PROLOGUE

Pant! Pant!

A young man sprinted through the ruined city streets, his breath ragged, an Uzi clutched tightly in his trembling hands. Behind him, a horde of zombies shrieked and snarled, their decayed forms relentless in pursuit.

"Fuck!!" Damian cursed under his breath. "I can't believe I was betrayed. I should've known better than to trust anyone in this godforsaken world!"

Five years. Five years of surviving in this nightmare, only to die like this? No. I refuse to accept it. My legs burned, but sheer willpower forced me to keep running.

Then fate decided to mock me.

My foot landed on something slick—something small and utterly ridiculous. A banana peel.

Before i could react, my body tilted, and in the next instant, i crashed hard onto the pavement. My heart stopped as i heard the frenzied growls drawing closer.

This is it…

Zombies pounced, their rotten hands clawing at me, their foul breath suffocating. Agony tore through me as teeth sank into my flesh. My screams echoed, but no one would come to help. The pain, the horror—it was too much. My vision blurred as darkness swallowed me.

As darkness swallowed my consciousness, fragmented memories flashed before my eyes—my carefree life before the apocalypse, the fall of civilization, the moment everything turned to hell.

Five Years Ago…

Back then, Damian Cross was just an 18-year-old shut-in. My biggest concerns were skipping class, catching up on anime, and convincing my parents to buy the latest gaming console. Life was easy.

Until it happened.

It started with a meteorite—a colossal rock from space that crashed into Earth. At first, scientists celebrated its arrival, eager to study its peculiar properties. They soon discovered something terrifying: it could modify the human body.

At first, it seemed like a miracle—a path to human evolution. But then, greed took over. Nations fought over ownership. Tensions escalated. Then, Country E made a horrifying decision:

"If we can't have it, no one will."

A missile strike obliterated the meteorite. But instead of destroying it, the explosion released a mysterious energy into the atmosphere. No one realized the consequences… until it was too late.

Animals mutated—growing larger, stronger, more aggressive. Some plants became exotic herbs, while others turned into man-eating horrors. And humans… those who couldn't withstand the energy transformed into abominations.

But not all humans succumbed. Some of those who adapted—gained extraordinary abilities. They were called Metas.

Present Day

Just as the void threatened to consume me, a mechanical chime rang in my mind.

[Do you wish to survive?]

Damian's fading consciousness stirred. What…?

Was death playing a cruel joke?

The chime rang again.

[Do you wish to survive?]

Yes! My mind screamed. I didn't want to die—not like this!

[Successfully bonded with host.][Host life signs are showing critical.][Initiating revival…]

A strange sensation washed over me, like thousands of tiny needles piercing my body. Then—

[Revival failed. Inadequate DNA for healing.][Collecting DNA from the surroundings…][Successfully collected Z-DNA.][Revival initiated…][Revival complete.][Host is now a zombie.]