System Rebirth: Lucas thrives in the Endless Winter

1. Not the same fool they knew

Lucas's body jolted as if being electrified, and his eyes shot open. He gasped for breath and looked up just in time to see a hand coming towards his face. The slap landed and echoed.

“Why do you always do this?” yelled his mother.

His cheeks stinging, he looked around in astonishment, breathing heavily.

He stood in the Vales Mansion main living room, which had somehow transformed to what it was before the winter hit the world. All the furniture and every other thing were in place, devoid of frost and cold.

Three people stood in the room with him—his father, mother and…Brian.

Lucas's hand shook upon sighting Brian. They were all dressed in casual clothing that shouldn't be worn unless you're asking for death and hypothermia. Then he noticed that he was also dressed differently, in a white shirt and black worn-out jeans, his jacket nowhere to be found.

But the strangest thing out of all these was the summer sun rays entering through the windows and touching Lucas with warmth he hadn't felt for a long time.

Lucas frowned. Wasn't he supposed to be dead?

Minutes ago, he laid outside on snow-covered ground in front of the mansion. Snow fell from the sky calmly as if a blizzard didn't just happen few minutes ago.

A knife was stuck in Lucas's lower back. His mother's and father's dead bodies lay nearby, already turning white from the cold. There were no zombies around but it was only for a matter of time.

Their killer, Brian, bent down to his face.

“What made you think you could take me on? I have your parents wrapped around my fingers. Taking you down is no big deal.” He laughed. “Dying by the hands of your own parents. Tragic, right?”

Lucas shuddered, haunted by the fact that his own parents held him down while Brian stabbed him.

“Hmph. Some parents you got. They'd have been good servants for me, but I don't plan on sharing my resources with anyone.”

Lucas spoke with a croaky voice. “You mean my resources?”

“Would it matter after you die?” Brian patted Lucas's face. “You know, your foolishness amazes me. After everything your so-called parents did to you, you still cared for them. How stupid of you. If you had just left, you wouldn't be in this situation. But hey, at least I got your goodies before your foolishness caught up to you.”

Lucas gritted his teeth. “You'll pay for this.”

“Who will stop me? You should be more worried about yourself.”

Brian looked up as he heard a twig break, followed by snarls of what sounded like wild animals.

“Oh, they're here. I hope your zombie form will be as foolish as you.”

Brian laughed and rushed into the mansion.

From the alleyway opposite the mansion, four people burst out and rushed towards Lucas. Their skins were blue with a tint of white and their lips were covered in fresh blood. They snarled like hungry beasts, charging towards Lucas.

The thick snow on the ground slowed their movement but Lucas, drained of energy and filled with pain from the stab, could do nothing as they pounced on him.

A pungent rotting smell filled his nose. The first zombie bit into his neck. Lucas screamed in pain and agony. The others sank their teeth into his arms and thighs, tearing him apart. Blood gushed out of his body, forming a warm pool beneath him.

Tears streamed from his eyes. Brian was right. He was the biggest fool on earth. None of this would have happened if he had just left this god-damned family. All of this was a price for his foolishness.

As he felt something take over his body, he regretted his past actions and wished Brian pain and agony for the rest of his life.

Then everything turned black and he found himself here all of a sudden.

Did he die? Maybe this was the afterlife. But was the afterlife meant to look like the Vales living room?

A sharp pain hit his head. He hissed and pressed his forehead, then a blue screen appeared before his eyes. A robotic voice spoke in his head.

[Memory Transfer Protocol: Successful]

[System Integration: Successful]

[Congratulations, you have activated NOVA Survival System]

“Huh?” he said in confusion. What was this strange screen?

As if reading his mind, the voice spoke

again.

[I was awakened at the point of your death and took you back five days before the apocalypse started.]

What? He had been reborn?

The system continued.

[My main purpose is to ensure your survival when the apocalypse comes again in this lifetime. I will assign you quests to carry out at unspecified times. Complete them to gain Survival Points and items, and increase your chances of survival.]

Lucas stood still, processing what he read. As if being reborn wasn't shocking enough, he also got a system. Was this actually real? He had a lot of questions.

“What’s wrong with you?” said his mother, infuriated by how Lucas just stood there.

Lucas snapped back into the present and stared at all of them in the face. His mother stood in front of him, her face a mask of rage. His father sat on the couch shaking his head in disappointment while Brian stood beside Lucas with a mischievous smile on his face.

Everyone in this room was responsible for his death in his previous life—Brian, his killer and number one enemy since his return to the Vales mansion, and his so-called parents who never believed him and would curse and beat him at the slightest accusation from Brian.

He had tried to win their approval but look where that got him. They believed Brian when he told them he was bitten. They held him down while Brian stabbed his back. Despite going out in danger to get resources for them, they betrayed him. Lucas's chest tightened in rage.

This time, he won't be the same fool as in his past life. And he'll settle the score with them.

His father, Dean, stood up and picked the black whip sitting on the armrest of the couch.

“I thought by now you'd have learned but you keep proving me wrong,” said Dean. “No matter how long it takes, I'll whip you till you get some sense.”

He flung the whip at Lucas.

But as it neared his shoulders, Lucas caught it. It caused some pain in his hand, but it was nothing compared to what it would have felt like if it had landed on his arm.

Dean stared at him in shock. “You—”

Lucas pulled the whip away from his hand. Dean stumbled forward, nearly falling to the ground.

Their eyes widened. This wasn’t how things went. Normally, Lucas would have started begging for mercy on his knees. Why was he different now?

Dean's face twisted. “Have you gone crazy?”

He approached Lucas.

Lucas slashed the whip on the ground as Dean was about to take another step. Dean flinched and jumped back.

Lucas glared at him. “Take one more step and I’ll go for your head.”

“How dare you disrespect your father? What is this behavior?” His mother, Jasmine, yelled.

“Should I just stand like a fool while you abuse me?” asked Lucas.

“What abuse? You broke Brian's watch. Do you know how much those costs? We're punishing you like any normal parent would.”

Brian's watch? Lucas glanced at Brian, who still looked shocked at Lucas's sudden change.

Lucas recalled what all this was about. This was the day Brian accused him of breaking his new silver wristwatch.

Lucas chuckled. “Normal parents? You both are dummies if you think you're normal.”

“How dare you?” yelled Dean.

“What normal parent believes anything blindly and attacks their child?”

“Don't make us sound like bad parents. If you will just stop causing problems for us, we wouldn't have to do this,” Dean said.

“Have you ever seen me cause the said problem? No. You just believe any nonsense Brian spits.”

“Why wouldn't we? Brian is a good son. He never lies, unlike you.”

Lucas rolled his eyes. They couldn't fathom the idea of Brian doing anything horrible in their heads. He was their ‘golden child’.

Brian put on a mask of sadness and spoke. “Lucas, I understand you felt jealous because dad got me a new watch. But you didn't have to damage it. I could have shared it with you if you had just asked.”

Lucas faced him, irritated. He was playing the good son act that makes his foolish parents swoon over and do anything for him.

“You dirty liar. Did I really break your watch?”

“I-I saw you—”

Lucas's face hardened. He slashed the whip at Brian's left arm.

“What do you think you are doing?” Brian screamed in pain.

Lucas slashed the whip again, hitting his legs this time. “Again, did I break your watch?”