Second chance

Tyler sat on a towering pile of monstrous corpes. His haggard clothes was covered with blood.

"So this is it?"

He muttered to himself as he took a glance at the area... Only a single word could fit the scene in front of him - Hell.

"After seven long years since Armagedon began, I am the final survivor. I'm the last one standing in this hellish nightmare the Divines put us in, all for tgesake of their entertainment!" He exclaimed before clenching his fist.

The system window popped up in his view.

"Congratulations for being the last man standing in your vicinity. You and a select few will be granted a do-over." 

"Do over? So I'm not the only survivor" Tyler has seen his fair share of strange things, but he couldn't make sense of the content of the message.

"Commencing Regression." 

A bright light enveloped Tyler and with the blink of an eye, he found himself seated in a class room. He looked outside the window, the world was no longer a ravaged planet. It was in the same state prior to the apocalypse.

"This is... Have I really gone back in time?"

Tyler reached for the phone in his pocket to check the date. A grim look appeared on his face.

"Today's the day!" He clenched his fist.

June 7th, 2018. It was the last day of school and also the night of the school's prom.

The school had offered the cafeteria transforming it with plentiful decorations to use as the ball room.

It was during this school prom that Armagedon started...

"Those lousy Divines, they sent me back to a few minutes before Armagedon.

"Ty-Ty." A female voice got his attention. He turned to the seat behind him.

"Liv?"

Tyler didn't have many people he trusted after the apocalypse began. One of the few people he trusted was Liv.

A tragic memory resurfaced in his head... 'I watched her die to that backstabbing bastard, Merrick.'

"What are we doing here Ty-Ty, Did we get sent back to the past?"

Tyler widened his eyes, "You have your memories?"

Liv nodded her head, "To the very last moment Ty-Ty." She added her eyes battling tears.

"The system did say that some of the surviving players would be sent back in time, just didn't expect they'll include wildcard entries. I missed you Liv."

Liv's cheeks reddened.

"We don't have much time, it's about to start again."

"What do we do, Ty-Ty?"

"What we always do, play through the Divines' game again, get revenge on Merrick and protect my loved ones." Just as he declared, the lecturer ended the class.

Tyler and Liv made their to the hallway, their destination was the cafeteria turned ball room...

"This is the most important place to be before the trials start, remember how hard it was to get supplies?"

"That's right Ty-Ty, you're already moving ahead of the others."

"I don't plan on being a stepping stone for anyone."

"Let's hurry then."

The duo arrived at the ball room. They casually made their way to an empty table. The place was crowded with students.

"It's about to start..."

Holographic text boxs popped up

"THE APOCALYPSE TRIAL COMMENSING" 

"BEGINNING THE FIRST TRIAL"

"FOR TWO HOURS, SURVIVE THE CLIMATE SHIFT AND THE INCOMING WAVE OF MONSTERS"

The ball room was silent. Everyone was on edge as the system window hovered above them.

"Survive..."

"Two hours!?"

In an instant, the absolute silence was replaced with panic.

As if to make matters worse, the ground trembled below them. The entire building shook violently as the very floors cracked open.

"What's happening?" Liz shouted over the noise, her grip tightening on Tyler's arm.

"The Apocalypse..." Tyler whispered to himself. It has only been a few moments since he was sent back in time but he was already having a ting of ptsd.

Ofc course, he wasn't the only "Regressor" the title given to those who survived the final trial of the Apocalypse.

As if on cue, Tyler heard and all but friendly familiar voice...

"Hehe," a man chuckled, "I get another chance to watch the weaklings in this world cower in their boots."

Tyler recognised this man as Merrick nicknamed Merr during the previous timeline.

"This sadistic bastard has his memories as well, that could only mean one thing... He's a regressor." Tyler uttered softly to Liz.

Tyler's hand clenched into a tight fist, his mind grappling with the twisted nature of those who found pleasure in the suffering of others. Merrick and the Divines, cut from the same cloth, viewed others as mere pawns in their grand schemes.

"Don't fret, Merr," Tyler muttered through gritted teeth, his eyes ablaze with determination. "Your reckoning is on the horizon."

Amidst the chaos of screaming students and tumbling furniture, a warning blared from the system window, urging evacuation as the threat loomed closer.

"Evacuate?!" a voice protested amidst the turmoil. "How can we flee when the ground itself betrays us?"

"The party hasn't even started yet," another lamented. Of course there was going to be an uproar, these students present here were supposed to celebrate their last day of school only for the  literal Armagadon to start.

"It couldn't have waited until we had the ball?"

Time was not on their side; the apocalypse cared little for schedules.

The tremors intensified, sending ceiling tiles crashing down and scattering students in panic.

"Ty-Ty!"  Liz cried out clenching unto Tyker's shoulder.

"Calm down, Liz." Tyler urged, "Even though we've been through thid before, nobody said it was going to be any easier."

Much to Tyker's annoyance, Merrick who was still close by interjected, "Listen to the Smart Punk, missy."

"What did you call me?" Liz's entire demeanor changed. This caused Tyler to smirk a bit.

'That death glare, that aura... This is more like the Liz I know.' He thought to himself.

However, Merrick wasn't shaken by the death stare. "Like it or not, now's not the time for hysteria. Our focus should be on securing supplies."

As much as Tyler hated Merrick's guts, He had to admit that he was on point.

Their first priority should be getting their hands on food and supplies to prepare for the arrival of the monsters. They weren't the only ones who shared the same idea.

 And it didn't matter whether there were other players who had regressed from the previous timeline, anyone capable of keeping a decent level of their composure through the chaos would be planning their next course of action which was easily to get their hands on food and supplies, most especially food.

And what better place than the ball room?

'That was the reason I dragged Liz here in the first place anyways.'

During the previous Timeline, Tyler was stuck in a classroom with a different set of students when the Armagadon trials began.

"I refuse to starve while fighting through hoards of monsters again..." He muttered to himself silently.

Merrick's smug expression broadened as he pointed at Tyler. "See, he gets it."

Tyler however had his eyes glued at the other side of the room, he pointed at a trio that were making a beeline toward the serving area.

"And so do those guys..."