Growl ~
The deafening sounds of monsters filled the air, blending with the heavy sound of rainfall while the smell of something rotten filled the air.
Behind the rusted shell of a massive, overturned truck, a young woman crouched in silence.
Her curly blonde hair clung damply to her face, strands sticking to her pale, lifeless skin. Her once-vibrant ocean-blue eyes had dulled, now clouded with exhaustion and despair. Her lips...once soft and rosy were now cracked and bloodless, trembling faintly in the cold.
She looked like a ghost of the person she used to be.
Around her lay the ruins of what was once a thriving city. Cars were overturned, buildings reduced to dust.
A shaky breath escaped her mouth as she pressed herself closer to the truck, her body trembling violently not just from fear, but from exhaustion.
Ivy Brooks.
That was her name.
And she was barely holding on.
Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks, mixing with the rain as they fell onto the tiny bundle cradled in her arms.
Her newborn daughter.
The baby's soft blonde hair was already damp from the storm, clinging to her fragile head. Her small face scrunched slightly as she stuck out her tiny tongue, searching instinctively for milk.
A weak, broken sound left Ivy's lips as she looked down at her child. Her fingers, trembling and cold, gently brushed against the baby's head.
"I'm so sorry, my love…" Ivy whispered hoarsely, her voice barely audible over the rain. It cracked midway.
Her throat tightened painfully as she swallowed, wincing.
The baby had cried before....cried so much that even her tiny voice had grown weak. Now, she didn't even have the strength to wail anymore. Her cries had faded into soft, helpless whimpers… and then into silence.
That silence terrified Ivy more than anything.
"I know you're hungry," Ivy continued, her voice trembling as she pressed a gentle kiss against the baby's cold forehead. "I know… I know, sweetheart. Just....just hang on a little longer, okay? Please…"
Her words dissolved into a quiet sob.
Just three days ago, she had given birth.
Three days.
And instead of warmth, safety, or even a moment of peace… she had been cast out.
Her own husband had turned his back on her, shutting the door without hesitation....forcing her and her newborn child into a world that no longer had a place for the weak just because she gave birth to a girl again after having two girls before.
Another distant growl sliced through the night.
Ivy froze instantly.
Her gaze shifted unwillingly toward another overturned truck a short distance away.
Lying atop its cold, rusted surface were the lifeless bodies of her two beautiful daughters.
Their small forms were sprawled helplessly, their once vibrant skin now pale and dull. Their blood had long dried, their tiny bodies partially devoured....flesh torn away cruelly by the monsters that had feasted on them.
"Why…?" Ivy murmured under her breath, her voice breaking as her trembling lips barely formed the word.
Her body lurched forward as she tried to stand, desperate to reach them....to hold them one last time, to cradle them in her arms… even if they were gone.
But her legs failed her.
They were too weak.
"Why did this happen to me?!" she cried out again, her voice cracking with raw anguish as tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. "Why?!"
Her chest heaved violently as she clutched onto the muddy ground.
"I've been a perfect wife… a good mother…" she choked, her voice dropping into a hollow whisper. "No… no, I'm not. If I was, I would have protected my girls… I would have saved them…"
Her entire body shook as sobs overtook her.
For a moment, she remained frozen....broken.
Then, slowly, stubbornly, she wiped at her tears with the back of her hand.
The monsters had moved away.
Now was her chance.
Even if it was just for a moment… even if it cost her life…
She began to crawl.
Each movement was agonizing, her weakened body dragging itself through the wet, muddy ground as the rain poured mercilessly over her. Her fingers dug into the earth, her nails breaking, her arms trembling under her own weight.
She didn't care about herself anymore.
She had nothing left to lose.
Her daughters were gone.
Only her newborn remained.
And even that fragile hope felt like it was slipping through her fingers.
Just a little more…
Just a little closer…
She was almost there.
Just as she stretched her hand forward....
GROWL!
A deafening snarl erupted behind her.
Ivy froze.
Her heart nearly stopped.
At the same time, her baby let out a weak cry....barely audible beneath the heavy rainfall, yet enough to seal their fate.
Before Ivy could even turn....
Something pierced through her stomach.
A sharp, burning sensation exploded through her body as a blood-red tongue slick and glistening stabbed straight through her abdomen.
"Ahh!"
Her body jerked violently as the force lifted her off the ground.
Her arms loosened.
And her newborn slipped from her grasp.
"No....my baby!" Ivy screamed, her voice filled with both agony and terror.
Blood spilled from her lips as she coughed violently, her body convulsing in pain.
The "weapon" that had impaled her began to move.
It wasn't a blade.
It was a tongue and it tightened around her torso, pulsing as it began to drink.
"Ghk!"
Her blood.
It was being sucked out of her body.
