by L. M. Kerr
"…"
'Divine Artifact: The Wishing Ring activated. Wish has not exceeded the maximum range of values.'
"…"
'Wish granted. Transporting memories through time.'
"..."
WHOOSH
.
Chapter 2: Return
Micheal blinked as he came awake, his mind groggy.
"Huh?" He muttered as he woke up, rubbing his eyes.
An instant later, his heart spasmed as he jolted up, long years of constantly being on alert kicking in. His hand clutched at his chest, searching for the gruesome injury he had taken while he quickly took in his surroundings.
'My Recovery stat means my body will regenerate at a rate roughly 41 times that of a normal human on Earth. Even with that, though, I was stabbed through the heart. One of the Full Heal Technique users must have…' Micheal's thoughts trailed off as he stared around him, at a loss.
"This is… my Cabela Tent from Earth?" He muttered out loud. He would recognize this tent anywhere due to the colorful, and rather poorly painted, interior. When he had been much younger, his siblings had gone camping with their parents every summer. One summer they'd decided to paint the interior of the tent, filling it with brown and green trees, white and black pandas, and a variety of colorful creations.
"But… how?" He stared, not understanding. He waved his hands in the air, almost not believing his eyes. His heart was flooded with emotions as the memories of his death haphazardly washed over him, vague and difficult to remember accurately.
'Status.' He thought, calling up his Status.
Nothing happened.
"W-what?!" His heart began to pound as he realized he couldn't call up his Status.
The mythical Status Screen.
When the Apocalypse first struck Earth, everything had started with that damned screen. An illogical, magical screen that appeared in the air in front of every human, visible to only oneself.
Without hesitating, Micheal burst out from his tent, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He appeared to be in some sort of forest clearing, with a small brook crashing down off to the south. Towering oaks and cedars could be seen, spreading out around him.
'Am I in some sort of dream trap? An Ability I'm unaware of? Perhaps the Gods of the 12 Tribes can manipulate memories?' His mind instantly raced as he tried to process what was happening.
For, he clearly recognized when and where he was.
He was out on a camping trip with his best friend, trying to find some peace and quiet away from the chaos that had swept over the world. This clearing, the tent, everything was identical.
He remembered this moment keenly. After all… what happened next was unforgettable.
His turn to join the apocalypse had come.
'If it's like my memories…' He thought, rubbing his chin,
'Then I am about to be Chosen as well.' His eyes widened.
The Apocalypse. The Seven Layers. The Chosen.
Everything that had happened to him over the past 10 years washed through his mind.
He had been a regular, 18-year-old, just finishing up high school and preparing for college when it all went down. His biggest worries had been his SAT score results, the test he needed to score well in to get into a good college, and if his favorite schools would accept him.
Seemingly randomly at the time, roughly 1,000,000 people vanished. A great flash of light swept across the Earth when this happened, terrifying the world.
These people disappeared completely from the face of the Earth. They could not be seen, nor heard. Their locations couldn't be tracked, it was as if they had vanished from reality itself.
As one might expect, mass hysteria and panic broke out. People had vanished from all over the World, from America to France, Germany to China. Some people thought it was aliens, others thought it was some massive conspiracy, while still others thought it was the end times.
Exactly one month later, the same thing happened. Except this time, it wasn't just 1,000,000 people.
It was 10,000,000.
A 3rd month passed.
100,000,000 people disappeared.
And finally, now, it was the end of the 3rd month and the start of the 4th month.
A time when 1,000,000,000 people would vanish from the face of the Earth, in a great flash of light.
Micheal and his best friend Shin would be a part of that Fourth Wave.
In the preceding three months, the world had almost broken down in shock and horror. Everyone was trying to understand what was happening, but no one truly could. Life itself had almost ground to a halt.
Trade continued, unabated even in the face of the end of reality. But people began to live freer lives, no longer worrying about the future. After all, the daunting fear that hung over everyone, the mass vanishings, was something inescapable. Science couldn't explain it.
The majority thought it best to live and let live.
'It should be happening in just a few minutes.' As Micheal came to this conclusion, he realized something.
'This is not a dream. There is no Ability that I know of that can make something so realistic for so long. As well, it should be impossible for me to not be able to access my Status Screen, even if someone is using some type of rare Artifact.' His thoughts raced ahead,
'There is only one possibility.' He looked around the forest clearing, his heart calming,
'I've gone back in time.' As an expert that had been through thick and thin, he was able to adapt to situations like this in a short period of time. He didn't allow himself to get overwhelmed, instead moving forward to plan.
As he thought this, he felt something flash at the edge of his eyesight, right on his hand. He zeroed in on the light, staring.
A faint image of a ring could be seen, resting on his hand. As Micheal looked at it, slowly, this ring fell to dust, vanishing. Particles of light drifted off of it, fluttering into the air.
'An Artifact? Ah, I remember. I picked up that mysterious ring in a game of chance somewhere. Was it in the 4th Layer? The 5th?' Micheal thought, shaking his head. He couldn't remember where he got it exactly.
