gleefully at the sound of the angry zombie's roar. Their last exchange severely affected her mental balance, to the point where she turned into a hermit. Other than going out to smash zombies and crash mutated plants and animals, she hadn't left her spatial space in a quest to reach level 4. Thankfully, she didn't need to find a healer for Radiance because of the spring water's healing ability. Her crane's mangled wing healed and became sturdier than before after a little splash with the water. "Now that I have a Lighting Manifestation Orb, I just need to consolidate my foundation. After a week, I'll consume the orb and aim to step into the fifth power level and awaken a lighting ability!" With this thought, Ella guided the crane back to the Stone Mansion. Swooping down in the front yard, she didn't wait for Radiance to land, before she hopped off her back and skipped into the mansion
Roaring thunder crackled and boomed, rippling across the crimson sky of Sapphire Island, bouncing from misty mountain to dense trees. "Radiance, fly faster!" Ella excitedly rubbed the crane's back. The murky clouds roiled as a flash of lighting seared the sky and painted her face in an eerie flare. "Kweee!" The white crane crooned and flapped her wings, kicking up gusts of wind blades and whirlpools of scarlet rain in the sudden downpour. This was the first rain after the descent of the meteor. Due to its blood-like hue and its mystical quality survivors of the zombie virus would later label it Armageddon Rain. As a manifestation of a union between a lighting ability superhuman and a level 4 zombie, the scarlet rain would raise all level 1 zombies to 2, and level 2 zombies to level 3. 'I don't know if it's Charlie, but even if it's not, it doesn't matter.' She only needed to find the location of the superhuman and level 4 zombie's union before anyone else. As a level 4 superhum
She had been wandering the woods ever since she escaped, lurking and preying on the frail creatures to sate her thirst. The thirst. It was insatiable. Always there, scorching her heart and setting her throat on fire. The crimson liquid would douse it for a while. But only a short while, and that too, when she was feasting. Then the moment she ran out, it would return with greater fury. Her heart no longer beat, and she no longer felt tired. She would walk for days and hunt for nights without experiencing the slightest discomfort. All would've been fine and well if it wasn't for the nagging urge to eat, eat, and eat. She knew her name. Naomi Miller. She knew she had a brother. Kaiden Miller. He loved her and spoiled her, giving her whatever she wanted without hesitation. She knew he was probably worried. Maybe even shocked silly by her transformation. She should go to him and ease his worries. She knew she should, but for all that was flesh and blood, she couldn't bring hersel
"Roar!" Right at this moment, a ferocious growl split through the air. Irene and Celio leaped to their feet and stood back to back, while Marcus and Brad got into a fighting stance. Charlie merely narrowed his eyes and didn't move. Sparks of lighting danced across his fingers, shrouding his features in a ghostly light. "What...what was that? A zombie or...mutated creature?" Jax stammered. "We'll know soon enough, won't we?" Brad nonchalantly smirked. Though he didn't awaken a superpower, his aura wasn't any weaker than his four friends. Jax wondered how the man managed to stay calm and confident in such circumstances, when he was just as powerless as him. The roars grew stronger, and as it drew near, the ground began to shake. Irene created a protective shield around her friends, while Celio focused on stabilizing everyone's balance. By now, the humans were frozen stiff and as pale as a corpse with fright. "Is it...Naomi Miller?" One whispered. "I don't think so. If it was, sh