Chef in the Apocalypse

Around a week later, the combined parties of Jayce, Agni and Tai had traveled back to the dungeon north of Delhi to set up a teleportation array. While their first meeting hadn’t started out great, the parties began to get closer throughout the long journey.

Jayce had learned that Agni’s faction was made up of his childhood friends and neighbors, as well as their family members. They spoke nothing but praise for their leader who had carved out a place for them in the new world, taking care of them in his own way.

This was actually surprising to Jayce, who had heard in his previous life about the kind of man Flame Caster was. His ruthless ambition and disregard for people’s lives had made him infamous, forcing people to stay away from the mad mage.

What Jayce didn’t know was that prior to his rise, Agni had lost his whole faction in a tragic ambush which affected his mental state. Not only had it caused him to shut off from society, it had also been the catalyst for his increase in strength.

Rather than brute force his way through like he had always done, he meticulously researched ways to get stronger, turning his grief and rage inwards so he could eventually reach the top.

Seeing Agni laugh and joke with his faction members over the past week had given Jayce some food for thought. Perhaps it was not wise to look at this life through the lens of his past life. Maybe he was subconsciously holding himself back from achieving his goals by doing so.

After all, his actions were so different from last time that there were bound to be large changes in the future. He had pondered on this before, torn between laying low so that he could take full advantage of his knowledge of future events, or pave a new future with strength.

Yet the answer was clear. He did not have good memories from his previous life, apart from a few people that he could call his friends. Every day was a struggle, fighting for survival, watching those you care about die. Not to mention how humans had seemingly turned upon each other, gatekeeping the higher levels in fear that others could usurp their positions of power.

Therefore he resolved himself to carve out a new path, a new future where humanity would unite and rise up against the apocalypse which had been thrust upon them. He didn’t know how to bring an end to it, nor what such an end would look like, but he was determined to see it through to the end.

"It’s just up ahead." Agni said, pointing to a rise in the distance.

As the group reached the top of the hill, their eyes widened in wonder. Spread out beneath them was a colossal crater, its dimensions staggering the imagination. It spanned an astonishing ten kilometers in diameter, a colossal scar etched into the earth’s surface.

The center of the crater held a mysterious, pointed structure, barely discernible from this vantage point. Jayce, with his keen eye for the arcane, recognized it immediately—the Stele, a revered artifact that granted access to the dungeon.

His gaze then shifted to the right, where the remnants of a small city lay sprawled, a stark contrast to the wilderness that enveloped it. The city’s shattered remains bore the scars of unfathomable destruction, the work of the Stele’s cataclysmic impact. It was clear that the object’s descent had cleaved through the heart of the city, leaving devastation in its wake.

He looked over at Agni before shaking his head in exasperation. It was clear that the man had not done an ounce of clean up work on the city, meaning he had no intention of converting it into a livable space. At least that was before they had met.

Agni felt Jayce’s eyes bore into him, full of judgment and felt embarrassed. "Don’t worry. Our deal still stands." He said aloud, hoping to assuage Jayce’s worries and keep his spot in the alliance.

Jayce didn’t respond, merely turning around and continuing to move forward. They still had to walk another 2 hours before they finally reached the dilapidated city, finding no monsters in the vicinity. It was likely that the residual energy from the Stele kept them away like an intangible force field.

A few of the women were aghast at the living conditions that Agni and his faction had been living in. Lianna and Amber had already discreetly asked Jayce if they had to sleep in such squalor, with horrified looks painted on their faces.

Jayce had to assure them that they would find a place to camp in the wilderness before he would resort to staying in this shithole. Only then did they leave him alone.

Heath also approached him, although with less discretion than the girls. "I’m not staying in this cesspool." he said simply, causing Jayce to stifle a laugh.

He continued, "And I’m certainly not allowing Macie to stay here, not in her condition." With those words, his face turned stubborn and unyielding, like a bear protecting its young.

"Of course, don’t worry. We can’t have a pregnant woman exposed to this sort of environment." Jayce held his hands up, trying to calm down the protective father-to-be.

Just like he had seen in the vision that Macie had shown him, she had become pregnant around the same time, filling the party with joy at the news. Heath was especially joyous, wagging his tail like an overexcited puppy.

Yet as time went on, Heath started to become annoying. Becoming overprotective of Macie, not letting her do things on her own under the excuse that it may harm the baby. It wasn’t until Macie lost her shit that he began to calm down a little.

But he still would not let her out of his sight, no matter what. It was almost as if he knew what had happened in his previous life and never wanted to experience such a thing again.

After receiving a nod in response, Jayce let out a sigh of relief. He looked up to the sky, gauging that it was about midday. "There’s still time to begin the setup of the array." Jayce murmured, before looking for their two mages.