Chapter 105: Back To Square One

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.

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.