The Last Guardian Of The Apocalypse

Chapter 8: The Girl Who Saw the Countdown

The hospital lobby suddenly became eerily quiet.

Ethan's eyes remained fixed on the crimson numbers floating in the air.

⚠ APOCALYPSE COUNTDOWN

71:41:57

The numbers continued decreasing.

71:41:56...

71:41:55...

Cold sweat formed on Ethan's forehead.

"It's real..."

The mysterious young woman standing near the entrance slowly raised her head.

Her beautiful amber eyes locked onto the crimson countdown.

She frowned, and whispered shockingly

"...what!! the apocalypse is really coming in 3 days time."

Ethan's pupils shrank.

"She really can see it!"

DING!

The System suddenly chimed.

Hidden Quest Activated.

Objective: get information from the woman

Reward:

$5,000

Basic Appraisal Skill

10 Guardian Points

Hidden Reward: ????

Time Limit:

10 Minutes.

Before Ethan could move...

Lily stepped directly into his path.

"Oh? Looking at another girl already?"

Her sarcastic voice echoed through the lobby.

"So that's how quickly you moved on?"

Her three friends giggled.

One of them folded her arms.

"Men are all the same."

Lily walked closer until she was only a few inches away.

"You couldn't even look at me just now..."

"...but you're staring at another woman?"

Ethan sighed inwardly.

"She's making this difficult."

He simply walked past her again.

No anger.

No argument.

No explanation.

Lily spun around and shouted.

"Ethan!, you are now going after rich women..... how shameful."

He kept walking.

" what about you that left me for some rich spoilt brat , you are here thinking you can judge me, what insolence."

"You've become really good at pretending!"

she shouted behind him

Still...

He never looked back.

For the first time since dumping him...

Lily felt a strange pain in her chest.

"Why... doesn't he care anymore?"

The mysterious young woman had already reached the elevator.

The doors began closing.

"Damn!"

Ethan sprinted.

"Wait!"

Just before the doors shut...

He slipped through the narrowing gap.

The elevator doors closed.

Inside...

Only the two of them remained.

Silence.

The woman calmly looked at the floor indicator.

She seemed completely unbothered.

Ethan scratched the back of his head awkwardly not knowing how to start the conversation.

After moments of awkwardness he finally gathered the courage to speak.

"Um..."

"I know this sounds strange..."

"...but can you see the countdown too?"

The woman finally turned toward him.

Instead of answering...

She asked her own question.

"Who are you?"

"Ethan."

"My name is Ethan Cole."

She stared into his eyes for several seconds.

Then she softly whispered,

"So..."

"The Guardian has finally awakened, but he is this weak and silly."

Ethan's heart skipped a beat.

"You know about Guardians?"

She realized she'd said too much.

"...Forget I said anything."

The elevator stopped.

Ding!

The doors opened.

She stepped outside.

Ethan quickly followed.

"Wait!"

"At least tell me your name!"

The young woman paused.

Without turning around, she answered,

"...Sophia."

Then she disappeared around the corner.

DING!

Hidden Quest Completed.

Rewards Received:

$5,000 Transferred

Basic Appraisal Skill Acquired

A warm sensation spread through Ethan's eyes.

The System spoke.

Appraisal Skill Activated.

You may now inspect basic information about people and objects.

Ethan looked toward the hallway where Sophia had disappeared.

Instinctively, he activated the skill.

A translucent panel appeared.

Name: Sophia

Age: ???

Level: ???

Race: ???

Identity: ACCESS DENIED

Warning: Authority Too Low.

"What?"

"I can't even see her level?"

The System answered.

Host's current authority is insufficient.

Increase Guardian Rank to unlock additional information.

Ethan became even more curious.

"Who exactly is she?"

Meanwhile...

Outside the hospital...

Sophia stood beside a black sedan.

She looked up at the crimson countdown once more.

Her usually calm face was filled with worry.

She took out an old silver pendant from her pocket.

Inside the pendant...

Was a faded photograph.

One side showed a little girl smiling brightly.

The other side...

Showed a young boy.

Although the picture was blurry...

The boy looked strangely familiar.

Sophia gently touched the photo.

"...Please still be alive."

Then she got into the car.

It drove away.

Back inside the hospital...

Ethan's phone vibrated.

Credit Alert

+$5,000.00

Current Balance:

$15,003.27

He smiled.

"So the money really is real."

Before he could leave...

The System suddenly projected a glowing world map in front of him.

Tiny red dots began appearing across different countries.

One...

Ten...

Hundreds...

Thousands...

The dots multiplied at an alarming speed.

Ethan frowned.

"What are those?"

The System's voice had never sounded so serious.

Guardian Alert.

The first dimensional cracks have begun appearing across Earth.

Estimated Time Until Global Catastrophe:

71 Hours, 29 Minutes.

Then another notification appeared.

Main Story Mission Unlocked.

Prepare for the End of the World.

Just as Ethan was trying to process everything...

A new message flashed in blood-red letters.

URGENT!

The first Dimensional Crack has appeared...

Less than 500 meters from your current location.

Ethan's breathing stopped.

"Five hundred meters?"

The System displayed one final line.

"Host... run they are here for you."

End of Chapter 8

what do you think is coming after Ethan?

do you think Sofia is a friend or a foe or an enemy?