After dinner, all of the maids left with some guards that would accompany them. No one knew what they would face on the road. Whether they could arrive at their destination or not was based on their luck and ability.
The chamberlain and the old butler also excused themselves because it was time for the Miss to talk with Lucas.
The three remaining guards also went back to their posts, though they wanted to go back to their families, they were too far away. Their family also advised them to remain at their boss' place instead of going back home. Each of the guards had grown close to their boss so they weren't too keen on leaving. Whether their family or themselves lived to meet up in the future will be all to fate. No place will remain safe in the future based on the Miss' inference.
They all trusted the Miss because in her young age, she succeeded her grandparent's business and raised his brother with love and care while succeeding in the business.
"Lucas." When all of the people beside the three of them remained at the main hall, Leila decided to talk to Lucas.
"Yes, Sister?"
"Let's go to my office, I need to tell you something."
"Hmm, I also have something to tell you. But first, Irvin." Lucas turned his head towards Irvin and gave him a command. "Get the items that we got earlier and come to the office."
"I understand."
Irvin quickly left and the two siblings went towards Leila's office at the end of the right wing of the mansion next to the dining hall.
Leila went towards the glass window on the side of her office. In her view, she could see the guards busily doing their work moving the boxes from the guard house to the inside of the mansion.
Hearing the door open and close, Leila looked at Irvin and both of them nodded at the same time.
"Lucas-"
"I know. I know more than you do. In fact, I also have something I want to say. There might be some changes in me, and I hope that both of you will keep this even in your death."
Before Leila could tell him anything, Lucas cut her off which he rarely does, unless Lucas wanted his point across.
"Sister, I might or might not be the brother you once knew. But, I promised that I will always be your brother. Time has changed, things have happened. Impossible things have emerged and the apocalypse is coming. Thus, everything is possible. To tell you the truth, I came back from the future."
Leila felt her knees get weak with every word that Lucas said. She went towards her chair and sat down, quickly processing what Lucas said.
"You came back from the future?"
"Yes. There are things that should not be said but, I promised you, I will never let any harm come in your way, in our family's way."
Daniel looked at both Irvin and Leila with a loving gaze. It was his first time having a family. A loving family that will throw their life away to save him. Though Daniel could pretend to others that he was normal, Daniel didn't want to keep such a secret towards the two of them.
Even if he has to mix some lies with truths, the most important thing was to let them know that the old Lucas' that they knew and love has changed.
Daniel beckoned for Irvin to put down the item he was carrying. Two purple shiny stones were presented to Leila.
"This is an Awakening Stone. Even if you didn't awaken on the first day the Apocalypse arrived, or even if you weren't destined to awaken. With the Awakening Stone, you will be awakened forcefully without any side effects."
Leila tried to grasp the stone but was stopped by Irvin.
"Ah! Sister! Why are you careless? If you touch it now, you'll faint."
"Eh? I'm sorry. I was out of my mind." Leila calmed herself down. Leila turned his gaze towards Irvin, when he saw the man nodding, she resolved herself. "I trust you and we will keep this secret even after death. Now, that you know what happened, I guess there's no point in worrying anymore. Also, even if you change, we will still love you no matter what happens."
Leila's every word pierced through Lucas' heart that he started to cry. Seeing him crying, both Leila and Irvin hugged him while he was crying. After he calmed down, Daniel cleared his throat and explained his plan.
The two supported her plan and decided the turns in the time of their awakening. Daniel also told them that he would awaken at any moment before midnight comes, so if he fainted and didn't wake up for at least a day they shouldn't worry about him. He said that his awakening without fever has something to do with him coming back from the future.
Next he told them that they should take turns in awakening. Irvin would awaken next after Daniel, then Leila, so that Irvin could protect Leila while she was awakening, while Daniel will be the one who will be the temporary head for a day.
Although one day wasn't long, every second for the three of them was important so a through plan was needed to be formulated to use their remaining time wisely.
