: Ring

However, like before, she didn't rush to make any judgment.

Whether she was hallucinating or everything was a setup was yet to be known.

Maybe she didn't die, the Ravencroft family found her, and now they are trying to mislead her by manipulating her mind, so that they could dig out her superpower crystal again.

Yet it didn't explain why she was feeling physical pain. Even if they manipulate her, she will only feel mental pain, not physical pain.

Suspicion and uncertainty crept into Ivy's eyes.

The mother raised her hand to slap Ivy, but Ivy caught her wrist mid-air.

"Don't," she said coldly. "Try that again, and you won't get your hand back."

The room froze. For a brief moment, silence stretched thick between them.

"Ivy... what's gotten into you?" Isla's father's brow furrowed.

Ivy stared at him with hatred.

Hypocritical b*stard. Magnus Ravencroft.

Did he truly think she had forgotten what he had done to her 8 years ago?

Magnus flinched, seeing the deep malice in Ivy's eyes.

When does the innocent and timid Ivy transform into a bloodthirsty killer?

If looks could kill, he would have scattered in fragments of an atom's size.

"Let's leave. Give her the time to figure out everything before punishing her," Magnus said, staring into Ivy's eyes.

His eyes were telling Ivy to behave before he lost his temper.

Isla and her mother didn't argue; Ivy's crazed look scared them.

Once they left, Ivy looked around and found a mirror. With hesitant steps, Ivy reached the mirror and stared at her reflection.

Disbelief and surprise flashed in her eyes. 

"How.... no... why do I look so young?" Ivy muttered, pinching her cheeks.

A terrifying possibility occurred to her. 

"Have I been reborn? Back to the time when the apocalypse was still about to arrive?" The mere thought brought delight to Ivy.

It took her 15 minutes to adjust to the realization.

"So...I still haven't lost them...not yet..." She muttered.

If that was true... 

Ivy's heart leapt with joy. However, her joy was interrupted by the roar of a zombie, followed by the panicked voice,

"Hide! Hide! The zombies are here again!"

Huh?

"Again? What is the date?" Ivy muttered as she looked around her room. The calendar caught her attention.

She covered the distance with a frown on her face and picked it up.

"8th May 2140?"

Disappointment and sadness flooded her senses.

Even though she had traveled back in time, she was still 3 months late.

The apocalypse arrived on Earth on 10 February 2140. 

Though she had traveled back 10 years, there wasn't much she could do.

Humans already know the cruel heart lurking underneath their kind's skin and refuse to show any mercy to anyone.

Ivy closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"No...now isn't the time to be disappointed. I have been reborn to this date...there must be some reason, right? There has to be! Otherwise, why would I be reborn on this specific date?"

The more Ivy thought, the more logical the argument felt. Ivy sat on the bed, recalling all the events that would take place in the first year of the apocalypse.

Her fingers tapped against her knees.

She tried to recall any strange events mentioned.

Suddenly, her eyes opened, and she remembered a peculiar event.

8th May 2140...

An internet user had claimed he had seen a strange light nearing the Brimstone Mountain. 

In her previous life, Ivy was angered by Isla's unreasonable request and Isla's parents backing her.

She had run away and happened to stumble in the Brimstone Mountains. There she had found a ring.

The ring was made of unknown black metal and had a blood red rhinestone. It gave off ominous yet mysterious vibes.

The tempted Ivy had picked it up from the box. When she returned home, Magnus and Isla's mother had made Isla apologize and even swore to never be biased.

For the next few days, they even made Isla and Damian do all the work.

Ivy was thrilled. 

On the 4th day, though, they asked Ivy to hand the ring to Damian.

What had they said at the time?

"Ivy, this ring is cursed. It originates from China. It contains a lot of Yin. According to the celestial masters, females have Yin, and excess Yin could lead to a complete collapse of the soul.

But men, especially those with strong Yang bodies, can suppress its influence. So be a good girl and give it to Damian for his safety... and yours."

At the time, she had hesitated—deep down, she had felt something was wrong. The ring didn't feel cursed.

However, she was proven wrong.

: Superior Being

That same night, when she was tossing and turning in bed due to being unable to sleep, she heard a voice,

"Do you want to become a superior being? I can help you. Just bind with me."

Ivy was scared and felt her body turning cold. Without hesitation, she took off the ring.

The next morning, she had handed over the ring and even warned,

"Mother, this ring is truly evil. Last night, I heard a voice asking me if I wanted to become a superior being. If Damian also wears it, he would hear the voice, too."

What did Seraphina Ravencroft, aka Isla's mother, do?

She laughed and agreed.

In her previous life, due to her timid nature, Ivy watched as Damian wore the ring, awakened a superpower after 1 month, and built his own mercenary group.

The next time she saw Damian, he had completely transformed into someone new. Sharp, conniving, calculating, indifferent, intelligent, and powerful.

Just like a being above all humans.

In this life, she would seize the chance and become a superior being. She would protect her family and her lover from the shadow.

As for acknowledging them?

"No... I will not go near them... I am cursed...whoever comes close to me...dies a horrible death. Silas died while saving, and my parents too." Ivy muttered softly.

Thinking about Silas, Ivy's heart skipped a beat.

If she truly traveled back in time, then...Silas should still be alive, right?

"I will see him from a distance... I won't get close to him..." Her words were laced with hope and fear.

Joy surged in her heart as she walked out of her room.

Luck was on her side, since her fake family had already left.

Only three months had passed since the arrival of zombies. Compared to the desolate world a decade later, the current world was still a heaven for Ivy.

At the beginning of the emergence of zombies, the governments of different countries took action and imposed a lockdown.

The effect was great. Zombies reduced.

At least from the government news, the situation seemed optimistic.

Ivy knew better, though.

Within a day, the order would eventually collapse when the reality that the government and military so desperately try to hide would appear.

Zombies weren't reducing in numbers. They were increasing.

And no labs could even experiment on the zombie virus, let alone find an antidote.

5 days later, the zombie virus would spread even more violently.

And it was because of the Power Rain which will happen two days later.

Power Rain... as the term suggests, had some unique bacteria in its water. Once these bacteria entered humans, they could either turn them into zombies or make them ability users.

After the Power Rain, more and more zombies would rise. The lockdown will become ineffective, and chaos will spread.

As Ivy covered the stairs in a hurry, a familiar voice echoed in her ears.

"Silas, I don't want to sow discord, but that girl Ivy is too greedy and a troublemaker!" 

Ivy recognized the voice.

The person was Henry Parker.

One of the reasons why Ivy hated Henry so much was that he was a person with a straightforward personality and never sugarcoated his words.

In her past life, before Silas's death, Henry always taunted Ivy.

But after Silas's death, Henry turned silent. He ignored Ivy and only protected her out of responsibility.

It was only after Silas's death did Ivy realized that though Silas's subordinates hated her, they never held any malice toward her.

They hated her purely because she had exploited him.

But currently, Ivy didn't care about anything. She was standing at the last step and could see Silas's silhouette from a distance.

Her heart pounded, and the longing in her heart intensified.

She wanted to run toward him and hug him. Tell him how much she had missed him.

A lump formed in Ivy's throat, and a choked sob escaped from her mouth.

As if sensing her pain, Silas turned around.

Ivy quickly turned around and pulled the hood of her hoodie. Her hands trembled, and it took a lot of strength for her not to turn around and see him.

She doesn't deserve him.

A cursed...broken...vengeful woman like her...doesn't deserve him.

She was a rat... a rat that should look toward the light but not taint them.

"Silas, I am talking to you! You know how supplies are precious now! And yet you handed out all of your portion of supplies to her! Can you not be so blind?"