This was the night before the Colpse. The woman he’d picked up at the downtown club.
Kane couldn’t even remember her name. All he knew was that after this night， the world would end， and he’d never see her again.
Everything was exactly as it had been the first time around.
Seven years in the Wastend had forged his mind into steel. It took him only a heartbeat to realize the truth.
He’d died at the end of the seventh year of the Colpse. And he’d woken up the day before it all began.
“Really gonna just y there， baby?” The woman mumbled， still nuzzled into his chest， her hips shifting zily against him. “I don’t ever give a guy a second chance. You sure you don’t wanna take advantage while you can?”
In the next breath， the woman yelped as the man beneath her rolled over， tossing her straight off the bed onto the floor.
She nded with a thud， clutching her chest and screaming curses. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”
Kane ignored her entirely， leaping out of bed and striding to the full-length mirror.
He stared at the face staring back at him.
Gone was the weathered， scarred face of a Wastend warlord. This was 22-year-old Kane Voss: fair-skinned， lean， with a faint bookish air to his features.
At six foot three， he was exactly the kind of lean， pretty boy that had turned heads before the world ended.
His heart began to pound.
“Help me up， you asshole!” The woman gred up at him from the floor. “I’ve never met a guy as cold as you after a fuck， Mia Carter doesn’t get treated like this!”
Kane snapped out of his daze， turning to get dressed without a single word.
The Colpse would hit at midnight. He didn’t have a second to waste on this woman.
She was nothing but a distraction. A way to pass the time.
He’d felt no attachment to her the first time around. And this time， he’d never let her become a liability.
“You’re just gonna leave? Like that?” Her voice rose with rage， scrambling to pull her clothes on like she was ready to fight.
She’d had one night stands before， but never had she felt so discarded， so used.
Kane slipped his shoes on， shoving his cigarettes， lighter， phone， and the open box of condoms into his jacket pocket.
He paused， then turned back to the woman.
“What—what are you doing?” Fear fshed across her face.
She’d noticed it now. The pretty， soft-spoken boy from the night before was gone. Repced by someone else entirely.
One look into his eyes， and a cold chill ran down her spine.
Kane stopped in front of her， pulling his wallet out and grabbing ten hundred-dolr bills. He bent down slowly， tucking the cash into her bra， and gave her cheek a light， dismissive pinch.
“I don’t owe anyone anything.”
With that， he turned and walked out of the hotel room.
He’d almost forgotten the rule he’d lived by back then: always pay after. Pay， and you’re square. No strings attached.
The morning sun hung high over the city. The highway was packed with cars， the sidewalks crowded with people. An elderly couple walked hand in hand. A mother chased after her ughing toddler. Office workers rushed to their morning shifts， coffee in hand.
Every single one of them was clean. Neat. Unmarked by the horrors to come.
From the breakfast shops lining the street came the smell of fresh donuts and sizzling bacon. Roast delis， bakeries， coffee shops—all the little luxuries he’d spent seven years dreaming of.
A wave of emotion washed over him， bitter and sweet all at once.
He’d taken this peace for granted once. After the Colpse， he’d dreamed of this a thousand times.
Was he really back?
Kane lifted his head， staring in the direction of Veyra City High School. That’s where Liam Thorne was right now， working as an English teacher.
But it wasn’t time to kill him yet. He needed Liam to lead him to the Star Shard holding the SSS-Rank Ability first.
This time around， Kane had no interest in building a stronghold. He’d learned the hard way: the only thing that mattered was your own power.
As for Nora， Celia， and Wren? He’d met them six years into the Colpse. He’d never asked a single thing about their lives before the world ended.
In a city this big， there was no way to find them now. That would have to wait.
The world was still at peace. But only Kane knew that this peace was a candle in the wind. The bright lights of the city were just the final glow before the dark.
At midnight that night， a meteor shower would rain down from the sky. Countless fireballs would crash into the earth， tearing the pnet apart.
The world would become a furnace of the apocalypse. Most buildings would be reduced to rubble. The supplies humanity relied on would be burned to ash—food most of all. What little survived would rot in the sweltering heat.
A month ter， an unknown radiation would seep into every corner of the globe. 98% of the human popution would turn into the Infected. The few humans， animals， and pnts that survived would mutate… evolve.
Kane shook his head， clearing his thoughts. First order of business: stockpile supplies.
