The man safely reached the location of the meteorite. In his past life, he was running away from the zombies when he accidentally stumbled upon it.
As if they were repulsed by it, the zombie left him alone, that was when he realized that quite a number of stones were at the center of a small crater that he fell into. The zombies senses and ability improved when it was night, that was the reason they felt extreme repulsion towards the stone.
Due to curiosity, the man touched the stone. After he touched it, he felt an extreme temptation overtake him and then he crushed a piece of stone then he fainted. After he woke up, he had an ability which was white lightning. The power of it was enough for him to be crowned as one of the strongest. The only thing he regretted was taking all the stones back, raising snakes in his own backyard.
The man remembered his base was destroyed due to betrayal of his trusted comrades and so-called families that he gave an ability. The man's death came afterwards. Not wanting to remember it, when the man felt that the coast was clear and the heat from entering the atmosphere was gone, the man approached the stone.
It was the same as he remembered it, there were exactly five awakening stones that were scattered on the crater.
Though the awakening stone was rare, it could still be found on the latter days because only a few knew how to use it, and the temptation he felt before was just his luck playing out. So, few people knew how to use it.
For the man, the apocalypse wasn't an extinction of humanity, but an evolution. Although he never reached a conclusion because he died. When the man was about to pick an Awakening Stone, he heard two people talking and they were both going towards the direction of the crater.
"You told me you trust me, but you're still stopping me?"
"Young Master.. No, Lucas! You better stop or else I will pick you up."
"Try it, the one thing you are scared of the most will happen if you do. Try me~"
"Pleaseeee... tell me what is more important than your life that you have to come to a dangerous place."
"My life, of course! I told you to trust me, so just follow me and you will see."
When the two arrived at the crater. They both saw a black haired man, who was wearing a black leather jacket, a white hoodie inside, a black pants, and leather boots, looking in their direction.
Daniel saw a man on the other side with an Awakening Stone in his hand. Daniel felt that the man looked familiar.
[He looks familiar... but I forgot because of these quests appearing one by one~]
'He does look familiar.' was Daniel's last thought before feeling vigilant.
Seeing how Lucas became vigilant, the man knew that he wasn't alone who came back from the past. Though it was shocking, it already happened to him it didn't mean it wouldn't happen to others.
"Don't worry, I was being chased when I stumbled upon this crater. Those zombies that were chasing suddenly stopped chasing me so I think they are scared of this stone so I picked it up. You should also get one."
[Ah, how lucky is he? Not only did he escape the clutches of death but also stumbled upon awakening stones. If he was alone and found out the use of it, then we might have put ourselves in danger without any compensation! He was also smart not touching the stone or else he'll hear a temptation. Awakening in the open field, how dangerous. Hihihi~ Owner, I think you better give him two pieces so that he will feel grateful towards you when the time comes.]
The man only needed one, whether the two men believed him or not, his goal was to only retrieve one. He didn't want a repeat of his past. Whether they would take all the stones or not, didn't concern him.
"Why don't we take two each and give the extra to my companion?"
'Why? What's your purpose?' The man wanted to ask the young man who was clearly the boss of the bodyguard that was stopping him earlier. Even if he didn't want an extra, not taking it would only make him more suspicious.
Not only that, but from the point of view of someone who knew nothing about the existence of such stones in the early stages of Apocalypse, giving up something that repelled zombies was suicidal.
It didn't take long before the man made up his mind. The man didn't care about it being unfair because it should be clearly divided into two not three.
"Alright, we'll take two each."
The man put the stone in his pockets and picked the other stone with the use of a handkerchief.
"Then, I'll be going first."
Daniel waited for the man to leave the crater before turning his head to Irvin. "You take one for yourself, but don't directly touch it no matter what happens, do you understand?"
"What will happen if I touch it?"
"You will faint here. I can't carry you, so you better not."
"I understand, but are you sure you will give this to me? I thought this is more important than your life."
"Ah! Don't ask anymore, let's be quick. If the road opens up, we need to quickly get away, so let's go."
"I understand, Young Master."
"Sheesh... stop dilly dallying, move!"
At the side of the man, when he left, he never looked back. The man wanted to leave the city right away and go to City G, though in his past life he built his city in City L, the next city where he was currently at. The man didn't want to follow his past path.
The young man and his bodyguard felt familiar to him. The man only realized why when he was back at his home.
The two people were unfortunate. They didn't have any ability and were thus used as a play thing by those ability users. The bodyguard was more unfortunate because he protected the young man to the best of his abilities before he died. After that, there were occasions when the man would see the young man being cared for by others but his eyes were dead.
The young man wanted to die but the others wouldn't let him because their boss fancied him.
The man knew because it was also a base next to his, but due to unknown issues the base didn't last long and their group moved to his base.
Those people might have a connection to his death, sooner or later he'll eventually face them.
The man felt that they had a fate towards each other and he also removed his doubts against them. From the looks of it, the two weren't like him who came back from the past. Maybe the young master was only looking for something fun in his life.
Maybe due to him, a butterfly effect happened and the two were fortunate enough to be included into it. Maybe it was his payment for not helping them in his past life.
When the man arrived at his house, the man moved the extra Awakening Stone to a box and used the other when he checked that there was enough food for him and his house was secured enough to keep the zombies at bay if there was a mishap.