'I won it through pure luck. I never could figure out what it did and kept it with me as a lucky charm…' He continued, frowning,
'Is it responsible for this?'
'So the reason I came back… it isn't because I was specially chosen or anything of the sort.'
'It's just because of dumb luck, huh?'
As this series of thoughts flashed through his head, Micheal couldn't help but smile ruefully.
'At least something has gone my way.' He clenched his fists as the full scale of what had happened swept over him.
'I'm getting another chance. I can change the future.' His eyes widened, a fire appearing in them,
'I can change the course of events. I can stop billions from dying, I have the chance to make it so humanity isn't wiped out!' He knew the future. He knew secrets that no one else knew, where hidden treasures were, which Abilities were most powerful or useful, how to score large numbers of Points...
All of his information had been largely outdated at the time of the final battle. After all, what use was there in knowing where something was on the 2nd Layer if that thing was already looted and they were on the 7th Layer?
'But now… I have a chance. We have a chance.' His eyes trembled,
'Humanity has a chance. And it's up to me.' His body shivered as emotions flowed through him, feeling a huge amount of pressure settle upon his shoulders.
If he did not change the future, all of humanity would die.
'There is so much we didn't know the first time around. So many people died, so many lives wasted. I need to make humanity as a whole stronger, but I also need to focus on my own power.' He nodded as he realized this,
'The 12 Tribes of Gods… they are literal Gods. They are born at the Lord Tier of Ki Cultivation, just one Tier below the strongest Tier I ever reached. By the time we reached the 7th Layer, on
ly a few of humanity's strongest experts managed to reach the Emperor Tier, let alone the God Tier like that General.' He mused over the specifics, his eyes hardening.
'And we only faced their initial forces on that final battlefield, we have yet to face their actual army. We were slaughtered by what was essentially just a scouting force.' He shook his head angrily, passion filling his blood.
He would not let things end up this way again.
He would stop the future he had lived from happening. He would save his family, this time around. He would save the White Knight, he would stop the Great Disaster of the 2nd Layer, he would kill the Vile King before he spread his legions of death, he would stop everything.
'Humanity will survive…' He thought, closing his eyes for a brief moment,
'I will change the future.'
.
Chapter 3: The Holy Shop
After a few moments, Micheal overcame his emotions. There were only minutes left till the next Wave of Chosen were transported away from Earth, never to return. In that brief period, he knew exactly what he needed to do. He could not afford to let himself get emotional right now, no matter how raw his feelings.
His deep, blue eyes gleamed as he looked over to the left, his short brown hair rustling slightly. He rubbed his strong chin lightly, feeling the scraggy stubble that had appeared.
"Shin! Shin! Wake up, quickly!" His voice was authoritative as he rushed over to a tent that was set up right next to his, throwing it open. The brisk scent of the morning air filled his lungs, a refreshing smell that he hadn't tasted in years.
"Y-yo what's up, man? How early is this?" A bleary-eyed, blonde haired 18-year-old stared at him through the open tent in confusion.
"Shin, I need you to listen to me." Micheal's eyes were deadly serious as he spoke, his voice containing a certain level of pressure and force that Shin had never heard before.
As Micheal looked at Shin, the scene of Shin sliding to the ground, dead, flashed in his mind. He blinked as he looked at the blonde teenager, taking a deep breath as he forced himself to focus. All of that had yet to happen, it wasn't real. At least, not this time around.
"What's happening?" Shin's eyes became serious too as he nodded at Micheal, settling down. Shin had always been better at adapting to things, Micheal had always noticed, taking things as they came. He, himself, had always been bad about that.
"Shin, we are about to be Chosen. We are part of the Fourth Wave of Chosen, which means we will be three years behind the other Chosen." Micheal's voice was cool as he continued,
"I need you to listen and remember everything I am about to tell you. This is not a joke, this is not a game. If you don't listen to me, you may very well die." He had already changed the future now, so he might as well go all out.
"…"
For the next several minutes, Micheal talked without pause at Shin, telling him various things and explaining what was about to happen.
In particular, he explained what the Shop was.
The Holy Shop, as some called it.
When the apocalypse took hold and people were transported, the first thing they saw when they vanished from earth was a small, floating blue screen. The infamous Status Screen.
Apart from that, there was a white screen that appeared as well.
The Holy Shop. A shop where one could spend 'Points' to gain powerful Abilities or Artifacts, tools that affected whether or not one could survive at all as they moved through the Seven Layers.
Every human being in the world had access to the Shop.
However, none of the other Races had access to the Shop. Only the Human Race did. Researchers theorized that this was because the Human Race was considered the weakest race in existence, and that the Heavens had created the Shop to rectify this, to make this final struggle a fair one.
Of course, in the end, it hadn't been enough. Humanity lost, and lost pitifully.
'But I will change that, this time around.' Micheal swore, his eyes full of fire.
'I won't let it happen like last time.'
'I won't.'
"This is all about to happen?" Shin's stunned voice, full of shock and surprise, caught Micheal's attention as he finished musing.
