Mourning in the Bastion
The dawn after the battle brought no relief—only a dense, bitter silence.The final damage report was brutal: fifty members of the bastion had died. Fifty lives extinguished in defense of a shared dream.Ten percent of their population.
When Rob received the report, it felt as if a slab of granite had crushed his chest.Victoria, at his side, squeezed his hand tightly. No one spoke. There were no words to cover such a loss.
The Memorial Monolith
Following Marcelo's spontaneous suggestion, the survivors began constructing a monolith in the center of the bastion.They used polished black stone—resilient, like their will.
On the monolith's surface, they engraved the names of each fallen soul: an eternal testimony to their sacrifice.
As the community worked in silence, Rob watched, feeling every strike of the chisel like a mark on his own soul.
At sunset, when they finished, everyone gathered before the monument.An improvised vigil. Torches lit. Faces hardened by pain.
Rob stepped forward, climbed onto a small platform, and spoke:
—"Today we honor those who gave everything so that we could see a new dawn.We will not forget them.We will not allow their sacrifice to be in vain. Every stone we lay, every enemy we defeat, will be in their honor. We are their living legacy. We are their hope made flesh."
Rob's voice, usually firm, trembled slightly at the end.But he did not falter. Not this time.
Victoria followed him.Her voice, sweet yet firm, cut through the night:
—"In each of us lives the echo of their love, their courage. Every child that laughs, every elder that rests safely behind our walls, is a tribute to them. We are not alone.We never will be."
Some wept openly. Others embraced in silent solidarity.
That night, beneath the starry sky, the community did not just mourn. They united. They forged something harder than steel: an unbreakable family.
The State of the World
While wounds healed and morale was rebuilt within the bastion, the outside world continued to collapse.
Reports arriving through fragmented satellite communications were chilling:
Entire countries had ceased to exist.
Small islands and coastal nations had been wiped off the map.
Major cities—New York, London, Tokyo, São Paulo—were either plunged into chaos or reduced to ruins.
Yet not all was despair.
In the midst of collapse, figures capable of standing against the end of the world emerged. Heroes the surviving humanity began calling The Guardians of the World.
The New Guardians
Thea - France In Paris, where the Seine River had been claimed by mutated aquatic beasts, a young woman with golden hair and sky-bright eyes rose.Her S-rank ability, Ice Magic, froze entire hordes within seconds, creating living walls of frost. On battlefields whitened by death, Thea was an invincible queen of winter.
Alex - United States In Washington, as the Pentagon fell and the streets of America burned, Alex appeared. Stern-faced, with a fiery gaze, his S-rank ability Ten Thousand Weapons allowed him to summon an endless arsenal of spectral weaponry.He became the symbol of patriotism and indomitable will, helping prevent the total fall of the East.
Lee Ming - China From the ruins of Beijing rose Lee Ming.With dark hair and a serene expression, he led thousands of refugees using his S-rank ability Fire Magic. His flames danced like living dragons, incinerating monsters and clearing escape routes for the weak.
Nikolav - Russia In the icy Siberian glaciers, where many succumbed to cold and despair, Nikolav endured.His S-rank ability Extreme Tank granted him brutal resistance—skin like steel, overwhelming strength, and the ability to absorb impacts that would destroy mountains. He became the living wall that kept Moscow from falling into oblivion.
Mohammed - India When Mumbai was surrounded by millions of beasts, Mohammed emerged.Activating his A+ rank ability Thousand Arms, he formed a living network of protection and attack. His spectral arms struck, defended, and healed. For three days and nights, he resisted alongside his people, saving millions of desperate souls.
Ali - Egypt In Cairo, where the pyramids stood helpless before the devastation, Ali summoned a golden shadow: the ancient Pharaoh Tutankhamun. His A+ ability Tutankhamun's Summoning brought an ancient warrior back to life, armed with a lance of light, repelling hordes and saving his people from the brink of extinction.
A Light in the Darkness
Rob read the reports with a mix of respect and hope. They were not alone. Despite the horror, despite the end, humanity had found champions willing to risk everything.
A silent oath formed in his heart:
"One day, we will fight together.One day, we will rebuild this world."
The Memory of the Andes Blade
As he reviewed memories from his past life, Rob shivered.
He recalled a legendary weapon he had never obtained due to the brutal circumstances of the apocalypse: The Blade of the Andes, a B+ grade sword hidden deep within the mountains.
He knew that soon, a special portal would appear—and within it, the blade would rest. But it would not be alone.A C+ grade beast would guard it.
Rob knew this weapon could be decisive for surviving the coming challenges. He could not miss this opportunity.
The Difficult Decision
He gathered the leaders of the bastion: Victoria, Alan, Marlon, and others.
When Rob explained his intention to leave alone, the room exploded in protests.
—"You're insane!"—shouted Alan, slamming the table—"We can't allow it!"
—"Rob, you are our pillar!"—added Victoria, tears filling her eyes—"If something happens to you…"
Rob let them speak.Then, in the silence that followed, he stood up.
—"If I don't retrieve that sword,"—he said, voice low but firm—"we will lose far more than we already have. I know what's coming.And we are not ready."
