’Where... am I...?’
Before she could understand, a voice echoed. "Your ti is up."
Her body froze.
"So are your chances."
Her heart stopped. "W-What...?"
But before she could react, her form began to fade.
Disintegrating into nothingness.
And just like that, Isla ceased to exist.
What she didn’t know was the chance she had been given...had never been hers to begin with.
It belonged to soone else. Remy, a boy who had loved her from the shadows.
’She never even saw ...’
But to him, she had always been an angel.
When the world fell apart, nothing changed for him.
He was abandoned. Left behind by his own parents.
He ran. He starved. He struggled. Life was rciless.
Until, five months later, he awakened.
Not a destructive power like fire, nor a supportive one like water.
’I can... give soone... another life...?’
A chance. Reincarnation. With their power intact. He didn’t hesitate.
’I choose... her ...’
Isla
Even if it cost him everything. A voice had offered him a condition.
"As long as you sacrifice your life... you may grant her a second chance."
He smiled. ’That’s enough... If she can live... that’s enough ...’
And so...he gave his life. In return, Isla was reborn. Given power and opportunity.
Even granted a second reincarnation after death.
But she never questioned it. Never wondered why fate favored her.
She simply lived. Desired more. Until the very end.
Unaware...that everything she had...
Had been paid for...by soone who had already disappeared from the world long ago.
Ivy never learned that Isla had been reborn twice... nor that she had tried to kill her again, only to et the sa end.
For Ivy, there was no ti to dwell on ghosts of the past.
Her focus remained on the present.
Once the flood had completely receded, the damp scent of waterlogged earth slowly faded.
Ivy stood at the edge of her base, feeling the faint warmth of sunlight on her skin.
’It’s finally... over ...’
But even as the waters disappeared, her work did not.
She continued her efforts, capturing zombies, restoring them, and bringing people back.
Day after day. One by one. Families reunited. Tears turned into laughter.
And slowly...the population began to rise again.
At first, people celebrated. But soon, concern followed.
"If this keeps going... housing will beco a problem..." soone muttered in a crowded street.
"We should invest now," another whispered urgently. "Before prices go even higher."
The shift was sudden.
Real estate beca the new battlefield.
Prices skyrocketed.
Even with new currencies circulating, digital, physical, and barter-based, people struggled to secure property. What once seed worthless during the apocalypse now beca priceless.
"One million... for a single unit...?" soone gasped.
When Ivy heard the reports, she froze for a mont. "One million...?"
Her brows furrowed slightly. ’Half of this land... belongs to ...’
A strange thought surfaced. ’Then... does that an... I’m... incredibly wealthy now...?’
She almost let out a small laugh. Almost.
Because the next mont, she thought about her assets.
Gold, properties, digital currencies... she had gathered them all during the chaos. The Blackthorn family had also provided her with more than enough resources.
Her gaze lifted toward the horizon. ’Will it really end here...? Or will another disaster co...?’
Natural calamities...those were beyond her control.
But zombies, that had been different.
And as if the world chose to answer her silent thoughts, peace arrived.
The apocalypse ended. Half of humanity had been lost. But the chaos... stopped.
For a brief mont, the world breathed again.
But that fragile calm did not last long.
The sudden sound of commotion shattered the atmosphere.
A man barged into the base.
His presence was abrupt and forceful, carrying an air of misplaced authority.
"I want to see Ivy!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the surroundings.
The guards imdiately moved. "Stop right there..."
But the man raised his chin arrogantly. "I am the base leader."
Silence fell. A ripple of confusion spread through the crowd.
So frowned. Others exchanged glances.
’Base leader...? What is he talking about...?’
The guards hesitated.
Normally, the base’s internal system would have already expelled any suspicious intruder.
But nothing happened.
That alone was enough to make them pause.
When Ivy received the report, her expression darkened slightly.
’Soone bold enough to claim this...?’
She stood up. "And the temporal storage didn’t remove him...?"
A faint unease crept into her thoughts. When she questioned it...the answer ca.
[There is... a karmic connection between him and this land.]
Ivy stilled. ’Karmic... connection...?’ A year ago, she would have dismissed such a thing.
Taking a steady breath, she walked toward the scene.
The man’s eyes glead with greed when he saw her coming.
Ivy stopped a few steps away. Her voice was calm.
"Who are you?"
The man’s lips curled into a smug smile as he looked her up and down.
"I’m the rightful owner of this place," he declared. "This land... this base... it all belongs to ."
Ivy’s brows knit together. "No, it doesn’t."
The man scoffed.
"Oh? Then whose is it?" he challenged. "Do you really think I don’t know what you’ve been doing behind my back?"
His voice grew sharper, filled with accusation.
"This land was mine. I built everything using my resources. And then you ca in, pretending to be innocent?"
He stepped closer. "Do you think I’m a fool?"
Ivy’s gaze remained steady.
The man continued, his tone turning darker.
"You even hired people to get rid of , didn’t you? You wanted full control over the land."
Inside, Ivy questioned silently.
’If he’s unstable... why does the system acknowledge him...?’
She exhaled softly. Then Ivy looked at him directly.
"You are not the base leader."
The man smirked. "Oh? Then who is?"
His voice rose deliberately, drawing attention. "Tell everyone."
Now, all eyes turned toward Ivy. Even those who trusted her... waited.
Ivy stood still for a mont. Then, she spoke. "I am."
A ripple of shock passed through the crowd.
So stared. So blinked in disbelief. But Ivy did not waver.
Her posture remained straight, her expression composed.
She had grown stronger. Far beyond what she once was.
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