Global Awakening: Only I Can Respawn

But when the walls fell, everyone's eyes widened. They found themselves in a dense forest, wild and untouched by humanity. But from the trees to the shrubs and grass, everything looked different, like they were on an alien planet.

"This... doesn't look like Earth," YuWon muttered, taking out his sword, just in case.

However, Anna quickly corrected him.

"We're still on Earth," she said. "But this is an awakened Earth."

"So this is the third awakening," YuWon mumbled.

The first awakening was for humans. The second was for the beasts and other creatures, and now the third awakening was for the planet itself. No wonder everything looked different. They even had two moons now.

I don't even want to think how having two moons would affect the climate. Maybe it played a role in all these changes.

Meanwhile, Anna continued her lecture.

"It's earth, but not the one we left," she said. "That earth is gone, rebuilt from scratch."

"But how is that possible? We were only gone for a day at most?" someone yelled from the crowd.

"Yes! This seems... excessive," another one added.

"Wait... then what about my pets!?"

Everyone looked strangely at the third guy. They were thinking about life and death and there he was, wondering about his pets. How was he sure they survived the monsters?

After ignoring the man, everyone turned back towards Anna. But all of them had the same doubt. How did she know about the changes? After all, she was in the same room as them.

However, Anna wasn't in the mood to answer their questions. She already had a headache after explaining everything to YuWon, and that's when he already knew about some things.

Besides, she had no interest in revealing her class to a bunch of strangers. So she carried on with her explanation.

"While we were in that room, each second we spent there was equivalent to 12 years in the real world," Anna said, crossing her arms. "Spend over a day meant--"

"It's been more than a million years," YuWon completed Anna's sentence.

"You know, it is as simple as the impact event. Think of it as a global reset, just like the one with the Jurassic and Paleoproterozoic¹ eras. Only this time, it wasn't an asteroid that changed the world."

Everyone reacted like a bomb had dropped on them. They began worrying about their savings, properties, weddings, and whatnot. YuWon found it hilarious that people were still worried about such trivial things.

In his eyes, none of it mattered from the moment the monsters appeared. It wasn't like the beasts would discriminate between rich food and poor food. As long as it was food, they would chow down on anything.

Anna then leaned in closer to YuWon so only he could hear her.

"In my timeline," Anna continued, "we called this place the Otherworld. But you can call it whatever you want. I'm not calling dibs this time. Just so you know, I can be gracious in giving, too."

YuWon could discern the flirty tone Anna had while saying the last part. He turned to tell her he wasn't the one who loved her, but froze when he saw something lurking behind them.

A massive creature walked out from the trees. The darkness made it difficult for them to get a good look at the creature, but when it stepped into the moonlight, he saw it — a two-tailed, four-eyed black wolf.

"Watch out!" someone screamed, but it was too late.

The wolf lunged forward, grabbing a man from the group. The man didn't even have time to scream as the wolf snapped his neck. But the wolf wasn't alone, as more of them appeared in the clearing.

Everyone panicked, and some even tried to run away, only to be the first ones who ended up dead.

Those who could fight formed a circle around those who couldn't, because of a lack of skills, class, or will. YuWon didn't order those people to be protected, the others did it on their own.

Such a mentality was detrimental to one's survival. However, before YuWon could lecture them about it, a wolf lunged toward him. YuWon dodged its initial attack and swung his Noir blade, slicing through the beast's left eyes.

The creature howled in pain and retreated. The pack followed the creature, who seemed to be their alpha. But as they left, they dragged the man's corpse with them.

Good dogs! That saves me the trouble of burying the man.

"We'd need the food," YuWon said, ready to chase after the wolves.

But before he could take off, Anna and Gina pulled him back together.

"Are you out of your mind!?" the two yelled simultaneously, only noticing each other's presence later.

Gina glared at Anna, who let go and raised her hand. She didn't want to be at odds with anyone close to YuWon... not in this timeline. But it looked like Gina's rival sense was on high alert and she glared at Anna.

"It's nighttime," Anna said, ignoring Gina's glares. "We need to find a safe place to rest first. Besides, if we chase after them now, we'll end up dead and have them feasting on our corpses."

"...she is correct," Gina chimed in before dropping her voice to a whisper. "Even though she's a bitch."

Gina's insults did not surprise Anna, nor did she retort. After all, it was this attitude of hers that would prove useful in keeping YuWon in check later.

"Alright. Let's find a place to make a base first," YuWon said, stepping in between the ladies. "And Anna, we might need to have another talk when everything is done."

"Of course," Anna smiled at Gina. "Whenever you like."

***

Author's note:

[1] Paleoproterozoic era: The Paleoproterozoic is a geological era that existed about 2.5 billion to 1.6 billion years ago. It's an era where only primitive life such as bacteria existed.