Alan clenched his fists.Victoria lowered her gaze, struggling not to break down.
Finally, she nodded, though it shattered her heart.
—"Promise us you'll come back,"—she whispered.
Rob approached, hugged her tightly, and kissed her forehead.
—"I promise."
The Solitary Journey
He departed at dawn.
The entire base gathered in solemn silence to see him off.
Apolo and Maya wanted to follow him, but Rob ordered them to stay—they would be needed to protect everyone else.
With his backpack, his old knife at his belt, and his determination as his armor, Rob climbed into the mountains.
Every step was a declaration.Every breath, a vow.
He would not return empty-handed. He would not fail. Not this time.
The Trap of the Giant Serpent
The ascent through the mountains was relentless.
The air grew colder, the terrain more treacherous.
Advancing cautiously, Rob did not notice the trap until it was too late.
A deep rumble, shifting rocks—and suddenly, a massive mass of green and black scales erupted from the ground.
A C+ rank giant serpent ambushed him.
With whip-like speed, the monster attacked, trying to coil him in its crushing musculature.
Rob rolled aside, barely dodging, but he knew he couldn't avoid it forever.
The Exhausting Battle
The fight was brutal.
The serpent was a death machine: intelligent, fast, and merciless.
Rob used every martial arts tactic he knew—jumping, rolling, launching precise strikes at its eyes and jaws.
He activated Assimilation to absorb ambient energy fragments, barely maintaining his vitality.
Every strike he landed felt like hitting living steel.Every mistake he made cost him cuts, bruises, and hard blows.
Hours dragged on in torturous fashion.
More than once, the serpent slammed him against the rocks. But Rob refused to yield.
His family. His people. His promise.
They burned in his mind, fueling an inhuman determination.
Finally, with one last desperate maneuver, Rob tricked the serpent into coiling over itself. Seizing the opening, he climbed onto its back and, with all his strength and weight, plunged his knife into the soft spot between its skull plates.
The serpent thrashed once more... then lay still.
A Brief Rest
Rob collapsed to his knees, gasping, bloody and trembling with exhaustion.
Without wasting time, he activated Assimilation on the corpse, absorbing its remaining vital energy.
A slight surge of strength coursed through him—just enough to keep standing.
He allowed himself a few minutes of rest, lying against a rock, staring at the cloudy sky.
"Every step I take... is a step toward our future."
When his strength stabilized, he rose—staggering, but determined.
The Hidden Portal
After a few more hours among crags and twisted forests, he finally saw it:
A shimmering ethereal portal, glowing silently among the cliffs.
Rob clenched his fists.
He knew what awaited him on the other side wouldn't be easy.
But he also knew—the Blade of the Andes awaited him.
And he would not leave without it.
The Guardian of the Portal
The portal vibrated with silent, ominous energy.
Rob crossed its threshold without hesitation.
Inside, the world seemed different:An arid land of cracked earth, blood-red skies—and at its center… a colossal figure.
A mutated Minotaur, four meters tall, waited.
A grotesque fusion of flesh and stone, wielding a gigantic axe that could cleave ancient trees with a single blow.
When Rob stepped forward, the creature lifted its head and roared, making the very air vibrate.
There would be no negotiation.Only battle.
The Epic Battle
The Minotaur attacked first—its axe descending like a bolt of lightning.Rob barely dodged, rolling across the cracked ground.
There was no room for mistakes.
Armed only with his worn-out knife, Rob fought like a desperate warrior: striking at joints, dodging brutal charges, leaping across debris to avoid being crushed.
Every attack he avoided was a miracle.Every counterstrike he landed was a testament to his unbreakable will.
The fight dragged on for endless minutes that felt like centuries.
In a brief opening, Rob managed to wound one of the Minotaur's eyes. Enraged, the beast attacked even more ferociously, but Rob—now reading its patterns—found an opportunity.
With a risky maneuver, he climbed up the beast's arm and, summoning all his strength and technique, plunged his knife into the joint at its collarbone.
The Minotaur roared, staggered... and finally collapsed heavily onto the ground.
The earth shook under its massive corpse.
The Reward
Breathing heavily, his arms and legs trembling from exhaustion, Rob approached the pedestal at the far end of the field.
There, protected by a slowly fading energy barrier, rested an ancient chest.
Inside, wrapped in red silk cloth, lay the Blade of the Andes.
A sword of unparalleled beauty and power:
A silver blade with golden inscriptions.
A dark hilt that seemed to absorb the surrounding light.
Perfect balance, radiating strength and majesty.
When Rob grasped the weapon, a surge of electricity coursed through his entire body.
Then, an ancient voice echoed in his mind:
"Those who wield this blade do not fight for themselves alone. They fight for forgotten hopes, for the nameless fallen, and for the rebirth of humanity under a sky of ruins. Bear its weight, Guardian... and may your soul never break."
A fleeting vision filled his mind:
-Battlefields.
-Titanic beasts.
-Cities in ruins.
-Allies fighting at his side.
And himself, standing at the center, wielding the Blade of the Andes, shining as a beacon for the survivors.
The vision faded, but the echo of the promise etched itself deep into his soul.
Rob sheathed the sword and clenched his jaw.
The real challenge was only just beginning.