Inside a cramped apartment buried in clutter, a seventeen-year-old lay motionless on the bed.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped wide. He lunged upward as if a cold glacier had just left his chest.
"This…"
He choked out the word, his fingers locking into the bedsheets until the fabric groaned. His palm flew to his face, then his throat, feeling for a wound that wasn't there.
He could feel his heart hammering against his ribs—fast, jagged, and way too loud.
The grit of the air and the cold sweat on his skin were too sharp for a dream.
He knew.
"Didn't I just die?"
He didn't panic. He didn't even look surprised. He just stared at his shaking hands, waiting for the feeling to pass.
After everything he had endured, it felt like the universe had rewound time itself.
He stood up and went straight to the window.
"What the?"
The world outside was... peaceful. It wasn't the world he had just died in.
He turned back and tore through the mess, shoving things aside until he reached under the bed. His fingers hit his phone.
"August five..." His face soured as he stared at the screen. "This is the day of the first awakening."
Just as he was trying to put it all together, a sound hit the roof.
Tap. Tap-tap.
Rain.
"Fuck!"
It was starting.
He lunged toward the window.
Countless bug-like creatures were raining from the sky, hitting the glass and the pavement exactly as he remembered.
Now, he was certain. He was back.
The door burst open, and a familiar face barged in, breathless and wide-eyed.
"Ethan! Wake up, you mf!—"
He stopped short, staring at Ethan already on his feet. The guy's brow furrowed.
'What's up with this guy? He's usually dead to the world by this time…'
But there was no time for that.
"Have you seen the news?"
He lunged forward, shoving his phone screen right under Ethan's nose. The headline was already flashing in bold.
Ethan stared.
How could he ever forget this face? Dan. His roommate, his best friend—the one person who had stayed when everything else fell apart.
The memory of Dan throwing himself in front of those beasts to save Ethan's life flashed through his mind, unbidden and raw.
Every time Ethan had wanted to let humanity rot, Dan was the only reason he'd kept fighting. The only motivation he had left.
And here he was. Standing right in front of him, breathing and alive.
He had a chance.
This time, he was going to be the one to save Dan.
"What's up with you, dude?" Dan's brow furrowed as he watched Ethan's blank stare. "Seriously… what the hell is this? They're saying bugs are raining everywhere. We need to stay inside. Lock the doors and windows."
Ethan didn't move. His voice was flat when he finally spoke.
"No. We need to go out."
"What?" Dan stepped back, his eyes narrowing. "Don't you hate bugs? Since when do you want to go out in that?"
Ethan didn't give him a chance to pull away. He grabbed Dan's arm and hauled him toward the door.
"What are you doing, dude? Seriously… you're acting strange!" Dan stumbled after him, but he didn't let go of Ethan's grip.
"Just tell me if you see a glowing bug! Now!"
Ethan didn't even look back.
He didn't have a second to waste. This was it—their only window to survive what was coming.
"Dude… a glowing bug? Are you sure you're not high? We should—"
Dan stopped mid-sentence.
Five steps ahead of them, an earthworm plummeted from the sky, hitting the pavement with a dull thud. It didn't just crawl; it pulsed with a deep, crimson light.
"What the hell? It's actually glowing?" Dan's jaw dropped as he stared at the sidewalk.
Ethan glanced at the pulsing red light and kept running.
A fire-type elemental strain. It was explosive, sure, but he wanted something better for Dan—something unique.
"Keep looking!" he shouted.
They sprinted down the middle of the street, Ethan's eyes darting from the pavement to the sky, scanning every falling shadow.
Seeing the look on Ethan's face, Dan stopped arguing. He tightened his grip and started scanning the air himself.
"There's a blue one!" Dan pointed.
A shiny ladybug drifted a few feet to their left, trailing a faint blue glow. Ethan didn't even turn his head.
Water-type. It was fine, but "fine" wasn't enough to survive what was coming.
He kept his pace, his eyes moving over the swarm. Most of what hit the ground was common—red, blue, brown, green.
Ethan snatched a glowing red insect from the pavement.
Fire strain.
He stuffed it into his pocket and grabbed another—blue this time.
He stuffed the glowing fire, water, earth, and air insects into his pockets just in case.
But his gaze stayed fixed on the horizon, searching for something unique.
After sprinting for what felt like an eternity, Ethan's eyes locked onto a spark in the gutter. He lunged, his fingers closing around a golden beetle.
"What's that?" Dan asked, hovering over his shoulder.
He'd been watching Ethan snatch up glowing bugs for blocks now, his confusion growing with every stop.
The sky rained insects, but Ethan's calm—his mechanical, practiced movements—was weirder than the bugs themselves.
It was as if he'd done this a thousand times before.
"I'll explain later," Ethan snapped, shoving the beetle into a secure pocket. "For now, just look for anything unique. Any color that stands out. Go!"
The two of them scoured the city, picking through the common glows until Ethan's eyes locked onto something different.
'What's the Ferrum Strain doing here?'
Ethan's eyes lit up. This was it—the one strain that could give Dan a unique skill tree, something far beyond a standard tanker.
He lunged for the metallic Hercules Beetle, his fingers closing around its cold, heavy shell.
The other insects in his pocket suddenly felt worthless.
He tossed them aside.
"Let's go! Back to the apartment!"
Dan didn't argue. He turned and followed Ethan's lead, sprinting back the way they came.
---
In his first life, he'd spent this hour cowering in his room, paralyzed by the sight of the crawling walls.
That fear had been his stroke of luck—the reason he had survived long enough to awaken. Now that he knew the future, he wasn't leaving anything to chance. He was going to take back the power that belonged to him.
As soon as they burst into the apartment, Ethan slammed the door shut. He immediately moved from window to window, locking each latch.
"Dude! What are you doing? Explain this to me, damnit!"
Now that the door was locked, Dan couldn't hold it back anymore. He stepped into Ethan's space, blocking his path.
"Look, the raining bugs are weird, but you're weirder. Are you still so broken-hearted over Jane that you've finally lost it?" He searched Ethan's face, his eyes full of genuine concern.
He had almost forgotten about her.
"Jane…" he muttered, his eyes darkening.
He'd almost died multiple times because of her in his previous life. This time, he wasn't going to make the mistake of bringing her into his team.
"Do you trust me, Dan?"
Ethan looked him straight in the eyes, his gaze heavy and unblinking.
The answer came almost immediately.
"Hell nah! You almost crashed my car, lost my phone and my credit card… no way I'm trusting you, dude."
Dan wasn't laughing. He kept a straight face, and to be honest, he had a point. Even Ethan wouldn't have trusted his past self with a set of keys, but this was different.
"Stop joking around," Ethan said, his voice dropping.
He remembered something. Dan used to love discussing supernatural powers with him.
He paused.
"You always wanted to be a tanker, right?"
Dan's eyes squinted. "You already know it, why ask now?"
He did know. That was exactly why he had picked up the metallic Hercules Beetle earlier. Dan wanted to be a tanker—it was the reason he lived at the gym, building up his muscle.
This unique physical strain was made for him.
Ethan just smiled.
Without another word, he handed Dan the Hercules Beetle.
"Keep this on you every time."
"Why? How could I keep it… won't it die?" Suspicion was written all over Dan's face.
"It won't die… it's not a normal insect. Just trust me this time."
Dan rolled his eyes, but he took it.
The moment Dan touched the beetle, it pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then it sank into his palm.
A faint golden light spread beneath his skin.