“Who are you?”

  Liam’s eyes darted to the bone saw in Kane’s hand， a nervous smile spreading across his face.

  “My niece was in your English css st year at Veyra High. We met at parent-teacher conferences.” Kane smiled.

  “Right! Of course.” Liam let out a relieved breath， his smile widening.

  He had no memory of this man at all， but as long as he wasn’t here to take his“food supply”， he didn’t care.

  Kane tilted his head， feigning curiosity， and nodded at the Shard in Liam’s hand.“Mr. Thorne， what’s that you’ve got there?”

  Liam quickly stuffed the Shard into his pocket.“Just some weird rock I found. Souvenir， I guess.”

  Kane lifted the energy drink to his lips， about to take the st sip， then paused.“End of the world and you’re collecting pretty rocks? Always knew you teachers were a different breed.”

  “Wait!”

  Liam’s eyes locked onto the energy drink. Even a single sip was full of sugar， exactly what he needed right now.

  “Look， man， you don’t seem like you’re dying of thirst. If you want that rock， I’ll trade it for that sip of drink. Deal?”

  “You think I’m an idiot?”

  Kane’s face went cold.“You wanna trade a useless rock for my drink?”

  “C’mon， man. Give me that sip， and you’re my brother. My boss. Whatever you want.” Liam begged.“You’ve got a whole backpack full of food and water. You won’t miss one sip.”

  Kane saw the greed in his eyes as he stared at the backpack. It was the same greed that had gotten him killed seven years prior.

  But he smiled， bright and easy.“Yeah， I’ve got plenty. If you want it that bad… sure. We’ve got a deal.”

  Liam’s eyes lit up. He practically threw the“rock” at Kane.

  “Brother， you wanna team up? It’s the end of the world. Two heads are better than one. Safety in numbers.”

  He was already pnning how to steal the backpack the second Kane’s back was turned.

  Kane slipped the Shard into his pocket， tossed him the drink， and his smile vanished.

  “Nah. I don’t like people calling me brother.”

  With that， he turned and walked away. Just hearing Liam call him that made his blood boil.

  Liam stared after him， disappointed， but didn’t dare follow. He twisted open the drink， downed the st sip， and dragged the woman back into the rubble to keep searching for food.

  The second Kane was around the corner， his eyes bzed with murderous rage.

  He hadn’t killed Liam yet， because he wasn’t 100% sure this was the right Shard. If it wasn’t， he needed Liam alive to lead him to the real one. He couldn’t mess up the timeline too much， or he’d lose his chance at the SSS-Rank Ability forever.

  So he’d taken the Shard from the man he hated more than anyone in the world， with a smile and a lie.

  He lifted the bone saw， and smmed it down on the Shard.

  This time， instead of white light， a brilliant， blinding gold light burst out of it. It glowed for a full minute before fading.

  In its pce y a small golden vial.

  Kane grabbed it， his hands shaking. He twisted the cap off. Inside was a single drop of golden liquid， swirling like liquid sunlight.

  One look， and he knew.

  This was it. The SSS-Rank Ability Awakening Serum.

  In the entire world， only a handful of people had ever held an SSS-Rank Serum.

  The second the cap was off， he felt it in his soul. The same overwhelming， godlike power he’d felt coming off Liam Thorne all those years.

  He’d dreamed of this moment a thousand times. But now that it was here， it felt like a dream.

  He tilted his head back， and swallowed the golden drop.

  He couldn’t describe the taste. The second it hit his stomach， it spread through his entire body， like cool water rushing through his veins， into every muscle， every bone， every nerve ending.

  No searing pain， no violent transformation like his old B-Rank Ability. The SSS-Rank Serum was pure， perfect bliss.

  Kane’s mind went quiet. He closed his eyes.

  He could feel something shifting inside him， changing， evolving. The feeling grew stronger with every passing second.

  Thirty minutes ter， he opened his eyes.

  The world looked different. Things he’d never been able to see before were crystal clear. He could see individual grains of sand hundreds of yards away.

  He could hear the faint wind rustling through the rubble， miles away.

  All his senses were amplified a dozen times over. At his current strength， nothing within a thousand yards could escape his notice.

  The SSS-Rank Soul-Binder Ability enhanced his mind， his spirit， his very soul.

  This was just the beginning. As his power grew， his senses would become godlike.

  But that wasn’t the true power of the Soul-Binder.

  Its real strength? The ability to bind any non-human living creature to his will.

  Even the most terrifying， mutated beasts of the Wastend. The godlike Apex Beasts that could stand toe-to-toe with SSS-Rank Ability users. If Kane could defeat them， he could bind them to his will.

  And there was no limit to how many he could bind.

  That’s why it was SSS-Rank. In theory， if he grew strong enough， he could build an army of mutated beasts. He could conquer the entire Wastend. Rule it as a king.

  If he could find enough beasts. And defeat them.

  Kane calmed himself quickly. He knew that until he bound his first beast， he was still just a regur man.

  Just like Liam Thorne， even with the SSS-Rank Ability， had almost died under a pile of rubble the first time around.

  His next steps were clear. Find more Star Shards， boost his physical strength. Find a mutated beast， defeat it， bind it to his will.

  And one more thing.

  Kill Liam Thorne.

  He’d sworn an oath. He’d tear him limb from limb.

  Grind his bones to dust.

  Kane closed his eyes. A second ter， he heard voices. Faint， nearly 500 yards away.

  He couldn’t make out the words， but he knew exactly who it was. Liam Thorne， and the woman he’d taken prisoner.

  …

  Liam sat on a chunk of broken concrete， his hunger already back. The sustenance he’d taken from the woman hadn’t sted long.

  His eyes drifted to her， cold and sharp.“You. Come here.”

  The woman stood there， her hair matted over her face， her upper body barely covered by a torn bra. She didn’t move. Didn’t even look up.

  Smack!

  Liam stood up， backhanding her across the face.“You deaf? I said come here. You wanna end up like your kid?”

  Still， she didn’t move. Just stood there， staring at the ground.

  “Fucking answer me! You mute now?!” He spped her again， harder.

  Before the Colpse， he’d been a nobody. A high school teacher， living paycheck to paycheck， going nowhere.

  After the world ended， he held life and death in his hands. No rules. No consequences.

  The hunger， the fear， the helplessness of the st month had broken him. Turned him into a monster.

  The woman’s head snapped to the side. A trickle of blood ran down her chin.

  Slowly， she lifted her head. Her eyes were filled with nothing but hatred， staring straight into Liam’s soul.

  Liam froze. Then he snapped.

  “You fucking bitch! I’ll break you! I’ll beat you until you beg for mercy!”

  He rained sps down on her face， back and forth， again and again.

  But she didn’t flinch. Didn’t scream. Just stared at him， her eyes burning with hate. If looks could kill， he’d be dead a thousand times over.

  “Goddammit!” He stopped， his hand stinging. He couldn’t kill her. Not yet.

  He grabbed the rope around her neck， yanking her down onto his p. He ripped off what was left of her clothes， leaning down.

  Suddenly， a cold， sharp bde pressed against his throat.

  “Liam Thorne. Don’t move.”