Overwhelmed

The survivors lay scattered on the floor, their unconscious forms an eerie sight . Time seemed to stand still as the world outside came to a halt, oblivious to the unfolding toll of the apocalypse.

Slowly, one by one, the survivors began to stir, their eyes fluttering open to the dim light of the warehouse. Confusion clouded their expressions as they struggled to make sense of their surroundings. Memories of the chaos and devastation flooded back, leaving them reeling with a sense of disbelief.

Lucy was the first to regain her senses, her mind buzzing with a newfound clarity. She pushed herself upright, her gaze sweeping over Ethan with a mix of concern and relief.

"Is everyone alright?" Someone called out, his voice cutting through the silence like a beacon of reassurance.

The others nodded in agreement, their expressions a mix of weariness and resolve. They rose to their feet, their movements slow and cautious as they took stock of their surroundings. The warehouse was dimly lit, its walls lined with crates and barrels of fuel.

"Baby are you okay?" Lucy pulled Ethan to his feet, feeling how light he was.

' Or maybe it's how strong I am, I'll have to check the system soon. Can't put off any longer if i want to get through this. What was that anyway?" She thought as Ethan gained his bearings.

" Uhm, there's something in front of me." A voice called out. Mr Jennings. He seemed to be waving his hand in front of him like he was trying to shoo away a fly.

" It's some kind of blinking light. Damn it, it keeps following my vision. Oh something popped up. What the hell is a blue star system." He was now staring into the air like there was something there only he could see.

" Hey I see it too. What is this? It has my name on it too." Another voice followed. Mrs Oliver, the town nurse. Lucy recalled. A middle aged lady looking to be in the prime of her life, she had a daughter who just turned eleven a few months back. Her husband was in the army and had been killed in action around four years ago. She had been taking care of her daughter alone ever since. Lucy remembered her because she had been very close with her when she had Ethan. The woman had been frustrated that she'd been married for so long without a child.

" Yeah, I see it too." " Wow so weird." " It's like a video game." " Holy shit." " It's got a status and everything." " What's that? You know I don't keep up with all you young ones and your games." Everyone started noticing it too and started discussing and 'activating' something as they all waved their hands in the as if swiping a phone.

The teenagers were especially excited and that included Ethan who was also staring into the air.

Lucy was shocked with what she was hearing. ' A system? Everyone's getting a system? What's going on. That blue light didn't discriminate.'

" Ethan? What exactly are you seeing?" She asked.

"Huh? right. Uhm how do I show you." Ethan looked to be in thought as he moved his hand in front of her.

A blue light suddenly appeared in front Lucy opening a tab very similar to her system.

<< Blue Star System >>

<< Name : Ethan Greene >>

<< Race : Human >>

<< Core : Rank 1 ( Grade 1 ) (0/3) >>

<< Affinity : Lightning ( Elemental ) >>

<< Class : ( Unlocked at Grade 2 ) >>

<< Starlight : Basic crafting ability ( Grant lightning attribute to items)

<< Dungeon Projection : ( Unlocked at Grade 2) (0/10) Grade 1 >>

<< Hp : 100 >>

<< Mp : 50 >>

<< Ep : 50 >>

<< Str : 12 >>

<< Agy : 12 >>

<< Int : 22 >>

<< Dex : 18 >>

<< Def : 12 >>

<< Inventory >>

<< Skills >>

< •Lightning touch (1) • Spark (1) • >

<< Titles >>

' This is.' Lucy stared at the blue tab in front of her, ' vastly different from mine.' She hurriedly checked hers.

[ Soul System ] [ Incomplete ]

[Name: Lucy Greene]

[Race: ??????]

[Age: 38]

[Level: 19] [Experience/Soul point: 102,540/160,000]

[Affinity: Fire ( Chaotic Elemental)] New

[Occupation: None]

[Class: None]

[Stat points: 228]

[Health points: 47,500]

[Mana points: ------?]

[Energy points: 300]

[Strength: 160]

[Agility: 164]

[Intelligence: 172]

[Dexterity: 169]

[Defense: 164]

[Notification: 1]

[ Inventory ] New

[Innate skills]

[ Fire Immunity, Fire Generation, Fire Manipulation, Fire Integration]

[Acquired Skills]

[Enhanced Regeneration {High}, Infernal Summon {Low}, Ring of fire, Phoenix dew, Energy manipulation, Elemental fusion.]

[Combat Skills]

[Firestorm(1)]

"Wow." Lucy whispered, although Ethan must have heard because he beamed a smile at her in his excitement as he also whispered " Do you know what this means?"

Lucy relaxed " Yes Ethan, I'm not that old."

She could see through his facade though, behind those smiling eyes hid rage. Rage at the monsters that had taken from him. Now with whatever was going on, like some twisted fate he had been granted a weapon. An outlet to release his frustration and get his revenge.

' I feel like I should be worried. That I should try and stop him from going through with this but then again..... What was I doing when I was fourteen?'.

For a second she was in that damned house again. Her chest heaving with every movement he made. His breath reeking of alcohol mixed with the rancid stench of vomit that never seemed to go away. He noticed her staring at him and hit her right in the face. She tried to hold back her tears but then he hit her again, this time drawing blood. The tears flowed unrestrained and a disgusting smile made it's way to his face.

Not ceasing his movements he slowly leaned in stopping at her ear as he whispered.

"©¢¢%€¥π€÷×%% girl."

" Mom"

" Mom"

" Mom!!"

" Huh?" Lucy shook as she noticed Ethan's hands on her shoulder, a look of concern on his face.

" You were lost for a second there, are you okay?." He said relaxing.

" Yeah, just got a little overwhelmed is all." She replied staring at him, unlike his sister he wasn't very athletic. Basically a nerd albeit a very brilliant one. He wasn't tall but not too short, a physique befitting a nerd, he had his father's blonde hair albeit now covered in mud and grime both he and his sister taking after her blue eyes. She couldn't help but wonder how he would have turned out had she been...

' No. I won't allow it. He'll never have to go through such a thing as long as I live.'

Lucy swore in her heart.

' Now that he's safe, we have to get back to the city. Pyrrha should be okay since the city has so many Agents and the monster should not be all that dangerous if even I could kill them.' She thought.

( Author note: She has no idea how strong she is right now 🤣🤣 clumsy but strong)

As Lucy kept on discussing with Ethan talking about how his system works, She realized that her system although it was different from the others, when she showed Ethan it looked really similar to his own according to him. It even showed her as a level one, with her affinity being fire and her starlight being enhanced regeneration.

A while later, she noticed a few young men a few older ones grouping up in a corner so she walked up to them, Ethan in tow.