In the small rental room, a young man in his early to mid twenties woke up from his sleep in shock and looked around in disbelief.
Gray walls with paint chipped off in places, some low-quality furniture, a dim ceiling lamp with a cello tapped crack in the middle, and an old-fashioned table fan in a corner, buzzing, and still working hard.
It was all so familiar, and yet unfamiliar too.
"Fuck…" Damian cursed as he laid back on the cramped pillow and massaged his forehead.
It took a few long minutes for his brain to step out from the haze of sleep and sort the extra memories hurting his head.
He was back. Back from the dead in the past. A past before the damned apocalypse.
Looking at the messed up dirty room, a smile came to his face.
He used to want to escape from this place all the time, yet this moment made him so excited that his hands were shaking, and his eyes were so sore that he wanted to cry.
"I really am back." Damian said with emotion before the memories played clear again and his mood turned sour.
A sad and useless life.
Damian recalled his past life and could only give this evaluation.
If the time is fixed before he was six years old, he could be called a winner in life.
He had everything.
Parents who loved and cared about him, a sister who was one year younger than him, naughty but clingy and cute too. Coupled with very good family conditions too.
At this time, Damian couldn't imagine that his beautiful life had reached the edge of the cliff. A peak of the mountain.
And one step forward is the slope, a downward path, sliding straight for the sad abyss.
In the winter when he was six years old, his father's business failed and he owed a large debt. From then on, his living conditions took a turn for the worse.
All the close relatives, friends and partners turned their backs on them and no one even came forward to meet, let alone lend a helping hand.
Fortunately his parents were still young and had a chance to make a comeback.
The family lived frugally for a few years, but just when all the debts were about to be paid off, his father who stayed up all night working tirelessly died of a sudden blood congestion.
And his mother, who received the news a few hours after, accidentally collided with a speeding truck in shock while driving on the rainy night and died on the spot.
In one day, Damian lost both his parents, leaving only him and his sister to depend on each other.
However, fate still did not let him go.
In Damian's first year of high school, his sister suddenly became seriously ill.
Damian, who had fairly good grades at the time, resolutely gave up his studies and tried every means to make money. But even so, his sister's deteriorating physical condition still did not ease at all.
Bills kept piling up, and the treatment kept getting expensive each time.
Finally, three years after Damian dropped out of school, his bedridden sister chose to commit suicide because she did not want to drag him down anymore.
The last light of love in his life, took her own life as he slept.
From then on he had become depressed and lived in seclusion. A sad loner to whom life had no meaning, no purpose and no enjoyment left.
Days just kept coming and going, till they turned to weeks, then months and then to years.
Until his twenty-fourth birthday, a magical disaster that swept through the world changed his life.
At noon that day, the end of the world arrived without warning. All thermal weapons were rendered useless. All communication equipment disabled. The modern technology that humans always took pride in, became junk sold for one over ten free.
More than 90% of humans have been infected into zombies who only know hunger and death.
Those who survived were given a digital system called the "Apocalypse system". It was similar to video game status panels which showed player details and data.
People's physical conditions were represented by numbers, and one could gain experience by killing zombies, which can increase their level like a game.
The social structure instantly collapsed, the law lost its meaning, the relationship between people became sensitive and sharp, and the law of the jungle where weak became prey and the strong reigned supreme was regarded as the ultimate truth by everyone.
People were like animals, killing, plundering, and eating each other until they become the final survivor.
Damian was still alone, struggling in this cruel apocalypse. Yet in this broken world, unlike others, he felt free.
After all, he finally got to vent all his inner anger and grievances openly. The darkness in his heart became much lighter in that dark world.
He was like a fish in water, playing in his home ground. With all kinds of opportunities emerging one after another. He also built a stronghold and re-established order for his camp.
"Maybe I am the protagonist." Damian had such thoughts more than once.
Tragic family, tragic life, encountering disaster, regaining confidence, and growing up step by step. - No matter from which angle, he met all those elements.
However, this was all just another joke from God, or maybe it was inevitable.
How could a guy like him, who despises the weak, plunders resources, has no humanity, is insidious and cunning, be the protagonist?
The real protagonist was someone else. A warm-blooded and kind-hearted boy named Arthur, who shouts about love and peace all day long.
And he, is just a villain on the protagonist's path.
In front of the real protagonist, Damian retreated step by step, until finally, he died of the betrayal from his subordinates who had a change of heart.
"Fuck life, I'll just rest easy now." That's what Damian said as he took his last breath, but that fucking fate wasn't done with him yet.
Something strange happened while he was on his way to 'afterlife'.
His soul didn't dissipate. Instead, it got tied to the hero.
And thus his ghost followed the protagonist group and watched Arthur build the largest stronghold with his own eyes, allowing everyone to live a stable life.
The villains were all wiped out, the protagonist was happy with his harem, and ordinary people lived safe and sound.
Isn't this the standard ending to the hero's story?
But– Why????