The apocalypse already arrived, the government couldn't keep things in secret. The zombies might also be gaining their strength. As much as Lucas wanted to let them slowly get used to the apocalypse, he needed them to be ready when a zombie tide came.
After the meeting, Daniel excused himself because he felt he was going to awaken at any given moment. Daniel hurriedly went upstairs.
Reaching his room beside Irvin's on the third floor, Daniel closed the door, not locking it. Looking inside his new room, the room was quite big and spacious for a single person. The world of the rich people were out of his reach before, but now it was within his reach but he didn't have any time to relish in it.
Daniel took his clothes off, preparing to take a quick bath before waiting for his awakening.
[You're acting is really good, Owner~ With fake tears you convinced the two of them.]
"Tsk. I wasn't acting. I really felt intense emotion towards them. A quick question for you, if I was occupying his body, where do you think his soul was?"
[Of course in heaven above~]
"Engkk! Wrong~ He was inside me. After tomorrow, he is me and I am him."
[Eh?! How come? There shouldn't be any soul remaining on that body!]
"How would you know that? In the first place you're not the one who was supposed to be with me. I only realized it when I came back home. It really felt like home. My conjecture was proven right when I was at Leila's office. It was not only me who was speaking but my heart."
[Then what happens next?]
"Nothing. Like I told you, I am him, and he is me. Our life would be one starting tomorrow after I successfully awakened."
[Maybe you're just thinking too much.]
"Don't worry, I think the answer will be written in your book."
Vinnie opened her book after Lucas told him about what happened to him. When Vinnie reached the part where Lucas was talking about, Vinnie gasped and looked at Lucas.
[You're right! Then what will happen?]
"In fact it was good for us. I can have his memories and I wouldn't have to lie about my past life. Lucas and mine's past, I can remember it. But, for now, I don't have the time to check it. I can't have my brain undergo an overload before the preparations are done."
[...You have a brain?]
"..."
[Are you angry?]
"Don't follow me, I'm taking a bath."
Daniel closed the bathroom door and quickly took a shower. He had a lot of things to be thankful for. Not only was he given a second chance, but he was also given a new family. The only problem was about their soul in one body. A body couldn't have two souls occupying it. Daniel was scared of knowing what was the consequence of Lucas soul's remaining in his body. He was not scared of what would happen to him but Lucas.
Daniel lost his body but gained a new identity, how about Lucas? Daniel felt that Lucas paid a price for him to go back with his memories intact even if he was in a passive state, waiting for the right moment to come.
An equivalent exchange was needed
Maybe, it was even his soul's extinction. Daniel didn't tell the truth, because he was scared for Lucas.
Although Lucas soul was inside the body, it was slowly dissipating as if his last job had been done after safely arriving home and seeing her sister one last time. Of course, Lucas didn't forget to leave his past memories in Daniel's hand.
Daniel felt conflicted. The only thing he could promise was to fulfill his wishes and hope that Lucas' soul was only entering reincarnation not total extinction.
Daniel wasn't Lucas, he couldn't feel the same attachment towards others but Daniel wasn't heartless enough to fully erase Lucas out of his family's mind. Daniel promised deep inside his heart that he'll live for the both of them, believing that their soul truly merged. Lucas was him, and Daniel was Lucas. Starting tomorrow, Daniel would live as Lucas himself.
While Daniel was conflicted inside the bathroom, for the people in the mansion, some have a lot to do and some needed time to think through their future. These things were important if they wanted to survive. They have to overcome their fear and think through things, thus sleep was hard to come by for some people.
At the start of the Apocalypse, it was only after a week that the government and the military couldn't stop the infection from spreading.
Despite the quick response, it was inevitable that the weapons of the humans were incapable of fighting against natural law.
In just a few days, some zombies couldn't be detained because the government still didn't have a way to differentiate infected from normal wounds. They couldn't also detain those people for long who wanted to go home. Thus, the virus couldn't be contained and stopped reaching other cities and spreading it.
When Daniel finished his quick bath, he laid down on his bed. Daniel could feel that Vinnie was worried about him. She might have found out the truth.
