[Aria's POV]
"They're coming tomorrow."
Drake's words from three months ago still haunted me. But tomorrow never came.
Instead, we ran.
Dr. Elena's network of safe houses kept us moving—never staying anywhere more than three days. Always one step ahead of whoever Drake had warned about.
And in those three months, I became someone else.
"Golden Angel!" A man's desperate voice called through the darkness. "Please! My daughter—she's infected! Please help us!"
I stood on a rooftop, watching the street below. A father carried a small girl, black veins spreading across her face. Zombie infection. Stage two. Maybe an hour before transformation.
I pulled my hood lower, adjusted my golden mask. Nobody could see my face. Nobody could know who the Golden Angel really was.
I jumped down, landing silently beside them.
The father gasped. "You came. Thank God, you came."
I didn't speak. Never spoke during healings. Couldn't risk someone recognizing my voice.
My hands glowed golden as I touched the girl's fevered forehead. The infection fought back, trying to spread, trying to corrupt. But my SSS-Rank Restoration was stronger.
Black veins receded. White eyes cleared to brown. The girl gasped, breathing normally again.
Cured.
The father sobbed with relief. "Thank you. Thank you so much. How can I repay—"
I was already gone. Vanishing into shadows before he could finish.
That was healing number forty-seven today. Forty-seven people who would have died or turned into zombies. Forty-seven lives saved.
And nobody knew it was me.
My system pinged:
[Daily Quest Complete: Heal 40+ survivors][Reputation: Golden Angel - LEGENDARY][Power Unsealing Progress: 70%][New Ability Unlocked: Resurrection - Can revive recently deceased (within 5 minutes)]
Seventy percent unsealed. I was getting close to full power.
I returned to our current safe house—an abandoned church Dr. Elena had secured. She waited inside with the five fighters who'd stayed loyal. They'd become my team. My family.
"How many today?" Dr. Elena asked.
"Forty-seven."
"That's a new record." She smiled proudly. "Your power is growing fast. How do you feel?"
"Strong. But also..." I hesitated. "Tired. Every healing takes something out of me. And I keep thinking about Drake's warning. About whoever's really coming for me."
"We've stayed hidden this long." Dr. Elena squeezed my shoulder. "Maybe they gave up."
But I didn't believe that.
Neither did she.
A knock on the church door made us all tense. Our fighters raised their weapons.
"It's me!" A familiar voice. "Jade! Please, let me in!"
Jade? From Marcus's warehouse?
Dr. Elena opened the door cautiously. Jade stumbled inside, bleeding from a cut on her arm. She looked thinner. Exhausted. Haunted.
"Jade?" I pulled off my mask. "What happened?"
Her eyes widened. "Aria? You're... you're the Golden Angel?"
"Long story. Why are you here?"
"The warehouse. It's gone." Jade's voice cracked. "Red Claw attacked three days ago. Killed almost everyone. Vivian's dead. Most of the fighters are dead. Only twelve of us escaped."
My chest tightened. "What about the innocent ones? The younger survivors?"
"Some made it out. But we're scattered. Hunted. Red Claw is systematically destroying every survivor camp in the city." Jade grabbed my arm. "They're looking for you, Aria. The Golden Angel. They know you're SSS-Rank. They're obsessed with capturing you."
"How do you know this?"
"Because before they killed her, Vivian told them everything. About you. About your real power. She thought it would save her." Jade's expression darkened. "It didn't. They executed her anyway."
I felt nothing hearing about Vivian's death. Just like Marcus's death three months ago—empty. The girl who would have cried for them was gone.
"Where are the other survivors?" Dr. Elena asked.
"Hiding in the subway tunnels. But we need help. Medical supplies. Food. And..." Jade looked at me desperately. "Healing. Three of them are infected. They'll turn by morning if someone doesn't cure them."
My team exchanged glances. This could be a trap. Jade could be working for Red Claw, leading them right to us.
But three infected people would die if I didn't help.
"I'll go," I decided.
"Aria, it's too dangerous—" Dr. Elena started.
"People are dying. I have to try." I put my mask back on. "But I go alone. If it's a trap, you all stay safe."
"Then I'm coming with you," Dr. Elena said firmly. "Non-negotiable."
We followed Jade through the dark city streets. My Life Sense ability pinged constantly—detecting zombies, survivors, danger everywhere. But nothing felt like an ambush.
We reached the subway entrance. Descended into darkness.
And found them—twelve survivors, exactly like Jade said. Three were clearly infected, black veins spreading. The others looked terrified and hopeless.
"You brought the Golden Angel?" one man breathed.
I nodded and moved to the infected. Placed my glowing hands on the first one—a teenage boy. The infection resisted harder than usual. Stronger. Evolved.
My system flashed warning:
[Infection type: Mutated strain][Difficulty: HIGH][Power required: 60% of reserves]
But I pushed through. Golden light flooded the boy's system. The infection screamed and died.
