Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



Liu Yu Zeng strolled out of the cage he was locked in without a care in the world. Who knew that poison was so good at destroying metal?

One of the Reaver guards approached him, the flesh on his face and arms hanging off his body like an ill-fitting human suit.  Then again, human has now become a bit of a subjective term to him lately.

"Get the fuck back in your cage, bitch," hissed the Reaver, waving wound his bloody machete like it was something to be scared of. Here was the problem with his, though… when you literally had poison running through your veins, not much scared you.

Liu Yu Zeng's upper lip curled into a sneer as he looked at the thing in front of him. "Make me."

Now, he would fully admit that was not the most ingenious insult he had ever come up with, but it served its purpose. 

The Reaver guard broke out into a sprint just as Liu Yu Zeng let out a soft breath of air… nothing more than a sigh… but it had a huge impact on the guard.

Dropping his machete, he clutched at his face, his screams echoing throughout the encampment.  Liu Yu Zeng stood back and watched impassively as the flesh and muscles on the Reaver's face started to turn to liquid and melt off his face.

It was almost like he had been thrown into a vault of acid, the effect the poison had on his skin.

Expecting the Reaver to fall down dead, Liu Yu Zeng raised an eyebrow in surprise when the thing in front of him was still standing… alive and screaming.

The Reaver, not realizing what was going on besides the pain, turned around and ran back towards the exit and the fighting pits.

"I assume you had something to do with that," smirked Liu Yu Zeng as his brother appeared beside him. He turned his head in surprise to see nothing but a human-sized black shadow with silver eyes staring back at him. "And nice upgrade, Bro."

A skeleton hand came out of the shadows to grip Liu Yu Zeng on the shoulder. "They do not deserve an easy death. Might as well let them truly experience wanting to die but not able to." The shadow took a step forward and followed the running skeleton into the crowded area of the pits.

Liu Yu Zeng smiled at that idea. This place was nothing more than a cesspool of the lowest of the low. Might as well have fun now that their Queen had let them off their leashes, so to speak.

Liu Yu Zeng took a step back as even more Reavers arrived, their weapon of choice gripped in their hands. He wondered just how many times in her past life his queen had felt the blows of those weapons. His brother was right. Death should not come easy to anyone who took their pleasure here.

Unbeknownst to him, when Liu Yu Zeng had stepped back, he had concealed himself in the shadows, just like his brother had. But instead of making things darker or more blurry, his vision sharpened, and everything became clearer.

Letting out another breath through pursed lips, he saw his black mist float away on the wind, only to be sucked in by the Reavers. The mist itself was so fine that without his enhanced eyesight, he never would be able to see it.

Their screams of fear and pain drowned out his laughter as he turned around and left the fighter's side of the compound.

So much to do, so little time to get it done.

With every inhale, he took air into his lungs until they were full. With every exhale, thousands of tiny black dots scattered out of him and into the people nearby.

The screams were music to ears as people began to run away. But while the majority ran away, two ran toward him, the fear in one of them making Disease smile.

Stepping out of the shadows, Liu Yu Zeng stepped into the path of the two men. "Are you two in the military?" he asked. The Queen had said that they were to be on the lookout for those in the military; she needed them alive.

The one in front eyed him with suspicion, pulling the other one behind him as if to protect him. Cute… useless… but cute.

When neither man spoke, Liu Yu Zeng sighed in frustration. He was not going to risk his wife's rage by killing the wrong people: happy wife, happy life, and all that.

"Who do you belong to?" he asked instead, thinking that this was a much easier question.

"Bai Long Qiang," said the one in front. Liu Yu Zeng cooked his head to the side, trying to remember where he had heard that name before. Not remembering, he shook his head. "I don't know that name. Is it on the list?"

He knew that his brother had made a list of names of people who needed to die; maybe that was why the name was familiar; it was on Death's list.

"We belong to the Healer," said the second one, coming out from behind the first.

Well, fuck, why didn't they say that before? It would have saved a lot of time and effort.

"You belong to the Healer? You better hurry up and lock yourself up. The calvary is coming, and they aren't going to stop for anyone," warned Liu Yu Zeng. War hadn't even gotten started yet, and when he did, he wasn't going to care who was who.

The first one thanked him before the two of them took off for the fighter's cages.

Doing his good deed for the day, Liu Yu Zeng stepped back into the shadows and let Disease take over.

He didn't know how much time had passed; it could have been five minutes, it could have been an hour, but the next thing he knew, more skeletons were rushing out of the fighter's area and attacking everyone around them.

It seemed like War had finally made an appearance.  Good, it was about time. He was wanting to get back to his Queen. Especially knowing that she was pregnant.

She should consider herself lucky if they ever let her out of their eyesight again.

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The guys were never going to let me out of their eyesight again.

I huffed as Chen Zi Han appeared out of nowhere, cloaked in shadows. The Healer let out a startled squeak, which caused Rip to come to his feet, dropping Hades out of his lap.

The cat let out a very disgruntled hiss as he stood up and jumped on the cage beside me.

Rip, the brave idiot that he was, crouched down, keeping his body between the Healer and the shadow Chen Zi Han. I wondered if he wasn't as in love with her as she was with him.

"Both of you, stand down," I said with a sigh, and the shadows melted away, revealing Chen Zi Han with pitch black eyes. I stared at him, drinking in the sight. He turned to me and picked me off of the cage, not caring at all that Hades had just gotten himself comfortable on my lap.

Once again, he tumbled to the ground, landing on all fours. He let out a very cranky hiss, looking between us and Rip before walking over to the cage with the Healer still inside of it. He started pawing at the door as if wanting someone to open it.

It was as if he had decided to try his luck with the Healer, thinking that she wouldn't push him away. And maybe his thinking was right because she stuck her fingers through the bars to scratch him under his chin.

Unfortunately for him, the Healer, while a lot smaller than me due to her abuse here, was still too big to let the overly large cat into her cage with her.

Realizing just that, Hades let out a low, plaintive meow. He continued to paw at the cage, only to turn to the three of us every so often to see if we were getting his point. He wanted attention; she was giving it, so she had to be out of the cage to give him more.

I rolled my eyes and looked to Romeo. "Aren't you going to open it?" I asked Rip with a raised eyebrow.

"Will she be safe?" he asked in return, and I could feel the tension and uncertainty in him. The big, strong, larger than life Rip was actually worried about someone.

"She is one of the safest people here," I assured him. The guys knew just how important she was to me, and they wouldn't let anything happen to her.

Not to mention, if something did happen to her… they'd spend the next decade or two sleeping on the couch.

Rip grunted at my answer, and I smiled as I snuggled into Chen Zi Han's arms. Bending down, Rip picked up Hades and gently put him to the side so he could have access to the door.

With a sharp tug, the lock keeping the cage closed snapped. For the first time in God only knows how long, the Healer was free.

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