Why should he be the villain who was defeated by the protagonist and everything he worked hard for was reduced to nutrients?
Why was his luck and life so bad, and the hero's so wonderful?
Every time he thought about this, his soul would roar.
He was not willing to give in!
If it is true that his skills are inferior to others, and he is weaker, then he has nothing to say and will just admit defeat.
But was that true, No..
That fucking hero, who is naive, stupid, and brainless, how could he win? If it weren't for the halo of the protagonist, how could he escape from death again and again?
But...even if he doesn't give in, what can a dead soul do?
Damian could only act like a toothless tiger, squeezing hoarse curses from his throat.
His soul which had accepted death in the beginning was filled with hatred and anger again little by little, until there was nothing but insanity and flames of revenge left.
Until the protagonist's first child was born and his family were happy, Damian's soul finally began to dissipate.
He thought he could FINALLY rest in peace.
But boom kaboom surprise with sunrise, unexpectedly, when he opened his eyes again, he would be back ten years ago.
At this moment, the apocalyptic wave has not yet arrived, Damian has not been labeled as a villain, and the protagonist is still just an ordinary kid.
So there are three paths before Damian.
First, fight with the protagonist to death, and use the advantage of the second life to find a way to kill him.
Second, No longer fight against the protagonist, and just be an ordinary person and forget everything.
Third, Join the protagonist's group and become the hero's younger brother. Try to live till the dogs and pigs of hero also ascends heaven and turn into dragon.
The first method looks good, but that's the protagonist. In front of the his halo, what is the second life? When God gives the hero treasures on his tongue, will a second life be of any use.
Or should he just forget everything and leave the plot and this city.
A voice appeared in Damian's heart, chattering about the benefits of giving up. The voice spoke faster and faster, and Damian's fists clenched tighter and tighter.
"Ohh hell no."
Damian punched the metal bed, making a heavy clanking sound. He clenched his teeth tightly, as veins popped out on his forehead, and his bloodshot eyes were filled with hatred that was so strong that it almost solidified in red.
If he can't even kill that bastard, what's the point of his rebirth?
His fate was already so tragic, so why should he accept all this, why should he submit to it.
As an enemy, he admitted that the protagonist was so powerful that it was indescribable. That kind of unnatural luck had long exceeded the scope of strength.
Ordinary methods certainly cannot kill the hero. Damian was very sure of this.
In the years since he became a revenant soul, he had seen too many people die at the hands of the protagonist due to luck. No matter the gap in numbers or in strength, when it comes to hero, his luck can always help him survive and win by any means possible.
However, there must be a way. There must be a way to kill him.
"Tring ringg..."
Suddenly, a vibration from under the pillow brought Damian back to reality.
He opened the pillow, and there was a vibrating mobile underneath. A call came in, and the caller id showed it was the food delivery.
Damian clicked to answer, and voices rang at the door and on the phone in no particular order.
"Takeaway, is there anyone at home? Open the door, I've been knocking for a long time, is anyone here?."
'Did I order takeout?' Damian thought.
He was confused for a moment. The life before the end of the world was so long ago that he couldn't remember these small details easily.
"Leave it at the door." Damain said loudly nonetheless.
"Okay, please give me a good review."
Ignoring the voice, Damian found the food app, and checked his order.
A small birthday cake.
Damian was stunned. He wouldn't eat this kind of thing at all. Could it be?
A thought flashed in his mind, as he scrolled down and glanced at the date, and sure enough, today was his birthday, and it was also the day when the apocalyptic wave came.
The time is 9 o'clock in the morning. He has to work part-time in the afternoon and evening, so he can only celebrate his birthday in the morning.
"Ahha haha haha." Damian laughed a little self deprecatingly.
He originally thought that he could rely on the rebirth to make more preparations before the end of the world, such as taking out a loan to buy some supplies, gather some cold weapons, but now it seems that he thought too much.
His luck wasn't that good.
Damian rolled out of bed and just raised his legs when he lost his balance and almost fell down face first.
"Fuck,.. Is it cause I haven't used the physical body for too long?"
Damian said as he stood up while holding on to the table. He had been floating with his soul, haunting behind hero, so he was really not used to using his physical body all of a sudden.
Damian moved to the door step by step, opened the door and took the cake in.
He placed the cake on what could barely be called a table in the room and slowly removed the cheap packaging.
The sweet smell of chocolate cream immediately hit the nose. The kind of fake buttery smell that rich high class people now would find disgusting, but in the apocalypse filled with rotten smell, it is a luxury that no amount of money could buy.
The cake came with two plates, cutlery, and a birthday hat made of cardboard that was obviously not the right size.
Damian put on this hat in a ceremonial manner, as he inserted a candle and lit it with a lighter. Before lighting a ciggarette for own with closed eyes.
"Happy birthday sis." Damian said blowing a puff of smoke.
His heart beating slow in sadness as the guilt and pain hit him hard again, reminding that even for rebirth, he was still too late.
She was still gone. Even in this life.