Her vision blurred as she was lifted higher into the air, her strength rapidly fading.
Below her....more monsters emerged around her baby.
"No… no, please…" Ivy whimpered weakly, her voice barely more than a breath. "Not my baby....
"My baby… my babies…"
Her voice faded into nothingness as she lost consciousness.
******
"Are you even listening to me, Ivy?!"
A sharp, masculine voice cut through the air, laced with irritation and anger.
Ivy's eyes snapped open.
She gasped violently, sucking in air as though she had been drowning, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her body trembled uncontrollably.
Her surroundings…
They had changed.
She wasn't in the rain anymore, nor the ruins.
She was...
Back.
Her gaze darted around the room in disbelief.
Her husband's house.
The same house she had been cast out of.
Her breathing hitched as her hand instinctively moved to her stomach.
Round.
Full.
Pregnant.
"What…?" she whispered, her voice shaking.
Wasn't I dead?
Her thoughts spiraled as panic and confusion overwhelmed her senses.
Just then...er gaze lifted and landed on them.
Her husband stood not too far away, his expression dark with annoyance.
Beside him stood his mistress, holding a baby in her arms.
Her husband's so-called first heir.
"Just hand over your family heirloom," the man said coldly, his voice firm and commanding. "I want to use it to purchase a property in my son's name. He is the heir of this family. He deserves the best."
"What…?" Ivy muttered under her breath, her mind racing.
The family heirloom…?
Her eyes widened slightly.
Wait…
No way…
This scene...
She remembered it.
This bastard… asking for my family heirloom. The only thing I have left. Ivy thought with anger written all over her face.
Her breathing steadied, but her eyes darkened with growing hatred, fixed on her husband.
I sacrificed everything for him…
All the properties my parents left me… I gave them all to him, thinking I could earn his trust… his love…
Her nails dug into her palm.
I disobeyed my parents to marry this worthless man.
And what did I get in return?
Her gaze flickered with cold fury.
He killed my daughters and threw me to the monsters like trash.
A slow realization settled in.
Twenty days before the apocalypse.
A faint, dangerous smile tugged at her lips.
So… heaven has given me another chance.
She wiped her tears quietly, masking her emotions.
"The family heirloom?" Ivy finally spoke, her voice calm. "You want me to give it to you?"
Her tone made the room fall into a brief silence.
"You really want my son to repeat himself?" another voice chimed in sharply.
Ivy turned her head slightly.
Her mother-in-law sat elegantly on a nearby couch, adorned with gold jewelry, her gaze filled with disdain.
"Just hand over the heirloom," the older woman said coldly. "Stop being difficult."
Ivy let out a soft, humorless chuckle.
"If you want the family heirloom," she said slowly, meeting her husband's gaze, "then you should buy it, Adrian."
"One hundred thousand dollars," she continued, her voice firm. "Pay that, and I'll sell it to you."
"What?!" her mother-in-law snapped, her voice rising. "One hundred thousand dollars?! Where do you expect my son to get that kind of money?!"
Ivy's lips curved faintly.
Oh, I know exactly why you can't afford it.
You sold everything.
Gambled it away.
Wasted our savings.
Bought properties under your bastard's name.
And now you're broke.
Her eyes gleamed with quiet satisfaction.
Even if you could afford it… you'd never get your hands on it.
"Don't push me, Ivy," Adrian said coldly, his voice dropping into a threatening tone. "Or I'll be forced to act. I can throw you and those… devils you call your daughters out of this house anytime."
Ivy's eyes widened slightly.
Then suddenly, the door opened while two small figures ran inside.
"Mommy!"
Their voices rang out in perfect unison.
Ivy froze.
Her heart stopped.
Then it started again....faster than ever before.
Aria and Lila. Her daughters.
Tears flooded her eyes instantly.
Without hesitation, she dropped to her knees and pulled them into her arms, hugging them tightly....almost desperately.
"Aria… Lila… my babies…" she cried, her voice breaking as she held them close. "I'm so sorry… Mommy is so, so sorry…"
The girls blinked in confusion but hugged her back.
"I promise…" Ivy whispered fiercely, her grip tightening. "I'll protect you this time. No matter what happens… even if it costs me my life."
Suddenly....
A sharp, splitting pain shot through her head.
"Ah!"
She gasped, releasing the girls as she clutched her temples, her vision blurring.
A cold, mechanical voice echoed inside her mind.
Ding!
{You have awakened the Guardian Bloodline System.}
"Huh…?" Ivy muttered weakly, her brows furrowing as glowing black words appeared before her eyes.
{Transport goods worth over one thousand dollars to earn one cubic meter of system storage space within one hour.}
{The family heirloom serves as the system key.}
Ivy's breathing slowed.
Her eyes sharpened.
"…What?"
