Morning sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Ashford Mansion, bathing the luxurious bedroom in a warm glow.
Julian sat motionless on the edge of his king-sized bed.
His blue eyes remained fixed on the newspaper lying on the floor.
June 3rd.
The date hadn't changed.
It was still the day after his parents' funeral.
He wasn't dreaming.
He wasn't hallucinating.
He had truly returned two months before the apocalypse.
For a long time, he simply sat there.
Then...
He suddenly laughed.
The sound echoed through the enormous bedroom.
It started as a quiet chuckle before growing louder and louder until tears streamed down his face.
He laughed because fate had given him another chance.
He laughed because Ryan's betrayal no longer mattered.
He laughed because this time...
He would never become that starving, helpless man again.
The laughter slowly faded.
Replacing it was a terrifying calm.
"I have sixty-one days."
"Sixty-one days before the world ends."
Every important event from his previous life flashed through his mind like scenes from a movie.
Day One...
The first infected appeared.
Day Three...
Hospitals collapsed.
Day Seven...
Governments declared a state of emergency.
Day Fifteen...
Electricity failed across most major cities.
Day Twenty-One...
Food riots began.
One Month...
Cities became death traps.
Two Months...
Human civilization collapsed.
Julian clenched his fists.
Every second counted.
A knock sounded on the bedroom door.
"Young Master?"
It was Alfred.
The Ashford family's butler.
Julian froze.
Alfred...
He remembered him.
In his previous life, the old butler had refused to abandon him after his parents died.
When the apocalypse arrived, Alfred had stayed by his side until a zombie horde attacked the mansion.
The seventy-year-old man had sacrificed himself buying Julian enough time to escape.
Unlike Ryan...
Alfred had remained loyal until his final breath.
Julian closed his eyes.
"I couldn't save you before."
"But this life..."
"You won't die."
He walked toward the door and opened it.
The elderly butler immediately bowed.
"You haven't eaten since yesterday, Young Master."
His voice was filled with concern.
"The chef prepared breakfast."
Julian quietly studied the old man's wrinkled face.
Nothing had changed.
The same gentle smile.
The same caring eyes.
For a brief moment...
Julian almost broke down.
Instead, he simply nodded.
"Let's eat."
Alfred blinked.
It was the first time Julian had spoken more than a few words since the funeral.
Relief flashed across the old man's face.
"Right away."
The dining room was enormous.
A long mahogany table stretched across the room.
Fresh bread.
Eggs.
Steak.
Fruit.
Fresh juice.
Coffee.
Enough food to feed several families.
Julian stared silently.
His throat tightened.
In his previous life...
He had nearly died fighting over a moldy loaf of bread.
Now...
A simple breakfast looked like a feast.
Without saying a word, he picked up a piece of bread.
His hands trembled slightly.
He took a bite.
Soft.
Warm.
Fresh.
His eyes slowly became red.
Alfred noticed immediately.
"Young Master..."
Julian looked away.
"I'm fine."
No.
He wasn't.
Because he suddenly remembered kneeling in dirty streets...
Begging strangers for food.
Remembered licking rainwater from broken concrete because he was too thirsty to continue walking.
Remembered selling everything...
His dignity...
His pride...
Even his body...
Just to survive another day.
His grip on the bread tightened.
Never again.
Never.
After breakfast, Julian entered his father's study.
The room was exactly as he remembered.
Bookshelves lined every wall.
A massive desk stood before the windows.
On the desk rested several documents waiting for his father's signature.
Julian slowly sat down in his father's chair.
Everything...
Now belonged to him.
The Ashford Corporation.
Private islands.
Luxury hotels.
Shipping companies.
Airlines.
Banks.
Hospitals.
Factories.
Mining corporations.
Investment companies.
The family fortune exceeded fifty billion dollars.
Last life...
He had thrown away over three billion dollars.
This life...
Every cent would become a weapon.
Julian picked up the office telephone.
"Connect me with every regional CEO."
The secretary sounded surprised.
"All of them, Young Master?"
"Immediately."
"Yes, sir."
Within minutes...
His phone began ringing continuously.
One executive after another.
Julian's expression remained calm.
"Cancel every luxury project."
"Sell every sports car currently in production."
"Liquidate unnecessary assets."
"Purchase farmland."
"Buy food-processing factories."
"Acquire pharmaceutical companies."
The executives were confused.
"But Young Master... these investments won't generate quick profits."
Julian's voice turned cold.
"I wasn't asking for your opinion."
"I was giving an order."
Silence.
"Understood."
One by one...
Every executive obeyed.
By evening...
Julian had already spent billions.
But unlike his previous life...
Not a single dollar had been wasted.
Rice.
Flour.
Sugar.
Salt.
Cooking oil.
Medicine.
Generators.
Solar panels.
Fuel.
Seeds.
Water purification systems.
Construction equipment.
Livestock.
Everything that would become priceless after the apocalypse.
Julian bought it all.
Every available warehouse in the country was rented under different company names.
He smiled slightly.
People believed he was making foolish investments.
Let them laugh.
In two months...
Those "worthless" warehouses would become more valuable than gold.
Late that night...
Julian stood alone on the mansion balcony.
The city lights stretched endlessly below.
People laughed.
Cars filled the streets.
Restaurants overflowed with customers.
Children played in parks.
No one knew.
No one suspected.
That in exactly sixty-one days...
Most of them would be dead.
Julian looked up at the stars.
Then suddenly—
A sharp pain shot through his chest.
"Hng..."
He grabbed the balcony railing.
The pain spread throughout his entire body.
His vision blurred.
A strange warmth gathered in the center of his chest.
"What..."
A brilliant golden light erupted from his body.
The world around him disappeared.
Julian felt himself falling through endless darkness.
Then...
His feet touched solid ground.
He slowly opened his eyes.
Before him stretched an endless world.
Towering mountains reached into the clouds.
Crystal-clear rivers wound through vast green plains.
Ancient forests stretched farther than the eye could see.
An endless ocean shimmered beneath a golden sun.
Birds flew peacefully across the sky.
The air was rich with an energy unlike anything he had ever felt.
At the center of this incredible world stood an enormous white palace, ancient and majestic, radiating an aura that made Julian instinctively hold his breath.
He turned in a slow circle.
"...Where am I?"
A deep, mysterious voice echoed across the heavens.
"Welcome, Master..."
"...to Genesis."
Julian's eyes widened.
The voice continued,
"The world that belongs to you alone."
To be continued