Chapter 120 Tales of the past I

Chapter 120: Chapter 120 Tales of the past I

Luna and Rowan finally reached the main battle line. The moment they stepped into the area, Luna stopped. The ground was covered with dozens of butchered bodies. Blood stained the tiles, spreading into dark pools beneath the corpses. Broken weapons were scattered everywhere, and huge pieces of ice were still sticking out of the ground and walls. It was the aftermath of Kai’s fatal attack.

Rowan’s footing suddenly turned wrong. His leg buckled, and he almost fell. Luna immediately tightened her grip around him. "Jeez, dude, you’re hella heavy," she muttered, trying to keep him upright. "Careful not to break my arm."

Her voice was soft—far softer than the cold, detached voice everyone had become used to hearing from her.

Rowan gave a weak chuckle. "Sorry."

But Luna wasn’t really listening. Her eyes had widened as she stared at the destruction surrounding them. Of course, she already knew there had been a massacre. She had heard enough from the emergency communication and seen the aftermath in the corridors. But seeing it with her own eyes was completely different. Was it really this brutal?

Luna swallowed. "Who did all this?"

Rowan’s head was slightly bent as he tried to steady himself. He followed her gaze toward the countless bodies. "Majority of it was Kai." He took a breath. "With a little help from me and Ethan."

Luna nodded slowly. Then her eyes moved farther ahead. She spotted her men—they were crouched together, looking exhausted and pale. Fear immediately hit her. Hard. Are they okay? Had they been badly injured? Were they dying? The questions rushed through her mind so quickly that she almost forgot Rowan was leaning heavily against her.

Luna hurried forward—or at least, she tried to. Rowan’s weight made it impossible to move as quickly as she wanted. By the time they finally reached the others, every pair of eyes immediately turned toward her.

Kai was the first to react. He stared at her. For a second, he didn’t say anything. Then he released a long breath of relief. "Luna..." His shoulders relaxed. "Hell, I can’t believe you’re fine." His eyes moved over her body. "You’re even looking so good without a scratch on your body. That’s shocking!"

He was about to continue when a sudden pain shot through his lower abdomen. Kai instantly went silent, his face tightening.

Luna stared at him, then shrugged. "I miss you too."

Kai’s eyes widened.

Luna’s lips twitched. "No need to act like that wasn’t what you wanted to say."

Kai opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Luna turned away from him before he could respond.

Her eyes immediately landed on Ethan. His hands were glowing, white flowing energy moving from his palms and entering Adrian’s body. But Adrian looked terrible—his skin was pale, his breathing was uneven, and he looked like he was one second away from giving up the ghost.

Luna’s expression immediately turned serious. "What is going on?" She looked around. "There isn’t any threat around anymore, but we can’t stay here much longer." Her voice became commanding. "Let’s go."

Ethan looked at her. So did Kai. Neither of them moved.

"Now?" Ethan’s voice was strained. "Can’t you see what’s happening to all of us?" He looked down at his glowing hands. "Our powers are getting weaker." He took a shaky breath. "And trying to leave on foot like this could cause a complete breakdown. None of us can risk that."

Luna groaned. She looked at Ethan’s hands—his healing energy was already beginning to fluctuate. "Your healing energy won’t be sufficient." She quickly shook her head. "I can help." Everyone looked at her. "I have power crystals that can boost your energy significantly. I can recharge them and restore your abilities."

Luna’s eyes moved toward Adrian. "But your own health is going to be threatened if you keep using your power like this." She looked at Ethan. "Especially you. You’re already draining yourself trying to heal them." She clenched her fist. "We just need to get out of danger first."

Nobody moved.

Adrian coughed—the sound was weak. The white light around his chest flickered before settling again.

Luna’s eyes narrowed. "Adrian?"

He shook his head. "I really can’t stand." He coughed again. "My feet won’t move." He stared down at them as though they belonged to someone else. "I don’t know why it’s like this."

Luna stared at all of them. Did they really think she was doing this because she was selfish? Did they think she didn’t care about them? Deep down, Luna was terrified. She didn’t want them to stay here. She wasn’t even sure whether all the enemies were dead. And staying around to find out felt more like embracing death with a smiling face.

"We’ll find a damn way." Her voice became firmer. "We always do." She looked at Rowan. "Don’t you think so?" Then she looked around at all of them. "Let’s get out of this supermarket already."

Kai suddenly laughed. It wasn’t a happy laugh—it was weak and bitter. His chest tightened, then he coughed. Blood came out.

Luna’s expression changed.

Kai wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Well..." He looked at her. "So now you want to leave the place you’ve been dying to come to for days?"

Luna remained silent.

Kai continued, complaining about the same thing again, "You know, if we hadn’t come here, none of this would have happened." His breathing became heavier. "And I’m not even sure we’re going to make it out." He looked toward the destroyed hall. "Let’s say we somehow survive and leave this place. What then?" His expression became serious. "The sea could finish us." He gestured vaguely toward the direction they had come from. "We’re leaving a supermarket and going outside with the uncertainty of a blind man leading an elephant." He gave a humorless smile. "Who knows what is waiting for us out there?" His eyes met Luna’s. "So I don’t think we should leave this place yet."

