ANMELDEN[Juliet's POV]I jolted awake and gasped heavily for air. I took in the familiar-looking ceiling and bedsheets. I was in the rented apartment I had lived in for three years before the apocalypse.I felt the sun shine on the back of my hand, its warmth feeling so surreal. I picked up my phone resting by my pillow, and the screen lit up. It was July 15th, 2058—seven whole days before the apocalypse happened. I stared blankly into space for five whole minutes before my mind slowly drifted back to reality. I had truly been given a second chance at life. Jeffrey and Lucas had traded their very existence to buy me another chance at life. Intuitively, I tapped into my call history, scrolling through it again and again. Nevertheless, there was no one named "Jeffrey Lewis" or "Lucas Cox".I tapped into my photo album. In the graduation photo, where they had once stood on either side of me, I now stood alone.I sent a message to my best friend. "Do you remember Jeffrey Lewis and
[Juliet's POV]The system continued.[Terms of Sacrifice: You will have to offer up your entire soul, Jeffrey. Upon a successful sacrifice, time will turn back to a week before the apocalypse.][The cost: You and Lucas will cease to exist entirely. Every trace of both of you will be wiped out from all realities. No one will remember either of you, including Juliet.]I froze. As it turned out, Lucas' sacrifice was only in exchange for my soul to be completely restored. And for me to actually be reborn, Jeffrey, too, had to pay the price of having his soul shattered. Jeffrey froze in place. He lifted his head slightly, turning his eyes in the direction to where I was standing. Even though he still couldn't see me, his eyes were accurately set on me. "I'm sorry. I was hoping to be able to make it up to you in the next life, but God isn't giving me the chance to do so. I know you're there. I'm sorry. I am so sorry!" I stared into his eyes, watching pain, regret, and a final gli
[Juliet's POV]A burst of white light flashed, and I opened my eyes once again. I was hovering right over the very spot where I had just died.Hadn't my soul already shattered to nothingness? Before I could even ask my question, a force pulled me right to Jeffrey's side. He was covered in blood after surviving a brutal fight earlier. He was curled up on my bed, murmuring repeatedly, "Lucas… Juliet…"I floated silently next to him, my heart completely devoid of any emotion. Although my feelings were already a thing of the past to me, the agonizing pain of being torn apart by zombies was still etched deep in my soul.Out of the blue, Jeffrey jumped out of bed and began frantically searching for something. He rummaged through every corner, even under the bed. In the end, he found a metal box, which I had kept hidden for three years, in a crack in the bricks in a corner. He smashed the lock open, and a stack of hospital reports fell out, along with a half-written will. I watche
[Third-Person POV]Lucas continued yelling the entire way, gathering all the survivors. "Come with me to get that liar! She must be buried alongside Juliet today!" By relying on their familiarity with the streets in the city, they soon cornered Alison at a dead-end alleyway. She was pinned to the ground, her powers completely suppressed by force. Her clothes tore from the friction; she was covered in blood, and the elegance of her days as their "savior" had long vanished. The people dragged her back to the city walls, to the exact spot where Juliet had died. They bound her tightly to a wooden post with ropes, leaving her with absolutely no room to even wiggle."Let me go, all you maniacs!"Enraged shouts came from the crowd. "Maniacs? We are in this situation all because of you!""Ms. Cox was such a nice woman. Yet, you tricked us into causing her death!""Your time is up today!""Kill her! Make her an offering to Ms. Cox!""Wash our sins away with her blood!"Alison's en
[Third-Person POV]The moment the lightning barrier disappeared, zombies swarmed into the city like waves. The survivors who were just crowding around Alison and cheering for her a moment ago had now fallen prey to the clawing zombies."What happened? Why did the lightning barrier disappear?""Alison, what about your powers? Hurry up and save us!""We put so much of our faith in you. You can't leave us behind!"In the midst of the chaos, a man covered in blood fell to his knees out of the blue. He roared, "Have you people forgotten what the system just said? It said Juliet was the host! She was the real savior, not Alison, who is nothing but a liar!" His words came like a bolt from the blue, a violent yet instant wake-up call for those who were blinded by terror."He's right. The system said it was Juliet.""She lied to us. She was the one who pushed Ms. Cox to her death!""Ms. Cox wouldn't have died if not for her. The protective shield wouldn't have disappeared either!""M
[Juliet's POV]The music at the celebration party continued. Surrounded by a crowd, Alison basked in the crowd's repetitive praises.Suddenly, a deafening boom came from the city walls. Overlapping growls and roars of zombies tore through the atmosphere.Terror erupted instantaneously. People in the crowd screamed, "It's a swarm of zombies! A massive swarm of zombies!" A guard ran over, staggering along the way. "The lightning barrier on the right of the base has been breached. There's a massive gap. Zombies are coming through soon!" Jeffrey's face fell. He leapt to his feet while Lucas tightened his grasp on his weapon, wearing a tense expression. Alison went pale with fright. She hid behind both men immediately, frantically explaining, "How could this be when I've clearly reinforced it? I… I've exhausted my powers for today. You guys have to figure something else out!" Someone called out, "Quick! Get Juliet out here!" The guards rushed toward the dark cells immediately a







