Rebirth in the Age of Eternal Winter

Chapter 2: The First Snowfall Was a Warning

The argument in the supermarket had already escalated into something dangerously close to a fight before Ethan even stepped through the entrance. "You're buying too much! Leave some for others!"

A middle-aged woman stood firmly in front of a shopping cart piled high with instant noodles, bottled water, and canned food, refusing to let it pass.

Her voice trembled with anger, but beneath that anger lay something far deeper, an unmistakable thread of fear.

The man gripping the cart refused to budge, his knuckles tightening around the handle. "I'm paying for it. What business is it of yours?"

"People like you are the reason the shelves get emptied!" she shot back.

"And people like you are the reason I feel the need to stock up in the first place!"

Their voices rose with each exchange, and the tension between them thickened, drawing the attention of nearby customers around them. Others had already begun filling their carts far beyond normal shopping quantities, their movements hurried and restless.

Although no official announcement had been made, the unusual cold and sudden snowfall had already planted unease in the public’s mind.

Ethan slowed his steps as he took in the scene. He remembered this moment clearly.

In his previous life, this was exactly how it began, not with chaos or violence, but with something quieter and far more insidious.

It started with a creeping sense of unease, a feeling people could not quite explain but could not ignore either. Instinct urged them to prepare, yet most still clung to the belief that whatever was happening would soon pass.

Only much later would they realize the truth that the snowfall was never going to stop.

Without hesitation, Ethan grabbed a shopping cart and headed straight for the storage aisles. While others still worried about appearing overly cautious, his movements were efficient and deliberate. He began loading bags of rice, cartons of canned food, vacuum-packed meat, and bottled water into his cart with practiced precision.

Within minutes, the cart was already half full; he did not stop there. Instead, he reached for a second cart and continued gathering supplies.

A young employee noticed him pushing both carts at once and frowned, clearly uncertain whether to intervene. "Sir… are you preparing for a party or something?" the employee asked cautiously.

Ethan offered a faint, noncommittal smile. "Something like that."

The employee hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose not to press further. After all, there were no purchase restrictions in place yet, and customers were still free to buy as much as they pleased.

As Ethan continued loading supplies, his mind worked through a silent checklist. He calculated what he would need to survive the coming months: food that could last at least half a year, fuel, medical supplies, warm clothing, and reliable power sources. He knew he had to prioritize anything that would become impossible to obtain once the temperature dropped further.

With that in mind, he turned toward the generator section. Only three portable generators remained on the shelf. Without hesitation, Ethan placed all three into his cart.

A tall man standing nearby frowned at the sight. "Hey, leave one for others."

Ethan met his gaze calmly, his expression unreadable. "You can order online."

The man looked annoyed, but after a brief pause, he chose not to argue further. For now, people still had a sense of restraint, a thin layer of civility that had not yet been stripped away.

Ethan knew that restraint would not last much longer.

As he pushed his overloaded carts toward the checkout, something unusual near the entrance caught his attention. A group of three men stood together off to the side, quietly observing the flow of customers. Their clothing looked rugged, and their expressions were far too calm compared to the nervous energy that filled the store.

Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly. In his previous life, organized looter groups had begun forming even before the apocalypse fully revealed itself. While most people saw danger, some saw opportunity.

One of the men briefly glanced at Ethan’s carts, his gaze lingering just a moment too long.

Ethan memorized his face without breaking stride, and he completed his purchase without delay. The cashier’s hands trembled slightly as she scanned the towering pile of supplies, her unease growing with each item.

"Sir… are you sure about all this?" she asked softly.

Ethan nodded without hesitation. "I'm sure."

When the final amount appeared on the screen, it was staggering. Ethan paid without the slightest pause. Money would soon lose all meaning, but survival would not.

Outside, the snowfall had intensified. The parking lot was already covered in a thin layer of white, and the temperature had dropped even further. People hurried toward their cars, their breath forming pale clouds in the freezing air.

Ethan began loading the supplies into a rented delivery van he had arranged earlier.

As he worked, he noticed the same three men exiting the supermarket. Their eyes drifted toward him again, their attention lingering in a way that felt deliberate.

This time, Ethan pretended not to notice. Once everything was loaded, he got into the van and drove back toward his apartment.

The roads were unusually quiet, and traffic had slowed as drivers navigated the thin layer of ice forming on the asphalt. Ethan tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his gaze steady.

The cold was worsening faster than expected, and that was not a good sign.

When he arrived at his apartment complex, he found a small crowd gathered near the entrance. Several residents stood together, speaking in anxious tones as they discussed the strange weather. "It’s never been this cold in early December."

"My heater isn’t working properly."

"I heard some areas have already lost power."

Ethan walked past them without joining the conversation, his expression neutral. Even so, he memorized every face.

In his previous life, some of these same people would not remain harmless neighbors; they would become something else entirely.

He carried his supplies upstairs in multiple trips, working quickly and efficiently. Fortunately, most residents were too distracted by the worsening weather to question him.

When he finally closed the door to his apartment, he exhaled slowly, then he raised his hand.

One by one, the supplies vanished as he stored them in his dimensional space. The rice disappeared first, followed by the canned food, the water, and finally the generators. Within minutes, the apartment looked exactly as it had before, as if nothing had ever been brought inside.

Ethan tested the space again. There was still no limit. His gaze darkened slightly.

This ability alone gave him a tremendous advantage, but it was not enough to satisfy him. He remembered something else.

In the later stages of the apocalypse, some survivors had awakened abilities tied to extreme environments. Some gained resistance to the cold, others developed enhanced strength, and a few even manifested elemental powers.

A possibility formed in his mind: What if this storage ability was only the beginning?

As he considered that thought, his phone suddenly vibrated. A message from the apartment group chat appeared on the screen.

Resident 1203: "Is anyone else's power flickering?"

Resident 904: "Yes, mine too."

Resident 1502: "The temperature just dropped again."

Ethan glanced at the thermostat. The indoor temperature had fallen another two degrees. His expression turned serious. The timeline was accelerating.

Then the lights flickered once, then again, before going out entirely. Darkness swallowed the apartment, leaving only the faint gray light filtering through the frozen window.

Ethan stood still, his heart beating slowly but steadily. In his previous life, the first power outage had come three days later.

But now it had happened early. A faint unease crept into his mind. The future was changing. His phone buzzed again.

A new message appeared.

Lena Carter: "Ethan, are you okay? The power just went out."

Ethan replied calmly. "I'm fine."

After a brief pause, another message came through Lena Carter: "I think… something's wrong. My window just froze from the inside."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

He walked toward his own window and examined it closely. The frost had thickened, creeping unnaturally across the surface of the glass.

But that was not what made his expression change. Outside, the snow was no longer falling gently.

The wind had begun to howl, driving the snowfall into violent swirls. The storm had arrived earlier than expected, and it carried with it a sense of something far more ominous.

In the distance, thunder echoed across the frozen sky, yet it did not sound like ordinary thunder. The noise resembled something cracking apart, as if the sky itself were beginning to freeze.