Daniel chose to play oblivious and closed his eyes. Within a few minutes, he fainted, not because he was sleeping naturally but because his time to awaken had finally come. Only with peace of mind could he enter the process of awakening.
When morning came, someone knocked on Lucas' door.
"Young Master, the breakfast is ready."
Lucas woke up from the voice of the old butler. When he opened his eyes, he felt refreshed like he was full of power.
[Congratulations on your successful awakening!]
Lucas sat up and stretched. Lucas turned his head towards the old butler that was still doing his job despite the coming of the Apocalypse. For some people, it was better to do what they were used to, to keep themselves together.
"Sir Rolan, I told you that you don't have to wake me up anymore. You're growing old, I don't want you to come upstairs to only wake me up."
"Young Master let this old man do his duty."
"Your duty is to watch me get married."
The old butler laughed at his Young Master's comment. "The Miss is waiting for you downstairs."
"Where is Marie? Isn't she supposed to be waking me up?"
"Young Master, Marie left yesterday."
"Ah! I forgot... I will miss that old lady."
The two looked at each other and laughed together. Although Marie was his maid that was assigned to wake him up, Marie was also one of the remaining maids who took care of Lucas, she always nagged at him every morning when his clothes were on the floor. Compared to Rolan who was the oldest, Marie was still strong and young but because of her naggy attitude towards Lucas, he calls him an old lady to get revenge.
The two went downstairs together. When they arrived, he was the only one they were waiting for.
"Good morning, everyone~"
"Good morning, Young Master."
The guards tried to stand up but were stopped by Lucas. Lucas nodded at Irvin and Leila before taking his seat.
"Let's eat."
Everyone started eating their own food. All of them except Lucas looked tired. All of them woke up early to finish transporting and organizing the supplies that they bought yesterday.
Even Leila herself helped in moving the supplies. Although they were using a vehicle to ease moving the goods, it was still taxing because of the amount of the supplies Leila bought.
When everyone was done eating, Leila turned her head towards Lucas and waited for his approval.
Lucas turned his head to Vinnie who was secretly eating beside his plate. Vinnie nodded to Lucas when she felt his gaze.
"Everyone is trustworthy."
"Everyone, Lucas and Irvin found something that will help us awaken. But, due to its low number in our hands, we need to find or look for it as much as possible. Leila opened the box which was on her side.
"This is called an Awakening Stone. Right now, only a few people know how to use this. We need to gather this stone as much as possible. They found it yesterday on the crater where the meteorite landed. So, please look for something like this. Don't worry about the money or the means to buy it. You just have to find it and let me handle it."
"We will do as you say young miss."
"Sir Rolan, I'm not young anymore." Leila giggled then continued "Anyways, our priority is to find these stones as much as possible."
After the division of work, Leila ended the meeting. Rolan and Carlota cleaned the dining table. While the three guards continued to move the supplies.
Irvin and Leila didn't bother Lucas and do their own jobs. Leila contacted her friends and relatives to give them advice while also asking if they saw a meteorite the other day.
Irvin also did his research on the social media platform. Everyone was busy except Lucas.
Lucas knew how hard it was to procure Awakening Stones from early stages of Apocalypse. Not only that, but those who knew how to use it would also start looking for it.
Lucas didn't remind Irvin about his awakening, because Irvin himself was aware that awakening comes first. So, after he was done checking if there was a post about the Awakening Stones, he went upstairs into his room.
Lucas looked forward to Irvin's ability. In Lucas' past life, both him and Irvin didn't awaken.
But now, Lucas has awakened. Not only that, but because he had two souls in his body while awakening, he was already a dual ability user, both variants. The first ability, he didn't have a choice, but when his second ability was trying to manifest, Lucas was given a chance to choose which ability he wanted.
Of course, Lucas chose a variant ability. Dual variant ability users were extremely rare. It could only be counted into two hands if you include the whole remaining population around the world.
Lucas only hoped that his family could also awaken at least one variant type.