**Chapter 15: The Seed of Apocalypse**

  Now that Alex was in the warehouse alone, he thought about the people he had proposed to help during the apocalypse: those with useful skills, those with potential, and even his former tormentor.

  A part of him believed they could survive without him, but to help them become the people he envisioned, he knew he had to support them during this crisis.

  Alex began his routine, glancing at the clock which ticked down the hours: 12 until the descent of the apocalypse.

  He had hidden for at least a month and needed to collect the cores that the infected would leave behind when they died.

  Although they wouldn't be powerful in the early stages of the apocalypse, they would become absolute devils later on.

  Alex thought about the cores, which looked like spherical, sponge-like balls. They formed inside the infected and were squishy and soft yet firm at the same time, giving off an eerie feeling.

  Early in the apocalypse, when shelters started to form, some interesting, or perhaps even crazy, people used the cores in experiments. They discovered that these cores were the power source of the infected. By extracting a sort of viscous liquid from them, they could strengthen, evolve, and in some cases, even grant more impressive abilities to themselves.

  People who awakened during the Rain of Awakenings were strong, but by using this awakening liquid, they could achieve even greater strength. Some people even gambled by drinking the liquid while remaining unawakened. Some were successful, but others transformed into unimaginable monsters.

  Later in the apocalypse, rumors circulated about a mad scientist from another shelter who had created a liquid that could awaken an unawakened person without the side effects. Some people doubted these claims, while others wholeheartedly believed them. Many ventured towards that shelter, but none ever returned.

  With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Alex stood in a daze, gazing at the tattoo on his arm. He began concentrating on it, and soon his mind seemed to be sucked into something. He had been here before, but each time he entered this place, it felt different.

  The place was an endless expanse of darkness, with stars twinkling in the vast emptiness, reminding him of his insignificance. Doors opened and closed at his will, but he couldn't stay for long. As he approached the center of this space, a pentatope hung suspended, as if it had a mind of its own.

  His body began to collapse, returning to its original position, as if trying to say, "I am sustaining this realm for us." It moved upwards with each passing minute or second he spent in this place. Once it reached a certain height, it began to rotate and opened the doors leading back to their world.

  While Alex marveled at this experience, like winning a grand prize in a lottery, he suddenly sensed another presence. He knew who it was without looking: Thorne. He greeted him, and after a few seconds, Zara also entered the realm.

  They soon began discussing their understanding of their skills. Alex had previously explained to them how this "tri ui" was like the status windows in his world, and they both nodded in agreement, acknowledging that he had shared his memories.

  Alex gave Zara a suggestion regarding her skill, and she thought it might be useful, thanking him sarcastically. She then began teasing Alex, "Yours is too small to…!"

  Thorne chuckled, and the pentatope began to rise, opening the doors back to their world. As they moved back, they each tried to view the screen:

  * (240:00:00 till the first stage opens)

  * (Synchronization 9.7%)

  He tried to turn back, but he was already back in the Happy Supermarket warehouse. He looked at the time and noticed no difference between entering and exiting the realm, even though he had spent almost an hour within it. It seemed that even after exiting the realm, a part of their brains remained connected, allowing them to share thoughts or even senses.

  Alex looked at his mobile phone. There were still two hours until the apocalypse, when a meteorite would appear out of nowhere, strike the ocean, and initiate the Rain of Awakening. While lost in thought, he closed his eyes in this seemingly peaceful world, devoid of fear.

  After a few hours, he heard a rupturing sound, as if the entire planet was about to be swallowed whole. Countries around the world panicked upon hearing this sudden news. Some countries began preparations to evacuate their populations, releasing disaster alerts.

  However, the top leaders in some countries suppressed the news, while the most powerful country in blue was in a daze, looking at the meteorite and asking their intellectuals why and how such a phenomenon could exist.

  Finally, after a hasty consultation with leaders from all countries, they decided to divert or strike the massive piece of meteorite, breaking it into smaller parts to lessen the impact on the blue planet and reduce the potential for significant losses.

  Soon, the news spread throughout the world, causing widespread panic. Some people tried to capitalize on this news, claiming it was a lie or a conspiracy from another country, throwing the world into chaos. However, the more sensible individuals were already on the move, securing food and disaster shelters. Survival channels and social media platforms were in an uproar as people frantically searched the internet for survival tips in the face of the apocalypse.

  Alex was still asleep amidst this chaos. The countries, in unison, began firing their most powerful weapons of destruction towards the meteorite as it passed Earth's gravity and began to propel itself towards the planet.

  Another phenomenon baffled the scientists. When they tried to bombard the meteorite with the wrath of modern weapons, it seemed to have a mind of its own, easily dodging them and hurtling towards the planet at twice the speed of sound. With each kilometer it descended, its speed seemed to increase, and a sort of protective shield that enveloped the meteorite began to thin. Then, the missiles struck it, but there was no reaction from the meteorite, as if mocking the planet's inhabitants.

