Arin woke in his bed with a scream.
The ceiling above him was clean, unbroken. Not the endless void, not the ruined city, not the blood-soaked battlefield. His sheets were dry, not torn by claws. Outside the window, the early morning sun painted the world gold.
He sat up, gasping for air, his heart pounding. It couldn't be real. It shouldn't be real. They had died. Betrayed, devoured, crushed beneath the weight of the horde. He touched his chest, half-expecting to feel the tearing wounds left by the undead. Instead, he felt steady, unbroken skin.
On his desk, the calendar stared back at him. His eyes froze on the date.
Ten days before the Outbreak.
The same day they had once lived in peace, oblivious to the storm that was coming.
---
Kael punched the bathroom mirror. The glass cracked, but his hand didn't bleed. Instead, a crimson glow pulsed beneath his skin, his veins lit with power. He clenched his fist, the familiar hum of blood-forged strength filling his body.
He hadn't lost it. The power from their first life—it was still his. But it felt stronger. Cleaner.
He whispered, almost laughing in disbelief. "We're back… ten days before it all began."
---
Liora sat frozen in the library, staring at her reflection in the darkened glass. A faint green-black shimmer pulsed under her skin, shaping into skeletal lines before fading. The same necrotic power that had once cursed her, once been called useless compared to the flashy flames and lightning of their peers.
She pressed her hand against her chest, remembering the moment she had been dragged into the horde, Kael screaming her name.
We swore… she thought. If we came back, we'd change everything.
---
That evening, the three met in their secret place—an abandoned park where the trees grew wild and the city's noise could not reach. They didn't speak at first. They didn't need to. Their eyes said enough.
"It wasn't a dream," Arin finally said. His voice was hoarse, but steady. "We're back. Ten days before the world ends."
"And this time," Kael added, his fists glowing faintly red, "we're not the weaklings we were before."
Liora's eyes shimmered with necrotic green. "We have everything we need to prepare. Our powers. Our memories. Our bond."
As if answering her words, the system's cold voice rang in their minds:
> [Linked Reincarnation System Activated]
Soul Bond Established.
Countdown: 10 Days Until Outbreak.
Shared Progress Enabled.
One Life Remaining.
The weight of the words settled over them. Their powers weren't just their own anymore. Their growth, their victories, their failures—everything would be shared.
Arin clenched his fists. "We know how fast the cities fall. We know where the first outbreaks start. We know which shelters fail, which leaders betray, which supplies run out."
Kael nodded grimly. "And we know who sells us out."
Liora's jaw tightened, her voice shaking but fierce. "We have ten days. We train. We stockpile. We prepare. And when the time comes, we make sure history doesn't repeat itself."
The night wind whispered through the trees. For the first time in what felt like forever, the three of them felt not despair, but fire in their hearts.
This was their second chance.
Their only chance.
And this time, they would make the world bleed before they let it take them again.