Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

Rylen and Aria had always been curious children, and the treasures in their foster father's mansion stirred their imaginations.

The siblings had been adopted by Edward Lancaster, a renowned business tycoon who made his fortune in the global trade industry. But beyond his business empire, Edward had a more peculiar passion—collecting rare and ancient artifacts from all over the world.

His huge estate housed one of the most impressive private collections anyone had ever seen, including ancient weapons, priceless pottery, and relics from long-lost civilizations.

For as long as Rylen and Aria could remember, they had been enchanted by these collections of artifacts.

Every day after school, instead of playing with toys like other kids their age, they would wander the halls of their foster father's collection room. It was a massive gallery that spanned multiple floors, filled with relics of various kinds.

The two of them, of course, have different likes… Most of the time, Rylen was more interested in ancient weapons, while Aria liked paintings, pieces of jewelry, and colorful or shiny items.

"Rylen, look at this one!" Aria called while holding up a tiny stone pendant etched with ancient language from a different country.

"Don't touch it! You know how fragile these things are," Rylen scolded, though he also wanted to reach out and trace the carvings of the pendant.

Despite their fascination, Edward was strict when it came to handling the artifacts, so he asked his foster father, and they arranged for a private tutor to teach them about these precious items. Every afternoon, after their school lessons were finished, they would sit in their study, listening to their expert tutor discuss the significance of each artifact.

Their kind tutor would always tell them these words…

"Ancient artifacts are not just relics of the past. They are keys to understanding the people who came before us. Every jar, every painting, every weapon tells a story."

The two of them absorbed these teachings as they believed that once they grew up, it would be their turn to care for their father's collection. Of course, entailing that would be their job to acquire more relics of the past.

They would often imagine themselves as explorers in ancient times, discovering hidden treasures and unlocking the mysteries of the past.

Rylen, with his sharp mind, was particularly drawn to the stones and minerals in their foster father's collection.

Although it wasn't comparable to Aria's fascination to shiny things, Rylen also found himself captivated by the gleaming surfaces of such stones and the idea that they might contain powers beyond the ordinary.

After all, some of the stones in the collection were said to be from outer space.

Aria, on the other hand, started liking botanical relics—the ancient seeds and dried herbs that their tutor explained could have once healed kings and queens.

In any case, their life at the estate was sheltered and comfortable. They wanted nothing, and though they were aware of the world outside, it always felt distant and unreal, like something out of the stories their tutor told them.

But that illusion of safety was destroyed when the news about the spread of the zombie virus reached them.

It started as vague information from the media. They only heard about strange outbreaks in remote areas, stories of people succumbing to a disease that reanimated the dead, and such.

At first, it seemed too far away to be real. It felt too similar to the horror films Rylen and Aria had once watched with popcorn in hand.

But soon, the virus spread faster than anyone could have imagined, and the reality of the situation became undeniable. Cities fell one after another, and chaos gripped the world.

Edward Lancaster, with all his wealth and resources, had prepared for such a disaster. He owned a private yacht docked at a remote harbor, far from the infected zones.

When the virus reached their city, Edward's bodyguards hurried the children onto the boat, and their foster father promised to join them soon.

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But Edward never made it to the harbor. The situation in the city had escalated too quickly, and he had been cut off from their escape route.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Rylen and Aria clung to each other as the yacht set sail, watching the city disappear on the horizon.

The once lively ports were now overrun by chaos—people screaming, cars overturned, and the undead roaming the streets. For days, they traveled across the ocean, hoping to reach safety on the mainland.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be easy…

One evening, as the sun set arrived, things began to go horribly wrong.

A passenger on the yacht, who had been coughing for the past few hours, collapsed in the middle of the deck. His eyes glazed over with an unnatural light, and his skin turned into a sickly gray. Within moments, he had transformed, rising again with malevolent eyes.

"I knew it! This guy has an injury on his ankle! He said it was just a scratch after falling down the stairs!"

"It must be Zombie Infection! No way!"

"We're going to die here! W-we should use the lifeboats! Let's leave this yacht!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The guards tried to kill the Zombie immediately, but this Zombie seemed impervious to bullets!

Soon, the Zombie started spewing green gas that seemed to suffocate the people.

However, this gas contained the Zombie Virus.

Soon, the infection spread like wildfire. The medical team tried to quarantine the infected, but it was already too late. Even the bodyguards who had sworn to protect Rylen and Aria turned into Zombies!

They have become so scary that Aria and Rylen can only run and cry.

The two of them hid in the lower decks as the ship became overrun with zombies.

Aria clutched Rylen's hand tightly, her heart pounding in her chest. "What do we do? They're everywhere!" she cried, her voice also started trembling with fear.

Rylen, though terrified, tried to remain calm after realizing that Aria couldn't stop shaking.

"We… We need to hide. Stay quiet, and maybe they won't find us."

They crouched in a small storage room as the sounds of growling and the shuffle of undead feet echoed above them.

Rylen was also scared but he tried to think of a way out.

He actually hoped that the Zombie would jump into the ocean to chase those in the boats or those who had decided to swim.

Thankfully, that indeed happened, and there were only a few zombies left on the yacht.

However, his hope didn't last that long. They were soon sensed by a couple of Zombies, who turned out to be their previous guards.

'We're going to die…" Rylen thought as he hugged Aria.

But just as the door to their hiding place creaked open and they thought their time had come, something strange happened.

A mysterious gray fog began to seep into the room, swirling around them mysteriously…

The zombies, just moments away from tearing them apart, froze.

The entire scene seemed to slow down, and the fog thickened, enveloping Rylen and Aria completely.

When the fog cleared, they found themselves in a vast, unfamiliar space filled with gray fog…

They didn't know how long had passed, but it was here, in this strange space, that something had awakened within them. They felt a sudden surge of energy coursing through their bodies, unlike anything they had ever experienced.

Rylen's mind was flooded with an innate understanding of the earth's treasures. He could sense them as if precious stones and minerals hidden deep within the ground were calling out to him.

Aria, meanwhile, felt a profound connection to nature itself. She could feel the life force of plants, understanding in an instant that with enough Spiritual Force… Although she hadn't tried yet, she felt that she could coax them to grow at incredible speeds.

Time passed vaguely in their minds before they heard a mysterious voice from the fog… They informed them about the situation of the world, including the presence of the Foreign Survivors…

Soon, the mysterious gray fog, thicker this time, wrapped them once more in its embrace.

Then, they felt their bodies being transported, and when they opened their eyes again, they found themselves standing at the gates of a camp—summoned by Shane's Recruitment Stones.

Shane, the Foreign Survivor, knelt down slightly to meet them at eye level. "You might be young," he said with a smile, "but you're both incredibly valuable to us. Welcome to the Silver Mine Camp."

The two children smiled, proud of their abilities.

Shane stood up and waved to Sandra this time. "Sandra, please find a place for Rylen and Aria as well. We'll need to make sure they're comfortable…"

Shane said. Then, he felt that he really had to check the marketplace this time to buy several things for these kids.

Sandra smiled at the two children and gestured for them to follow. "I'll get you both settled in. Come on."

As the new recruits made their way into the camp, Shane finally decided to use his Legendary Recruitment Stone… After all, he needs at least one commander-level subordinate in this camp.