The apocalypse has arrived. I carry multiple special abilities and am humanity's hope. However, my wife tears those powers out of me for the sake of her true love.

I'm in unbearable pain. I beg her to stop, telling her I'll die. But she doesn't care at all. "Why are you so selfish? You have so many abilities and won't even give one to Ed. Stop being so dramatic. Why do you get to be the hero while my Ed stays an ordinary person?"

What she doesn't know is that each special ability is like a heart—take it away, and the person dies.

In the final second before my consciousness slipped away, my mind was filled with nothing but my wife's ice-cold gaze.

Savannah Lane, the woman I had loved desperately for seven years, had just killed me for another man. That soul-shattering pain drowned out even the agony of having my special abilities ripped from my body.

I didn't understand. What had I ever done to her to deserve such cruelty?

When the apocalypse hit, I'd thrown myself into every dangerous mission so she could live better. I came home covered in blood and wounds more times than I could count. All I got in return, however, was cold-blooded murder.

I let out my last unwilling breath and died with resentment.

Maybe my resentment was too strong, because the next thing I knew, I was trailing after Savannah in the form of a spirit.

She was in the lab, her face glowing with joy as she handed the vial containing my stolen special ability to her true love, Edmund Colson.

She said, "Ed, here it is—the special ability I got for you. It's the strongest lightning-based ability there is, so don't worry."

I only let out a bitter, silent laugh. She really was willing to go all out for him. Not only did she strip me of my special abilities, but she'd also picked the strongest one I had.

She'd never once gone to this much trouble for me.

Edmund's face lit up. He pulled Savannah into his arms. "Sav, I don't even know how to thank you. Once I have this special ability, I can go out on missions every day. I'll give you all the supplies I get."

Savannah blushed. "Ed, your safety is what matters most. I'll love anything you give me."

He sighed, putting on a self-deprecating look. "But no matter what, I'll never compare to Chase. He's the captain and can bring back all sorts of supplies. I—"

She couldn't bear hearing him put himself down and hastily cut him off. "So what? In my heart, anything from you is the best. I don't care about a single thing Chase has ever brought back."

Savannah's words struck me like a sledgehammer to the chest.

Life after the apocalypse wasn't easy, but I'd refused to let her suffer, even just a little. Every time I went out on a mission, I fought on the front lines, slaying zombies like a madman just to earn more points. With more points, I could trade for more supplies for her.

Even with multiple special abilities, there were times I ran out of strength. Getting injured was routine, but every wound felt worth it if it meant giving Savannah a safe, comfortable life.

Every time I rushed home, excited to show her what I'd managed to bring back, she would only spare the things a cold glance. She'd never once looked moved, never once asked if I was okay. Yet Edmund only had to feed her empty promises to make her melt.

Perhaps that was the difference between being loved and not being loved at all.

Edmund's eyes glinted. He feigned worry as he asked, "Sav, won't Chase come after me when he wakes up?"

Savannah frowned, her expression turning frigid. "What right does he have to come after you? I just took one of his special abilities. It's not like I killed him.

"You can also be someone everyone looks up to, Ed. You're just short of a special ability. Chase has so many, so sharing one with you is the least he can do. How can he be so selfish?"

I wanted to tell her that I really was dead. And without me, the entire human race was about to face extinction.

Since the apocalypse began, humanity had all but vanished. Seizing another person's special abilities had become disturbingly common.

For an ability wielder, each special ability was as vital as one's heart itself. Even minor damage to it could bring devastating consequences, let alone forcibly ripping it out of the wielder.

I was the person with the most special abilities on the entire planet. I carried the fate of mankind on my shoulders in the fight against the zombie hordes. I spent every waking second on guard against betrayal and watching for knives in the dark.

Yet it never once crossed my mind that the fatal blow would come from Savannah, my own wife.

When she handed me that glass of water, I drank without a shred of suspicion. The next instant, tearing agony exploded through every nerve in my body.

Even then, I didn't suspect her. I thought some enemy had poisoned me. I begged her to call for help.

It was only when she showed no surprise at my reaction and calmly took out the extraction vial that the realization dawned on me. She was the one who'd hurt me.

In that moment, a tidal wave of despair swallowed me whole.

I'd once had a chunk of flesh ripped off by a zombie and hadn't made a sound, but right then, tears rolled down my face. I couldn't tell anymore whether it was the physical pain or the heartbreak that hurt worse.

I made a last-ditch effort to ask for help. I pleaded with Savannah, choking out that I would die. However, she merely thought I was lying because I didn't want to hand over my special ability to Edmund.

I coughed up blood right in front of her.

Savannah was an ordinary person who'd never awakened any power. How could she possibly understand how important the special abilities were? She was convinced I was faking it.

After extracting my special abilities, she turned and walked away without looking back, leaving me only the cold sight of her retreating figure.

And so, wracked with unbearable pain, I died.

Savannah successfully implanted the special ability into Edmund's body.

He couldn't wait to test it. A blinding bolt of lightning erupted from his palm, shattering all the glass in the lab.

His face lit up with wild excitement. "I finally have a special ability! I won't have to live under everyone's scorn anymore!"

He grabbed Savannah's hands and looked into her eyes tenderly. "Sav, without you, I would've been called a useless piece of trash my whole life. You're the most important woman in my life."

She shook her head seriously. "Even without powers, you were never a waste. Those people couldn't see your worth. Chase was just lucky that he awakened so many special abilities. How could he ever compare to you? Now, you have a special ability, too. If you ask me, he should step down as captain and let you have it."

She looked so contemptuous at the mention of me that it was as if I were rotting garbage that she couldn't kick far enough away.

Every word out of her mouth stabbed straight into my heart. I heard it shatter, loud and clear.

Yes, I'd awakened multiple special abilities, but I'd also had to train ten times harder than anyone else. I'd never taken even a single day off.

I'd pushed every single ability to its absolute limit. It was only with my power and strength that I'd earned the captain's position and become humanity's hope.

Each time the zombie wave came, I was the one charging at the front, carving out the peace and safety the survivors now enjoyed.

Yet, Savannah easily reduced it to me being lucky.

Edmund couldn't hide the smug curl of his lips, though he pretended to be modest. "Chase has been captain for years, after all. If I tried to take his spot right away, no one would accept it. For now, I'd be happy just being a regular team member."

At that, I clenched my fists so hard that my knuckles turned white. He'd stolen my special ability and was even dreaming of stealing my position as captain. I couldn't wait to see if he was actually capable of holding it!

Savannah suggested they return to Edmund's place to celebrate, to which he instantly agreed.

As an ordinary person, Edmund had a housing allocation that was barely big enough for one. But the moment the door opened, I was stunned.

The place was packed—canned food stacked to the ceiling, sacks of potatoes, and even rare fresh fruit and green vegetables.

Those supplies were things that would cost even me a fortune in points to redeem. How could an ordinary person like him have all of this?

Then, it hit me. I thought about the supplies back home that seemed to run out suspiciously quickly. I would often reach home exhausted, wanting to cook something, only to find the pantry mysteriously empty again.

When I asked Savannah about it, she would just scold me for being useless and for not bringing back enough food. I'd felt so ashamed that I'd upped the frequency at which I traded for items.

Now, I knew the truth. She'd been taking everything I brought home and giving it to Edmund.

Bitterness flooded my chest. All this time, I'd been played for an absolute fool.