One down.
I moved to the second—a middle-aged woman. Same mutated strain. Same brutal fight. I cured her, but my power reserves dropped to thirty percent.
The third patient was worst—an elderly man, infection at stage three. Almost fully transformed. This should have been impossible to cure.
"Please," he whispered through graying lips. "Please... don't let me... become one of them..."
I gave him everything I had left. Every drop of power. The golden light was so bright it lit up the entire tunnel.
The infection fought back viciously. My system screamed warnings. This was too much. Too dangerous. I was draining myself completely.
But I couldn't stop. Wouldn't stop.
Finally, the infection broke. The man gasped, his eyes clearing. Cured.
I collapsed, completely drained.
Dr. Elena caught me. "Aria! You used too much!"
"I'm... okay..." But I wasn't. My vision blurred. My system flashed red:
[WARNING: Power reserves at 2%][You are vulnerable][Recovery time: 12 hours minimum]
"She saved them all," someone whispered in awe. "The Golden Angel saved all three."
"She's incredible..."
"She's everything they say..."
Through my fading consciousness, I heard footsteps. Many footsteps. Coming from multiple tunnel entrances.
Jade's face appeared above me. And she was smiling.
Not a relieved smile.
A cruel, victorious smile.
"I'm sorry, Aria," Jade said. "But they promised to spare my little brother if I delivered you. I didn't have a choice."
No.
No, not Jade.
Red Claw fighters poured into the tunnel from every direction. Dozens of them. And leading them was Drake Morrison, his S-Rank power crackling.
"Hello again, goddess." Drake's smile was predatory. "Thank you for using all your power healing my actors. Yes, actors. That infection? Special serum we developed. Harmless but looks real. Drains SSS-Rank healers dry when they try to cure it."
I tried to stand. Couldn't. Too weak.
Dr. Elena moved in front of me protectively. "You'll have to go through me."
"With pleasure." Drake raised his hand.
"Wait!" A new voice. Powerful. Commanding. Female.
The Red Claw fighters parted.
A woman walked through—tall, elegant, radiating SSS-Rank power so intense it made the air shimmer. Her system screen appeared:
[CATHERINE BLOOD - RANK: SSS][VAMPIRE EMPRESS][ABILITY: Life Drain & Blood Manipulation]
She looked exactly like me. Same age. Same build. But her eyes were ancient and cruel.
"So," Catherine said, studying me like I was an interesting insect. "You're the other one. The second SSS-Rank Restoration user in the world."
"Second?" Dr. Elena breathed.
"Oh, didn't you know?" Catherine's smile showed fangs. "Restoration powers always come in pairs. Life and Death. Light and Shadow. Creation and Destruction." She knelt beside me, her face inches from mine. "I'm the Death half, darling. And you're the Life half. We're mirrors. Opposites. Fated enemies."
My system screen exploded with notifications:
[CRITICAL ALERT: Rival Restoration User detected][Catherine Blood - Death Restoration Goddess][Your counterpart and opposite][WARNING: She can drain your power permanently if contact is sustained for 60 seconds]
"Here's what happens next," Catherine said pleasantly. "I'm going to touch you for sixty seconds. Drain every drop of your Restoration power. Add it to mine. Become the only Restoration Goddess in existence." Her hand reached for my face. "Any last words, little mirror?"
Dr. Elena's ice exploded, trying to freeze Catherine.
The vampire woman didn't even blink. The ice shattered against her skin.
"How cute. Protection." Catherine waved her hand. Blood erupted from Dr. Elena's nose, mouth, and eyes. She collapsed, convulsing.
"ELENA!" I screamed.
"Tick tock," Catherine's hand moved closer. "Fifty-nine seconds and you're mine. Fifty-eight. Fifty-seven..."
I couldn't move. Couldn't fight. Couldn't do anything but watch death approach.
This was it. This was how I lost everything.
But as Catherine's hand touched my skin, something inside me exploded.
Not power. Not golden light.
Rage.
Pure, burning, absolute rage.
My system screen flickered, words appearing in blood-red text:
[EMERGENCY OVERRIDE ACTIVATED][TRUE POWER UNSEALING: 100%][ALL SEALS RELEASED][RESTORATION GODDESS - COMPLETE FORM][WARNING: POWER EXCEEDS USER COMPATIBILITY][SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: UNKNOWN]
The entire tunnel exploded with golden light so bright it burned.
Catherine stumbled backward, her hand smoking. "That's impossible! You were drained!"
I stood up, power flooding through me like an infinite ocean. My eyes glowed pure gold. My body radiated energy that made the very air crack and burn.
I was no longer Aria Chen, the weak girl who begged for love.
I was no longer even the Golden Angel.
I was something else. Something more.
Something terrifying.
"You wanted the Life half?" My voice echoed with divine power. "Careful what you wish for."
I raised my hand.
And the real battle began.