Damian Cross: Almighty Apocalypse System

Chapter 1 - The Fire Ring

Damien stood in the center of the Whitmore family's grand living room with his hands clasped together in front of him and his heart pounding so hard he could hear it in his ears.

He had been waiting for this day for three years now, three long years of sitting inside four walls while the world outside stayed frozen and deadly, three years of working himself to exhaustion every single night just so he could finally earn what they promised him when he first came to this house broken and desperate.

The fire ring.

That small piece of metal that would let him walk outside again without his lungs freezing in his chest, without his skin cracking open from the cold, without dying like so many others had died since the apocalypse came and turned the entire world into a frozen graveyard.

The frozen apocalypse had struck without warning five years ago and it swallowed cities whole, it killed billions in the first month alone, and if it were not for the top families who worked day and night to create the fire rings, if it were not for the power that got distributed to the top families so they could survive and rebuild, there would be nothing left of humanity at all.

But Damien had not been one of the lucky ones.

He did not awaken any power when the rings were first handed out, he did not get strength or speed or fire or ice like some people did, all he got was a little bit of intelligence, just enough to understand formulas and chemicals and how to mix things together in ways that other people could not figure out.

And that intelligence was the only reason he was still alive.

It was the only reason the Whitmore family let him stay in their house after his father froze to death in the first wave of the apocalypse and after his mother died two years later because they refused to give her a fire ring even though they had extras, even though they could have saved her, they chose to sell that ring to another wealthy family instead because it was worth more money that way.

Damien had been angry about that for a long time, he still was angry, but what could he do? He had no power, no money, no family left, and if he wanted to survive he had to swallow that anger and keep working for them because they were the only ones who could give him what he needed.

And now after three years of staying inside their house like a prisoner, after three years of barely seeing outside, after three years of mixing chemicals and testing formulas and working until his hands shook, today was finally the day.

Today they were going to give him his fire ring.

Damien looked across the room at his wife's father, Richard Whitmore, a tall man with graying hair and a sharp suit who stood near the fireplace with his arms crossed and his eyes on Damien like he was studying something small and unimportant.

Richard's wife Margaret stood beside him with her hands folded neatly in front of her and a thin smile on her face that did not reach her eyes.

And then there was Clara.

Damien's wife.

She stood off to the side near the window with her phone in her hand and her blonde hair pulled back into a perfect ponytail, she looked calm, she looked beautiful, she looked like she always did, like nothing in the world could ever bother her.

Damien tried to catch her eye but she was staring down at her phone screen and tapping something with her thumb.

Richard cleared his throat and Damien's attention snapped back to him immediately.

"So Damien," Richard said slowly, his voice smooth and measured like he was talking to a child. "It seems you are very eager to get your ring now."

Damien nodded quickly, too quickly maybe, but he could not help it. "Yes sir, I have been waiting for this, I have worked hard for this, I did everything you asked me to do."

Richard smiled slightly. "You did, you worked very hard, I will give you that."

Damien felt his chest tighten with hope, he could almost feel the weight of the ring already, he could already imagine walking outside again and breathing cold air without it killing him, he could imagine going somewhere, anywhere, just to feel like a person again instead of a tool locked inside a house.

But then Clara's phone buzzed.

The sound was loud in the quiet room and everyone turned to look at her.

Clara's eyes went wide as she stared down at the screen, her lips parted slightly and then she looked up at her father with something bright and sharp in her expression. "Dad, it worked."

Richard straightened immediately. "The drug?"

"Yes," Clara said, her voice rising with excitement now. "The results just came in, the drug passed every single test, they are calling it a complete success, they said it is the first of its kind and it is going to prevent ice frost completely, not just reduce it, completely."

Margaret gasped and put a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God."

Richard's face split into a wide grin and he let out a short laugh. "Do you know what this means?"

"We are going to be worth trillions," Clara said, her eyes gleaming. "Not millions, not billions, trillions, this is the only drug in the world that can stop ice frost and we own it."