"Yes. I had a vision of the future. I need you to keep that a secret, and remember exactly what I said." Micheal responded, his voice warm as he looked at his longtime best friend, a man that had stayed by his side for more than 10 years of harrowing survival. For now, he decided it was easiest to explain his situation as a vision of the future. He lacked the time to dive deeper, not right now.
As he looked at his best friend, he knew that there was no way in hell he would leave Shin to die. He hadn't even met up with Shin again till the 2nd Layer, originally, the two being lost and clueless like all of the other Chosen initially were.
As for his family…
He had never met up with them, but had known that, at the least, they weren't part of the Fourth Wave. They had died in one of the Layers, he wasn't sure which. If only he or Shin had brought their phones with them on this camping trip, it would've been worth it to hear his mother or father speak, or to talk to his little sisters.
He sighed.
'I will save them. I will save everyone.' His eyes widened, full of determination.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
A few moments after they finished speaking, a loud, but familiar, whirring noise shook the air. Particles of energy seemed to flow, visible to the naked eye as bright light surrounded Shin and Micheal.
And not only those two. But, instead, 1,000,000,000 people total, an entire billion people. From China to America, Russia to South Africa, Australia to Brazil.
In that instant, one billion people were surrounded by light.
1,000,000,000 people were Chosen to be part of the Fourth Wave.
All of those people, Shin and Micheal included, vanished.
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Micheal blinked, his vision clearing as he found himself in a familiar setting once more...
An ethereal, fogscape where he floated in mid-air, right in front of two stationary screens. His body felt cool, as if he was swimming in a pool of water. It was comfortable and relaxing, quite peaceful.
.
— - Shop — -
Available Points: 48,200
Abilities - Artifacts
.
— - Status — -
Name: Micheal Care
Points: 48,200
Race: Human
Age: 18
- Stats -
Strength - 11
Endurance - 11
Recovery - 10
Soul - 10
- Abilities - (0/7)
"Please spend your allotted Points till they are completely used up. You have one hour to choose. After that hour, all unused Points will be discarded, and you will be transported to the First Layer."
An ethereal, feminine voice sounded off, another familiar voice. A voice from the 'Spirit' that ran the Shop, a being some theorized was God, while others declared was something akin to a magic computer program or Ai.
Micheal ignored that voice, however, as he immediately tapped upon the 'Abilities' option in the Shop, ignoring everything else.
.
—-Abilities—-
Ki Cultivator (God Tier) - 1,012,800,500
Ki Cultivator (Emperor Tier) - 256,850,600
Ki Cultivator (King Tier) - 31,402,800
Ki Cultivator (Lord Tier) - 5,288,000
Ki Cultivator (Sky Tier) - 606,500
Ki Cultivator (Earth Tier) - 95,000
Ki Cultivator (Mortal Tier) - 5,000
High Werewolf Type – 10,250,000
Werewolf Type – 556,000
Lesser Werewolf Type – 12,000
High Vampire Type – 11,350,000
Vampire Type – 688,000
Lesser Vampire Type – 16,000
Steel Body Type – 40,000
Herculean Strength – 2,500,000
Enhanced Strength – 20,000
Enhanced Recovery - 20,000
Dragon Blood Type – 16,340,000
Ice Caster Type – 245,000
Fire Caster Type - 245,000
… (1/41 page)
.
"It's all the same." He thought, breathing out a sigh of relief. The Abilities you could buy, some of them upgradeable while others were enhancements or unique 'Types' who's users would come to be known as 'Adapted Humans.' Everything was the same.
He even had the same 'Point' total as before, a total that he had lucked out with. The average Points that most humans started with was 20,000. To start with 48,200 was a huge boon and the luckiest part about his starting position. How the Point totals were decided was a hotly debated topic among researchers that had no answer. Some thought it was based on potential or talent, while others thought it was random.
Of course, that was nothing compared to those that started with 100,000 Points, or even a few that started with 150,000 or 200,000. Some of the legendary leaders of the Last Army even started with close to 600,000 or 700,000 Points, a ridiculous sum.
In an instant, he flipped to one of the last pages, in the very back. These pages were full of Abilities that could only be purchased a limited number of times, for some reason. Many of these had been largely taken up by the users of the first three Waves. After the Fourth Wave finished, almost all of these were gone.
As he scanned through the list, however, he found the Ability he was looking for. It had already been chosen three times, one of the few Abilities that had a limited supply.
…
Life Orb Master – 40,000 (3/4)
…
"Ability select, Life Orb Master!"
"Are you sur-"
"Yes, I'm sure! Purchase it immediately!"
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Chapter 4: Life Orb Master
When the apocalypse first started, so many years ago in his previous life, Micheal had chosen two specific Abilities as his first upgrades.
'Enhanced Recovery and Enhanced Strength…' His eyes narrowed as he looked over the two Abilities that were listed on the front page, each for 20,000 Points.
He sighed at his past ignorance. The younger him hadn't even tried to pick up a basic level of Ki Cultivator, one of the most important Abilities he would need.
