The Apocalypse Anchor Point

Jin Zheng once again tore himself out of the depths of a dream, cold sweat soaking through his undershirt.

In the dream, the end-times sandstorm stung his face. The last thing he saw before waking was Tai Mi rushing over to shield him. The muffled sound of her slender body being torn apart by a beast's claws was so vivid it drove him mad.

He bolted upright, gasping as he pulled open the curtains.

Neon lights flowed outside. There were no low snarls from mutated monsters, no sky hidden behind radioactive dust. The air was clean, cool, and late-night still.

He really had come back. After dying once, he had been thrown back into this orderly, safe world.

But some things could never come back. They had been left forever in that wasteland, and had become the nightmares that haunted him every night.

Especially the look in Tai Mi's eyes when she last looked at him. There was no resentment or hatred, only tender affection. Even after being used and deceived, she had still died for him.

Guilt wrapped around his heart like a vine, each beat bringing a fine, piercing pain.

Dead drunk, Jin Zheng woke to endless yellow sand and ruins stretching as far as the eye could see.

He had returned to the end-times once again, to the very moment he had first transmigrated there.

His heart pounding, he followed his memories and ran toward the abandoned gas station.

A little beastkin was curled up in a corner, its fur filthy and its ears twitching warily. It stared at him with a pair of damp, anxious eyes.

Jin Zheng was dizzy with emotion. He restrained the urge to rush over and hug the little figure tightly, and only reached out one hand, forcing himself to speak in the gentlest voice he had ever managed. "Don't be afraid. I'm here to help you."

The little beastkin watched him, carefully sniffing the air. At last, it tentatively edged closer and gently placed a hoof in Jin Zheng's palm.

Jin Zheng closed his fingers around the little hoof, and a shudder ran through the depths of his soul.

I found you.

This time, I won't let go. I won't let you face abandonment and separation alone ever again.

You are my only anchor in this crumbling world.

Theme: Survival of the fittest