Jyera World Apocalypse

The last thing Lucien heard was his mother’s terrifying screams, which saddened him even more than when his best friend William died. It was the first time he had seen his father appear so weak, and his mother so sad and vulnerable... He thought that with his transformation into a zombie, this would be the end of his visions of the first apocalypse. But it seemed he was wrong...

His mind wandered for a long time in an endless darkness; that place was strange yet familiar. Was it because he had already died once? His doubts led him to ask himself many questions... Was this what lay beyond death? A place where time seemed stagnant, and there was only darkness filled with nothing? Was this really his destiny in the first apocalypse? What was the system’s purpose in showing him all this? What was his role in the current apocalypse?

When he regained his sight, finally leaving that empty darkness, he was no longer observing himself in the first apocalypse. Now, he was observing everything through his parents’ lives...

Lorenzo Rivero lay unconscious on a large double bed. He no longer looked like a centenarian on the verge of death. He had regained all his youth and health, except for his long blond hair, which now had several white strands mixed in.

Lucien’s mother, Catherine Rivero, still appeared to be a beautiful woman at 37. She was now wearing a discreet black dress, her light brown hair tied in a bun, but her current sad expression, deep dark circles under her eyes, pale white skin, and lifeless eyes made her seem much older than she actually was...

Lorenzo Rivero slowly opened his eyes, looking lost, still not understanding where he was. Upon finding his wife beside him, with her current haggard appearance, Lorenzo’s eyes filled with tears.

"I’m so sorry, darling, I—"

"Shh, you almost died, and I know you did your best... It was a miracle we managed to bring you back..."

Only then did Lorenzo calmly look at his hands, and aside from the slightly graying hair, he realized that his body had returned to normal. No. He hadn’t just returned to normal; his body now exuded an abnormal strength and vitality. It was an even stronger power than when he was just a level 3 mutant human. He felt he could do things previously unimaginable, without needing to hurt himself or use his life as a cost.

"This... How did I become a level 4 mutant human?"

"It was a surprise to me too. I just fed you a level 4 crystal, hoping the crystal’s vitality would help with the side effects of your Universal Force, and then this happened. It seems you had already met all the criteria to advance... You are the third level 4 mutant human registered among the Jyreans. The first was me, and the second is a member of our group you don’t yet know..."

"Lucien, I want to see him, with my current power, I—maybe now... I can actually heal him!"

"Lucien will be fine. I have a plan to heal him, but I need time. For now, I managed to stop the effects of his transformation in time... For now, focus on getting well. The changes between a level 3 and a level 4 are enormous; you need to adapt to them first."

Getting up from her seat, Catherine turned her back and went to a nearby table to get something for Lorenzo.

"Here, keep this. When you’ve finished reading the details and can walk on your own, come see me in the next room."

Catherine Rivero handed Lorenzo a black folder, then approached him, kissed him on the cheek, and left the room, leaving her husband alone.

When Lorenzo opened the folder, he saw a file tagged "Top Secret" with the subtitle "Level 4 Mutant Humans."

Turning the page, Lorenzo confirmed what he currently felt.

-There are two advancement requirements to become a Level 4 mutant human:

1: Complete mastery of the Universal Force obtained at Level 3.

2: Consumption of 1 crystal from a Level 4 mutant, or ten crystals from Level 3 mutants.

Note: Although requirement 2 is easy to complete with the current hunting power of humans in the Capital Aethoria, requirement 1 has been the most difficult due to the Jyreans being pioneers in the use of the Universal Force.

-Level 4 mutant humans gain such a great longevity enhancement that the amount of life extension is currently unknown.

-Level 4 mutant humans no longer show exhaustion when using their Universal Force, having such high natural regeneration that it almost seems like an inexhaustible source of power.

-Level 4 mutant humans possess such powerful natural regenerative capabilities that it is almost impossible to kill them without the destruction of their bodies or decapitation.

-Level 4 mutant humans possess physical strength, intelligence, and agility several times superior to that of Level 3 mutant humans.

-Level 4 mutant humans possess senses that are several times beyond those of a Level 3 mutant human; specifically, they appear to have something that has also been called a sixth sense.

Note: Studies are being conducted on this new sensory ability, but there has been no significant progress at the moment.

-Level 4 mutant humans can fly freely through the skies, but the details of how this ability works have not yet been confirmed.

-Level 4 mutant humans gain a new ability after their ascension.

1: In the case of Catherine Rivero, she gained control of a new Universal Force, becoming the first recorded user of Dual Universal Forces.

2: In the case of former soldier Brendan Rivers, he gained a new ability that resembles a mental enhancement, giving him telepathic abilities that are not yet fully understood.

3: In the case of Lorenzo Rivero, there has been no record of his new ability yet.

-Level 4 mutant humans demonstrate complete immunity to diseases and all types of infections, including the ZY Virus. But this immunity comes from the specific variant of the pathogen they carry.

Note: Currently, a cure for the initial airborne variant of the virus has been created and is in the testing phase.

When Lorenzo read the last two pieces of information in the file, he was shocked, but finally saw some hope of saving Lucien.

With effort, care, and a certain strangeness in his balance with his new body, he slowly got out of bed and went to the next room.

"Darling! I have an idea—"

Lorenzo froze as soon as he entered the room and interrupted himself. Inside, Catherine was sitting in an office chair observing several monitors on a wall; among the many monitors were three that were larger than the others.

One of these three monitors showed Lucien’s frozen body inside a glass cocoon with a blue liquid. His eyes were closed, but it was still possible to see the terrible wound on his shoulder along with frozen blood.

The other two screens displayed hundreds or perhaps thousands of blue cocoons with humans, and in some of them, there were no humans, but zombies.

"They are..."

"Yes, they are all humans infected with the ZY virus, just like our son..."

"As you may have read, we developed a vaccine based on the immunity that we level 4 mutant humans possess, but for now, it only works on those who were infected by the initial airborne variant. We believe that with time... Maybe—just maybe, we can ensure that it works on the variant of the virus that comes from bites..."

"Is that why you didn’t kill these people?"

"Yes, we believe that one day we will be able to cure them all..."

"Are you sure that’s possible? I made many attempts when Lucien was bitten... And it was as if that thing had a will of its own, attached to the host with an unwavering will..."

"If that’s not possible to cure my son, then I will do something very dangerous... With incalculable consequences... Something that might cost me my life..."

Without letting Lorenzo answer, Catherine looked at her husband and then turned her attention to the screens. With a single wave of her hand from left to right, she caused all the image transmission screens to crack and explode, sending sparks of fire and glass in all directions...

"Darling?"

Shocked, Lorenzo took a step back, not understanding why his wife caused such destruction, but before he could ask, Catherine’s same open hand that had destroyed everything reversed its movement, waving her palm back from right to left.

And then, everything in the room seemed to freeze in time, the shards of glass on the floor floating back towards the screens along with the sparks of flame, and then as if nothing had happened. All the screens lit up again as if everything had returned to how it was a few seconds ago, and all the destruction had vanished.

Lorenzo knew that this wasn’t just some kind of electronic repair, as his wife had said earlier when they communicated by radio... He knew that her Universal Force allowed her to control time itself...

Lorenzo then murmured:

"Perhaps there really is hope..."