---
"Young Master, the young miss called and told me that the road had been opened."
"Then let's go back home, I wanted to see my sister, too."
"Please sleep, I will wake you up if we arrive at your house."
"Not mine, but ours. I told you many times that we are family, and no buts, I'm sleeping."
Irvin only smiled. Sometimes his cute young master antics were quite amusing, like right now. As an orphan, he was lucky enough to be adopted by the young master's grandfather. Though he was adopted, he wasn't named after the family. Irvin was adopted so that he could grow up close to Lucas and protect him while growing up.
Irvin and Leila were of the same age so they were also close like real family, and with the protection of the two, Lucas grew spoiled and loved, but the two didn't care.
Irvin was both grateful and sorry for Lucas and Leila because at their young age, they experienced their loved ones passing away one after another. Though because of it, they grew closer together like a tight-knit family.
Fortunately, the drive was quite safe and fast. Irvin also knew that the virus that infected people were called zombies because one of Leila's close friends was a doctor and knew that the virus was quite deadly and scary.
Leila only told him about it when they failed to cross the road earlier. Irvin has to be ready at any given time, to kill those moving corpses that would endanger their life. When Lucas asked him, Irvin only thought he heard their talk and pretended not to know anything.
Leila reassured him that although the virus was still infecting more people, it was still manageable and they had to come home as soon as possible.
The man they met earlier also knew it and mentioned it. From the looks of it, the man was also one of those people that were fortunate enough to awaken an ability as what Leila told him. Leila asked him, if both of them got a fever these few days ago, but he told her no. When she finished explaining, Irvin felt regret but still did his best to remain calm.
In these situations, the people who could survive were those who adapted fast. Though he hasn't adapted yet, he has a reason to remain calm and focused. Looking at the young man through the rear view mirror, Irvin saw that Lucas was sleeping quietly. Irvin gripped the steering wheel tighter. Irvin promised that he would do his best to protect Lucas even if he needed to lay down his life.
While Daniel was sleeping, Vinnie was looking at the book about Lucas' relationships. She felt that she needed to find the man that they met earlier. She had this intuition that if she found it too late, she will regret it. So, although she wanted to sleep, she opened the book and read Lucas' past life.
Unfortunately for her, Lucas' old body only met him once and it was from afar, not only that but it was his past life after the apocalypse happened, so it was not on her jurisdiction.
---
When it was almost night time, Lucas and Irvin arrived at their home.
Just as the engine of the car stopped, the door opened and Leila with the maids and butler made their way towards the car.
When Lucas and Irvin exited the car, Leila hugged them together while crying.
"Thank God! Thank God, both of you arrived safely. I don't know what I would do if... if..."
Daniel was bewildered because he never once in his life felt the love of a family.
Irvin felt awkward at first but hugged Leila back and comforted her. When Irvin turned his head, he saw Lucas' bewildered expression and couldn't help but laugh.
Hearing Irvin's laugh, Leila stopped crying and pulled back. When she looked at Lucas, she also couldn't stop herself from laughing while tears continued to form on her eyes due to the joy she was feeling.
Feeling that everyone was looking at him, Daniel pretended not to know anything and asked.
"Did you all miss me that's why you prepared a grand welcome?"
"Young Master!"
A chorus of 'Young Master' came from maids and the butler. They, too, were releasing tears of joy.
After the grand welcome, all of the maids prepared the food that the Young Master and Miss will eat. They were also worried about their own family, but not seeing the Young Master, they didn't want to leave yet.
For them, the Miss and the Young Master were their children. The Miss also promised them that if they go back to their families and didn't have a place to go, they could come back with their families.
Only the butler, the chamberlain, and some guards will remain in the house while others will go home. Those people that were staying were people that didn't have a family or they were too far away.
When all of the food was on the table, Leila cleared her throat as the head of the household.
"Everyone, thank you for all the care you gave us, I hope after this night, we will see each other again someday. But for now, let's erase these worries and eat in our hearts content. Come, join us."
The table was quite large for only three people to eat. The table had a 25 seat capacity. The butler first excused himself and sat next to the young master who was on the left side of the table, followed by the chamberlain who sat next to Irvin who was at the right side of the table. The other six maids also sat one by one. The eight remaining guards also took a seat.
"Sister, what is this, last supper?"
Everyone heard Lucas' joke and all of them tried their best to laugh. Although it was a joke, for some of them, it really was the last supper.
The maids that took care of Lucas, cried the most while eating.
The butler was old but he, too, was somehow affected by the mood, some tears spilled but still continued to smile.
The dining table was full of sound but no one spoke, each to their own world. Daniel didn't talk anymore, he too felt that he couldn't lift everyone's moods. Leila was also trying her best to stop herself from crying once more.
Only Irvin, the chamberlain, and Daniel were the only people who remained calm despite the end of the world's coming.
Nobody knew what would happen after dinner. Some would go and some would stay. They might never see each other again. If not for Leila, they might have been blind by the Apocalypse, but they might also not have the chance to see their loved ones waiting for them at home. No one spoke, but the emotions around the table were evident enough that it was goodbye.
Fortunately, they saw their young master arriving safely. With that in mind, they lifted their mood and ate, only the feeling of reunion and joy remained.