After the Colpse hit， all regur food would spoil within days. Only the new， enhanced supplies from the Star Shards would st. He didn’t need to hoard years worth. Just enough to get him through the meteor shower.
He hailed a cab and headed home. A luxury house in Maple Creek Estates， left to him by his parents.
His parents had been corporate executives， killed in a car crash when he was 15. The inheritance and insurance payout had let him live a comfortable， reckless life before the Colpse， with no one to answer to.
The first time around， he’d been asleep at home when the meteors hit. His house had miraculously survived the impact.
So that’s where he’d wait out the first wave this time too.
He walked into the garage， climbed into his Audi A6， and drove straight to the ice production pnt on the edge of town， ten miles away.
The meteor shower would rage for a full month， bringing with it a brutal， sweltering heat. Ice was the first thing he needed to fix that.
The first time around， he’d nearly died of heat exhaustion in that first month. By the time the shower ended， he was too weak to hunt for supplies， too weak to be one of the first to unlock the secrets of the Star Shards.
Veyra was a mid-sized city， no massive industrial ice factories. But the ice production pnt would have more than enough for his needs.
Kane walked straight into the pnt manager’s office. With a hefty cash bribe， the man agreed to deliver fifty tons of ice to his address before sundown.
Next， he headed to the construction supply depot. He bought massive sheets of heat insution， nail guns， high-temperature adhesive， everything he could think of.
He paid the owner extra to round up as many construction workers as he could find. The job had to be done today. The more hands， the better.
With that settled， he drove to the wholesale grocery store to buy the most important thing: food.
Everything that would keep， he grabbed. Canned meats， protein bars， dried jerky， shelf-stable milk， instant noodles， nuts， dried fruit. Anything with preservatives that would st through the heat.
He didn’t touch a single fresh fruit， vegetable， or raw meat.
More important than food was water. He ordered thirty 5-gallon jugs of purified water.
Water， power， gas would all go down the second the meteors hit. He bought three propane tanks， ten waterproof fshlights， and a dozen packs of batteries.
By the time he was done， he had enough supplies to st three months if he rationed carefully. More than enough to get him through the first month.
Next: weapons. Even with seven years of combat experience hardwired into his brain， his body was still just that of an ordinary man. He needed something to fight with.
He went to a butcher shop downtown， paying the butcher 500 for his professional meat cleaver and bone saw. These were tools built to st， sharp and strong， far better than any kitchen knife.
From there， he went to a auto body shop， paying the welders to attach a 4-foot steel handle to the bone saw. Length meant power. What was once a simple butcher’s tool was now a deadly weapon. The cleaver he kept for close-quarters combat.
He tossed the weapons into the trunk of his car， then stopped to buy a handful of gas masks.
Finally， every st thing he could think of was bought.
By the time he got home， the sun was dipping low in the sky， painting the horizon in brilliant red and gold. It was as if the world itself was putting on one st show， mourning the peace that was about to end.
Kane sat in the car for two minutes， watching the sunset. A quiet goodbye to the world he’d lost once before.
When he got out， three delivery trucks were already parked outside his house. Groceries， construction supplies， all of it. The thirty-odd construction workers he’d hired were there too， ready to work.
Only the ice hadn’t arrived yet.
Kane handed each worker a hundred-dolr cash bonus， asking them to first move all the unnecessary furniture out of the house， then haul the construction supplies inside.
For men who worked for every dolr， that bonus was nearly three days wages. They worked like men possessed.
Thirty skilled workers moved fast. Kane’s only rule was simple: it didn’t have to look pretty. It just had to work.
By 7:30 PM， the sun had set completely.
Every st wall and window was lined with heat insution.
And the fifty tons of ice had arrived.
It filled nearly the entire first floor living room， stacked high. Kane paid the delivery men their final fee， and by 9:30 PM， they were gone.
The house was empty. Just him， the supplies， and the mountain of ice.
For the first time since he’d woken up， he breathed easy.
He’d barely eaten all day. He checked his watch: two and a half hours until midnight. He drove to the only diner still open nearby， ate a massive steak dinner， and bought ten cartons of top-shelf cigarettes on the way back.
By 10:30 PM， he was home.
He locked every door， sealed every window shut with the remaining insution， leaving only a small， sliding panel to peek outside.
11:30 PM.
Thirty minutes until the Colpse.
Kane sat in the cold， quiet house， and waited.
The minutes ticked by.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
The arm on his phone went off.
The Colpse had begun.