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  The ice on the meteorite had completely melted into the atmosphere, and now it resembled a giant egg or a seed of destruction. At a certain height, it split apart and began moving towards all the major cities, as if it had detected the large gatherings of people as offerings for the apocalypse.

  It landed with a boom, sending shockwaves through the heavens and the earth. All the towering buildings and metropolises that had been built over a long period were now reduced to rubble in real time. With this impact, most of the population was wiped out.

  The main part of the meteorite, or the seed, landed in the sea and sank deep into the ocean, beginning to grow rapidly. When it reached the height of the sky, it seemed as if it could touch the heavens. Soon, the entire planet was covered in thick clouds, and the Rain of Awakenings began.

  The entire planet seemed to shudder and convulse, transforming every part of it. The climate changed, vegetation grew rapidly, and people who witnessed the phenomenon felt a shift within their bodies. Some became infected, along with every other organism on the planet.

  Finally, Alex opened his eyes to the Rain of Awakening, and soon the text appeared in his tri ui:

  **NAME:** ALEX CARTER

  **AGE:** 19

  **JOB:** SOLDIER, HUNTER (NEW)

  **Strength:** 12

  **Agility:** 15

  **Vitality:** 14

  **Energy:** 20

  **Skills**

  * **Vitality Absorption:** (F) Absorb the vitality of the thing you come in touch with.

  * Store and use it later.

  * Compress and make a pill out of vitality.

  * You can use it to fill your satiety.

  * **Storage:** (F) Evolved from inventory to storage.

  * You can store one thing in the storage subspace and you can only store one thing every level.

  * **Body Strengthening:** (F) Can strengthen any part of your body temporarily or permanently.

  * Parts that can be strengthened as follows:

  * UPPER BODY: + UPPER INNER, + UPPER OUTER

  * MIDDLE BODY: + MIDDLE INNER, + MIDDLE OUTER

  * LOWER BODY: + LOWER INNER, + LOWER OUTER

  * **Shelter:** (F) (NEW) Can designate anything as your shelter. One-time use, and the designation part will be erased. Every level, the shelter size will grow, and you can add more facilities and accommodate more people.

  * **DESIGNATION:** WILL BE ERASED COMPLETELY ONCE A PLACE IS DESIGNATED AS A SHELTER

  * **SHELTER GUIDE:** AN ORGANISM THAT WILL SUPPORT THE SHELTER WITH THE USE BY PROVIDING INSIGHTS AND GUIDANCE

  * **FACILITIES:** Living area, hygiene area, workout area, warehouse, and a watch tower

  (237:00:00 TILL THE STAGE ONE OPENS BE PREPARED)

  (9.7% SYNCRONIZATION)

  Honestly, Alex was dumbfounded as he looked at his newly changed skills. He carefully read each and every word from the ui and analyzed his skills. His stats also seemed to have improved due to the Rain of Awakening.

  While reviewing his skills, Alex thought of something and tried to act on it. He tried to use the newly evolved "Storage" skill. The items he had previously stored in the subspace seemed to have disappeared. He was disappointed because the crate of guns and bullets he had stored for safety issues had vanished.

  While thinking about it, he looked at the large warehouse nearby. His mind seemed to read something, and he approached the warehouse and touched it.

  A prompt appeared: "Would you like to store this thing? Once you store it, there is no going back."

  Alex was both excited and terrified as he looked at the notification. Without hesitation, he nodded his head. The entire warehouse, along with the Happy Supermarket, of which he had rented a portion, and a few other attached warehouses, vanished without a trace.

  Alex was shocked by this ridiculous turn of events. His past life as a scavenger and survivor now seemed like a distant joke. He was dazed for a moment, as if he had lost some energy. He then moved towards the nearby abandoned mountain and searched for the cave where he had survived in the early stages of the previous apocalypse.

  He saw a small opening that looked deep, but Alex already knew how to navigate it with some acrobatic moves. With his newly enhanced agility, he moved with the grace of a trained acrobat.

  Once inside the cave, he sat down and tried to process what had just happened. He looked at the other new skills: "Shelter" and "Vitality Absorption." He attempted to absorb vitality by touching the cave wall, but there was no response: "(NO VITALITY DETECTED)."

  Then, he touched a small patch of algae growing on the cave wall, and it reacted: "(SMALL AMOUNTS OF VITALITY ABSORBED)."

  Next, he focused on the "Shelter" skill. He opened his storage and looked at the storage subspace. He muttered, "Designate," and the system reacted: "(WOULD YOU LIKE TO DESIGNATE (SUBSPACE) LUCKY'S SUPERMARKET AS A SHELTER?)"

