A low， deafening roar filled the air.

  Countless meteors bzed across the sky， trailing fire， smming into the earth like rain. The entire house shook.

  In the same instant， the lights went out. The power grid was gone.

  Kane flipped on his fshlight， walking to the window and sliding the small panel open to peer outside.

  The end of the world， exactly as he’d seen it seven years prior.

  Blinding white light flooded the world， fire falling from the sky. The meteors were endless， tearing through every building in sight， reducing the city to rubble. Fmes erupted everywhere， thick bck smoke choking the sky.

  The man-made ke outside his neighborhood bubbled and boiled， white steam hissing up into the air.

  “HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!”

  “WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?! WHY IS THE SKY FALLING?!”

  “I’M GONNA DIE! WHERE WAS THE WARNING?! FUCK—AHH!”

  “MY LEG! THE HOUSE COLLAPSED ON MY LEG! PLEASE， I DON’T WANNA DIE!”

  Screams， sobs， desperate cries for help echoed through the streets outside.

  Crack!

  A massive old oak tree in front of his house was split in two by a meteor the size of a bowling ball， bursting into fmes seconds ter.

  Choking smoke and blistering heat poured through the open panel.

  Kane smmed it shut， sealing it tight with high-temperature adhesive.

  The horrors of the Colpse meant nothing to him. His heart had turned to stone long ago.

  The screams faded as the sun came up. Most everyone in the neighborhood was dead. Kane boiled water on the portable propane stove， made a cup of instant noodles， and ate it with a smoked chicken leg.

  No one knew it yet， but hidden within the countless meteors were blood-red crystals.

  They would ter be called Star Shards.

  Every single Shard could be broken open to reveal something. Sometimes it was just food and water. Sometimes it was enhanced gear， weapons， armor.

  And sometimes， if you were impossibly lucky， it held an Ability Awakening Serum. The power to rise above everyone else in the Wastend.

  Survivors would ter learn that most Shards only held basic supplies. Only a rare few held gear or evolution serums.

  And Shards that held Abilities? They were one in a million.

  Everything from the Shards was ranked， from F-Rank all the way up to the godlike SSS-Rank.

  A loaf of bread at F-Rank might restore your stamina and heal small cuts.

  But anything above F-Rank? It could boost your strength， regrow lost limbs， even make you immortal.

  Kane shook his head， pushing the thoughts away. Once he’d eaten his fill， he dug out an old military surplus field jacket his father had left him.

  Outside， the world burned. But inside his house， stacked high with ice， the temperature was dropping fast.

  He pulled on the jacket， id down， and fell straight to sleep.

  Within minutes， he was snoring.

  Seven years in the Wastend had taught him to sleep when he could， no matter the chaos around him.

  The world could burn. It wasn’t his problem.

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  A frantic pounding on his front door jolted him awake. “ANYONE IN THERE?! OPEN UP! LET ME IN!”

  Kane frowned. He’d almost forgotten about this.

  The man outside was Dugan， the neighborhood security guard. He’d survived the first few hours of the Colpse by hiding in the underground parking garage， which had just colpsed.

  Kane’s house was the only one in the entire neighborhood still standing.

  Dugan had escaped the garage， and found it.

  The first time around， Kane had let him in. At first， Dugan had been grateful， bowing and scraping.

  But as their food supplies dwindled， Dugan had shown his true colors. He was bigger， stronger， and he’d bullied Kane into submission， treating him like a sve.

  By the time the meteor shower ended， Kane was so starved and weak he couldn’t even go out looking for supplies. That was all Dugan’s fault.

  If Dugan hadn’t eaten through half their rations， Kane would’ve been one of the first to find the Star Shards， to unlock their power.

  A few days ter， Kane had snapped. He’d waited until Dugan was asleep， and hacked him to death with a kitchen knife.

  He’d seen so much darkness and bloodshed in the Colpse that he’d buried the memory. Until now.

  “Kane! You’re in there， I saw you come home yesterday! Open the fucking door before I break it down!” Dugan yelled， his voice frantic and desperate.

  Kane smiled coldly. This time， he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

  He grabbed the modified bone saw from beside him， walked to the small panel in the door， and pried it open. A faint smile on his face， he called out. “Dugan? That you?”

  “Kane! Thank fuck! Let me in， man， I almost died out here!” A meteor smmed into the ground right beside him， making him yelp. His voice shook harder. “Brother， please! I’ll do anything! Just save me!”

  “How do I know it’s really you? What if you’re some raider here to rob me?” Kane said， his voice steady.

  “I’m not! It’s Dugan! You gave me a cigarette when you drove through the gate the other day， remember?!”

  “Alright， come closer. Let me see your face.”

  Dugan didn’t hesitate. He practically ran to the panel， his face red and blistered from the heat， eyes wild with fear. “It’s me! See?!”

  Shink!

  The steel bde of the bone saw burst through the panel， stabbing straight through Dugan’s eye socket and into his brain.

  When Kane pulled it back， blood and brain matter sprayed across the porch.

  He slid the panel shut， sealed it again.

  Like nothing had ever happened.

  Dugan hadn’t hurt him yet this time around. But Kane felt no guilt.

  He would’ve never left. Sooner or ter， he would’ve broken down the door. And without that door， the heat would’ve flooded in， and all his preparations would’ve been for nothing.

  The first time around， he’d had nothing. He’d survived the first few weeks only by the skin of his teeth， the walls of his house too hot to touch. He’d had to dig a hole in the floor， bury himself in the dirt to stay cool. He’d had to dig one for Dugan too.

  Only the dirty sewer water seeping through the dirt had kept them hydrated， kept them alive.

  He wasn’t going through that again.

  He dropped the bone saw， id back down， and was asleep again within minutes.

  No one else came knocking after that. The temperature inside the house stayed just below freezing， even as the world outside burned.

  He ate when he was hungry， slept when he was tired， and spent the rest of his time training his weak， untested body.

  The days flew by.

  Soon， it was the 29th day since the Colpse began.

  Even with the insution， most of the fifty tons of ice had melted， leaving the first floor flooded with cold water. But the temperature had stayed low the entire time.

  Compared to the agony of the first time around， this month had been easy. He still had more than half his food and water left， and he’d even put on a little weight.

  He slid open the panel to peek outside. The meteor shower had slowed to a trickle. Sometimes hours would pass without a single fireball falling from the sky.

  Everything that could burn had burned to ash 29 days ago.

  The temperature was dropping. Thin smoke still hung in the air. The few humans and animals that had survived were still in hiding， nowhere to be seen.

  Kane knew there were supplies still out there， untouched by the meteors. Buried under rubble， locked in basements， in buildings that had somehow survived the fall.

  But he didn’t care about regur supplies. What he wanted was Liam Thorne’s SSS-Rank Ability.

  And he was going to collect as many Star Shards as he could， before anyone else knew what they were.

  Finally， the meteor shower stopped.

  Kane grabbed his gear， tore the insution off the front door， and stepped outside.