CHAPTER TWELVE The warning remained on the screen. [Future knowledge reliability: 79.8%.] I stared at it. Seventy-nine percent. That number should not have existed. My memories were the one advantage I had over everyone else. I knew where the rifts would appear. I knew which monsters would emerge. I knew which treasures would change the balance of power. I knew who would become strong. I knew who would die. But now the System was telling me that my knowledge was becoming unreliable. I closed the notification. I needed answers. The financial district had become a battlefield. Broken glass covered the streets. Cars were abandoned everywhere, and smoke rose from several buildings in the distance. People were running in every direction. The old world was disappearing faster than I remembered. I looked toward Julius. He was already walking away. I watched him until he disappeared into the crowd. In my previous life, Julius didn't awaken Authority of Dominion until muc

CHAPTER FOURTEEN The violet rift pulsed behind the Plague-Rat King. I couldn't move. Not because I was afraid. Because my mind was trying to understand what I was seeing. The creature had spoken my name. It knew about my regression. It knew I had returned. And somehow, it had been waiting for me. The Plague-Rat King took another step forward. "Aeron Miller." Its voice echoed through the sewer. "Why did you return?" I tightened my grip around the Widow-Maker. "I don't know what you're talking about." The creature laughed. It wasn't a normal laugh. It sounded like several voices speaking at the same time. "Liar." The violet mark beneath my sleeve burned. I pulled the sleeve back. The symbol was glowing brightly now. The Plague-Rat King's eyes focused on it. "There." It pointed one claw toward my hand. "The mark of the Echo." My heart dropped. "What do you know about it?" The creature didn't answer. Instead, it opened its mouth. The smaller rats suddenly beg

CHAPTER SIXTEEN The door exploded inward. A massive shadow stepped through the dust. I tightened my grip on the Widow-Maker. For a moment, none of us moved. The creature was enormous. It stood nearly three meters tall, with thick black fur covering most of its body. Two curved horns grew from its forehead, and its arms were long enough for its claws to scrape against the sewer floor. But the most disturbing thing was its face. It had the head of a wolf. And three glowing violet eyes. The middle eye opened slowly. The System appeared. [Special Monster Detected.] [Classification: Blood Moon Ravager.] [Level: 7.] [Mutation Status: Active.] [Threat Level: High.] My expression hardened. Level seven. I was only Level four. In my first life, I had never encountered a Blood Moon Ravager this early. That alone told me how badly the timeline had changed. The creature lowered its head. It sniffed the air. Then all three eyes turned toward Daniel. Daniel's face went pale.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN The hospital was only fifteen minutes away. At least, it would have been before the apocalypse. Now, the streets were a battlefield. Abandoned cars blocked the roads. Smoke rose from several buildings, and the screams of people running from the mutated monsters filled the air. I moved quickly, keeping the Widow-Maker in my right hand. Elena stayed close behind me. Daniel struggled to keep up, still recovering from his infection. "How far?" he asked. "Not far." A loud crash interrupted me. A creature burst through the window of a nearby pharmacy. It landed on the road, scattering broken glass. Its body resembled a dog, but its legs were unnaturally long. Black spikes protruded from its back, and its mouth stretched almost to its chest. The System appeared. [Mutated Hound detected.] [Level: 3.] I almost sighed in relief. Compared to the Blood Moon Ravager, this thing was nothing. "Stay behind me." The hound lowered its head. Then it charged. I wait

CHAPTER TWENTY The Void Devourer charged. I barely had time to move. I grabbed Elena and pulled her sideways. The monster crashed through the wall. Concrete exploded. We hit the floor hard. "Aeron!" "I'm fine." I pushed myself up. The Void Devourer turned. Its single violet eye locked onto me. Level ten. My level was seven. And this wasn't even the monster I remembered. It was faster. Stronger. More intelligent. The girl in Room 312 stood silently in the middle of the collapsing hospital. She wasn't afraid. She was watching. Waiting. "Elena," I said. "Yes?" "Get the girl out." "What about you?" "I'll hold it." She stared at me. "You're level seven." "I know." "It's level ten." "I know." "Then you're insane." "I've heard that before." The Void Devourer roared. I charged. I knew I couldn't overpower it. So I wouldn't try. I needed its weakness. In my previous life, the Void Devourer had one. Its eye. But