  Alex was dumbfounded. This kind of thing should be considered cheating, not a gift from heaven, especially considering his tragic past life.

  Alex clicked "Designate," and the world seemed to turn upside down.

  * **Satiety:** 5%

  * **Energy:** 1

  Energy had been spent on using the skill. Alex tried to recall what had happened before he fainted. He heard a murmur from something unknown.

  Alex awoke in a completely different space. He looked around, disoriented. He seemed to have woken up inside a building. The light outside was somewhat bright, so he slowly walked towards the window with great difficulty and tried to see outside.

  He was shocked to find himself inside the main office of Lucky's Supermarket. Alex stepped out of the building, trying to understand what had brought him here. He shouted, "Thank God for helping me!"

  While he was uttering his prayer, a metallic ball-like object floated towards him. It had a white metallic appearance and wing-like structures on its sides. It was looking at the man who was gazing at the ceiling of the shelter (LUCKY'S SUPERMARKET), thanking someone else.

  The robot made a move, sending a jolt of electricity towards the man. It declared, "It's not some God, man. It's me who saved you from that damp place. Now worship me."

  Alex suddenly turned around towards the voice, but there was nobody there except for the flying white ball. He tried to move towards the ball, but it repeated, "It's not some God, man. It's me who saved you from that damp place. Now worship me."

  Alex was pleasantly surprised by this turn of events. He remembered what he had done and heard before he fell unconscious. Now he remembered the "Shelter" skill. He had expected a booklet or an interface like the ui, but it had come in the form of an arrogant AI.

  While his thoughts raced through his mind, the guide heard him and said, "What do you mean, arrogant AI? I am millions of years more intelligent and advanced than you."

  It murmured to itself, "Every single one of my masters until now has been polite to me, but now this man is mocking me openly."

  It tried to use force but couldn't move because it was bound to Alex as the shelter owner, and the ball was the manager of the shelter.

  The ball said, "Well, the meteorite hit. Now that I am connected to you, I can only access certain parts of your brain, but most of it seems to be locked. Do you know anything?"

  Suddenly, Alex felt like the ball had changed the topic. Had it accepted defeat? He asked, "Why do you want access to my brain? Do you want to control my mind like a zombie?"

  The ball replied, "You look worse than a zombie."

  Alex was dumbfounded. "Leave it at that. Who are you?"

  The ball replied, "I don't remember exactly. It seems I have been erased, except for the guidance and insight part."

  Alex asked, "Are you the shelter guide?"

  The ball replied, "Yes."

  Alex asked, "Where are we?"

  The ball replied, "Inside the shelter."

  Alex asked, "And that is where it is?"

  The ball replied, "Inside your subspace."

  Alex exclaimed, "What?"

  The ball replied, "It seems some of your skills evolved along with some unknown influence."

  Alex asked, "What?"

  The ball replied, "If I knew that, wouldn't I be telling you?"

  Alex said, "Okay, but what can you do?"

  The ball replied, "I can manage and run the shelter."

  Alex asked, "You said we are in my subspace, but how is there electricity and light outside? And most importantly, how are we alive…?"

  He was shocked and fainted.

  The ball muttered, "This man… huuuuuuuuu…"

  The ball seemed to be frustrated.

  In the mental world where Zara and Thorne were with Alex, they were dumbfounded when they witnessed Alex's progression until now.

  Thorne exclaimed, "Is that even possible? For that kind of… It's even more amazing to see it in that spherical thing that has its own consciousness."

  Zara said, "Yeah, we have it too, but only the wealthy use it."

  Thorne said, "And also the skills. The way he used it… He doesn't look that smart."

  Zara said, "You stole that part from my mouth! Ha ha ha!"

  "Well, whatever. It's good that he survived until now. And Alex woke up."

  Zara said, "Hello, Smart Pants. Want some milk?"

  Alex replied, "You stop teasing me."

  Thorne said, "Well, you did something. We saw it."

  Alex said, "Isn't it a cheat?"

  Zara said, "Well, it is."

  Their conversation continued in the realm while the robot tried to wake its new shelter owner.

  Outside, the world had changed. All organisms – animals, plants, and even humans – had been affected.

  The mountain trail, cave, and forest now resembled a vast Amazon rainforest. New infected beasts and creatures were now running around, tearing up the city surrounding the mountain.

  The giant tree looked like it had reached the core of the planet, and the planet shook once. Unknown structures were erected all over the planet, and the Blue Planet's voice echoed:

  "The initiation has started. Now every being will be in hibernation until the process is complete."

  With that, the entire world fell asleep.

  The planet expanded, new lands were added, and new mountains, rivers, and continents appeared.

  ("PROCESS PROGRESS 12% WORLD EVOLUTION")