Rebirth: 100 Days Before Doomsday

Grace's final stop was the safe zone of the Starship Country, the last one among the Great Alliance to collect enough Spirit Stones for her to set up a barrier around their safe zone.

As she arrived there, she was actually surpised by how much better her country's safe zone looked compared to the other countries.

Because the government picked the least affected area, most of the buildings were standing tall and powerful. Over the past year, the military and first line workers had done a great job at clearing the streets and setting up the safe zone. The place actually looked clean and liveable.

What suprised her even more was that this time she got the powerful collection of Spirit Stones compared to all the others she got from the other countries. Three Level Seven Spirit Stones (Red, Blue, and Green), Four Level Six Spirit Stones (Red, Yellow, and a Purple), and nearly two hundred stones below Level Five.

Hence, this time she built the strongest barrier yet, enhancing its energy flow and self-repair capabilities.

It took a full twelve hours, the longest she had worked on any barrier. And by the time it was complete, she was beyond exhausted.

Davian caught her again, but this time, she didn't just black out for a few hours. She was unconscious for an entire day.

But at least, the world was a little bit more safe now... the most it had been in the past nearly five years.

* * *

With the five major safe zones fortified, the Great Alliance and Starfall Isle finally entered a period of stability and progress.

For the first time in years, people were able to breathe without the constant fear of being torn apart by Shadow Beasts or wiped out by the infected.

For once, survival was no longer the only priority.

Now, they could finally focus on growth and development.

Grace attended the monthly council meetings with the leaders and prominent figures of the Great Alliance, giving them crucial guidance on how to rebuild their safe zones.

And much to her surprise, they actually listened. It was probably because now they trusted her a little bit more, maybe a percent or two more compared to when she first arrived to demand a place in the Alliance.

And since they were listening, she advised them genuinely on multiple aspects.

Safe zones needed trees, new ones, to combat the worsening air conditions. She helped them identify the best locations to plant oxygen-producing mutated trees that could filter toxins from the atmosphere.

With the apocalypse changing the nature of warfare, she proposed setting up well-equipped academies to train future warriors. New generations needed to learn how to fight both infected and beasts.

Hospitals and research centers were crucial to treat people suffering from Spirit energy imbalances, injuries from mutated creatures, and contaminated water or air.

She also shared information about special medicinal plants that could cure infections and diseases, and water-purifying flora that could cleanse contaminated rainwater. These became essential assets in sustaining life inside the safe zones.

With these additional knowledge, the Great Alliance started working in the right directions and slolwy began to thrive.

Each country within the Alliance worked on developing infrastructure, building sustainable systems, and strengthening their defenses.

Even the scientists and engineers, who had once been helpless in the face of the apocalypse, were now developing better weapons, armors, and energy-based systems using Spirit Stones.

For four months, humanity saw hope again.

But peace was never meant to last...

It happened on a quiet, peaceful night. Most people in Country R were sleeping soundly, believing they were safe.

And then, the earth trembled.

Powerful tremors shook entire cities, rattling the walls of safe zones and sending people into a panic.

The earthquake's true magnitude was around 7, but the barrier absorbed most of the shock, reducing it to barely three magnitude inside the safe zones.

There were no casualties. And yet, the fear returned overnight.

People remembered the horrors of the past. How the natural disasters had nearly wiped them out before the infected and the Shadow Beasts even appeared.

Over the next couple of weeks, the tremors continued, not only in Country R, but across several other countries around the world.

They weren't constant, but they came unexpectedly. People never knew when the ground would shake again.

With this, peaceful sleep became a luxury.

Even the strongest warriors started feeling uneasy.

But it was just the mere beginning as not long after, volcanos began erupting around the world.

In the southern hemisphere, massive volcanic eruptions happened within the span of a week.

Mountains that had been dormant for centuries spewed fire, ash, and lava, darkening the skies further if that was even possible.

Fortunately, the barriers absorbed most of the disaster's impact, keeping the safe zones from being buried in molten destruction.

The only good thing these disasters did were to wipe out some of the infected and the Shadow Beasts that came into their direct range.

The outside world of the safe zones suffered as another thick volcanic ash covered the sky, bringing the planet's temperature temperature further down.

Soon enough, rains returned too, but they were full of acidic, poisoning lands and water sources outside the safe zones.

Even with mutated plants that purified water, it wasn't enough. Resources outside the safe zones became even scarcer. There was barely anything left in the outside world that could be used by the survivors.

As if the earth itself was rebelling, disasters began occurring all over the planet. Tsunamis crashed into coastal regions, wiping out the ruins of coastal cities.

Massive storms ravaged the skies, producing lightning bolts strong enough to destroy entire buildings.

Floods and landslides tore through abandoned settlements, wiping out remnants of civilization.

Fissures opened in the ground, swallowing anything unlucky enough to be nearby.

It was one disaster after another.

And while the barriers held strong, humanity's hope began to crumble once again.

Grace watched the chaos unfold from the safety of Starfall Isle. She knew that it won't be long before their worst fears would return.