The way he said it made Luna understand something. Kai thought she didn’t care about them—that she only cared about getting what she wanted.

Rowan didn’t say anything. Instead, he slowly moved away from Luna. "I want to lay against the wall." He sighed. "I can’t take standing anymore."

Luna watched him carefully as he lowered himself against the wall. Her mind was spinning—Kai’s words, Ethan’s words, Adrian’s condition, the attack, the island. Everything was crashing into her at once.

Adrian’s weak eyes remained fixed on her. "Luna..." She looked at him. "We don’t know much about you."

Luna’s body stiffened.

"How did you learn those combat skills?" Adrian swallowed. "I know the situation of the world forced you to learn how to fight, but it’s still vague." His eyes narrowed. "And how did you locate us?"

Luna’s expression changed.

"You act like you already know something about us." He coughed again. "Something we probably don’t even have a clue about." His voice became quieter. "To be honest..." He stared directly at her. "It’s creepy."

Luna immediately looked away. She didn’t want to hear this. Not now. Not after everything.

"This might not be the right time for this, Adrian." She rubbed her forehead. "Look at where we are." Her voice trembled slightly. "Look at what just happened." She turned her back toward them. "And you want me to start telling stories?" Her hands clenched. "Aren’t you the ones who tagged me as selfish?" She laughed bitterly. "So this isn’t supposed to be about me."

Luna brought a hand to her face. She had tried so hard to bury the past—to block it out, to forget everything her family had done to her. But those memories never truly disappeared. They remained somewhere inside her. Waiting. And whenever they surfaced, they hurt more than they should have.

She remembered the betrayal. The abandonment. The way the people she trusted had turned against her. Those were the memories she wished she could bury forever. Those were the moments when she had been at her lowest. Her weakest.

During her first life, she had wanted revenge. God, she had wanted it. There were times she wished she had properly punished her family for everything they had done. But the apocalypse hadn’t given her the opportunity. There had never been enough time. Every day had been about surviving the next day—running, hiding, fighting, losing people. By the time she had finally reached the end, she had carried all that hatred without ever getting the chance to release it.

Luna’s shoulders trembled. Maybe she really was far gone. Maybe what her family had done to her had broken something inside her. Maybe that’s why she couldn’t trust anyone. Why she always expected betrayal. Why she had become so paranoid. Why she had to control everything.

"I don’t think you should force her to tell us." Kai’s voice suddenly came from behind her.

Luna froze. Everyone looked at him. Kai was the last person they expected to defend her—he was usually the one asking the most questions.

"Remember," Kai continued, "there’s a time for everything." He coughed lightly. "And right now, maybe we should focus on getting away from this dangerous situation."

Adrian frowned. "I’m not forcing her." He looked at Luna. "Just look at us." He struggled to breathe. "We at least know something about ourselves." His eyes narrowed. "We know our motives." He paused. "But we don’t have a clue about hers." He gave Luna a weak look. "How she knows so much about us..." He shook his head. "To be honest, it’s creepy."

Despite everything, Luna almost laughed. For someone who looked like he was barely able to breathe, Adrian was still talking far too much.

Luna wiped her face. She took a deep breath. Then another. She forced herself to calm down. They couldn’t understand. None of them could. They hadn’t lived her first life. They hadn’t experienced the betrayal. They hadn’t watched humanity collapse. They hadn’t watched these four men die. They hadn’t felt the helplessness of knowing she couldn’t save them.

Maybe keeping everything inside wasn’t helping anymore. Maybe it was time.

Luna slowly turned around. "Fine." Everyone became quiet. She looked at Rowan. "You’re right."

Rowan raised his eyes.

"If I don’t tell you, none of you will ever understand." She crouched down and opened her handbag. Then she looked at Ethan. "It’s okay."

Ethan frowned.

"This is my mess." Luna took out several energy drinks and passed them around. Then she pulled out the extra sandwiches Miles had made. "Eat."

Kai stared at the food. "Now you’re feeding us before dropping a massive secret?"

Luna ignored him. She sat down, her fingers tightening around the edge of her bag. For several seconds, she said nothing. Then she finally spoke.

"I fought with all of you."

The room went silent.

"I watched you four fall." Her voice was quiet. "And that’s when humanity reached its final stage of resistance."

Rowan’s expression changed.

Luna continued, "With the collapse of the last stronghold..." She swallowed. "...we perished."

A deafening silence stretched through the hall. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Even Kai stopped making jokes.

Luna lowered her gaze. "It was supposed to happen again." Her voice cracked. "You were all supposed to die again." She looked at them one by one. "And I remember the screams." Her fingers trembled. "I remember watching you struggle." She took a shaky breath. "I remember every painful second."

Luna’s eyes became wet. "I came here to stop it." She looked down at her hands. "But of course..." A bitter smile appeared. "It’s not entirely in my power." She looked at them again. "No matter what I do..." Her voice became barely audible. "It’s obvious that you are all destined to die."