I Slept Through The Apocalypse

The inside of the cottage, despite being made by vines and plants, was extremely organized and clean. The floor was covered with long, thin bamboo planks, which were seamlessly weaved together. All of the furniture and cabinets were made from intricately shaped trees, weaved together with various types of leaves. Some trees and vines even had exoticflowers and fruits growing from them.

The house gave off a very fresh and natural atmosphere. The abundance of colors and plants gave it a similar feel to beautiful zen garden.

There was a chopping knife sound as they passed through the living room and neared the kitchen. Clover's steps slowed down. Alicia could feel Clover's hand tremble in her palm. It had been a long time since her mother had seen Clover. Both mother and daughter never gave up hope in finding him. Every meal, she would always leave another plate out for Clover. Now he's finally returned…

Elise recalled how her mother kept smiling even after the events. She always talked to Elise when she cried and tried her best to cheer her daughter up. Deep inside, Elise knew how her mother truly felt when she lost Clover. Even though, Clover was adopted, she treated him as her own son and gave him all the love and care a mother would give to her own child. How could a mother keep smiling after losing her child? Elise knew she kept a smiling face for her daughter's sake.

"Elise? Did you bring a friend home again? I hear extra footsteps." Her mother's soothing voice rang out from the kitchen.

Clover's eyes reddened again hearing his mother's voice. They entered the kitchen, where a middle aged woman sat in a wheelchair, facing the opposite way as she diced vegetables for soup. The middle aged woman had black hair tied into a neat bun. A few gray strands could be seen within the mass of black hair.

"Elise, your friend is welcome to join us for breakfast, they can sit in Clover's seat. I don't think your brother will mind." The lady turned around to find a boy holding hands with her daughter. A shocking scene. A boy? Elise has never brought a boy home before, much less, come into contact with another boy! Out of motherly instinct, she began to scrutinize the boy's appearance.

He looked very familiar.

That long hair.

Those eyes.

It strongly resembled..

"I came to take my seat back." The boy said as he smiled gently. That smile..

"C-clover?" Her eyes became teary. She stumbled, almost falling out of her wheelchair trying to grab onto him, so that he'd never disappear again, "i-is it really you?"

"I'm finally back, Mom." Clover kneeled next to his mother's wheelchair and gave her a hug. His mom wailed, as she sobbed into his shoulder. "The heavens are truly smiling down on me today! My son is back! He's finally returned home!" Her appearance had changed drastically in the two years she hadn't seen her son. Possibly from the stress of her missing son, she had gotten gray hairs and wrinkles which made her seem like she aged more than she really did. Her youthful and beautiful face had been weathered away by time and stress.

Clover was teary-eyed as well. "I'm sorry for not being there to take care of you and sis." He pulled in his sister who was crying as well and their family of three cried together. It was a happy and tearful reunion.

Mom and Sis have gone through so much in the last two years. I've neglected my duty to protect the family, he thought to himself. "Heavens have given me another chance to protect who I love. I won't fail again."

After their crying session, Clover used Dream Assimilation to restore their swollen crying appearances to normal. Elise went to assist their mother in making breakfast. Clover protested, saying he wanted to help but was helpless when going against the two females, who forced him to sit in his seat and relax.

Clover helplessly sighed as he sat in his chair. This was home, even though they were in a new place, his sister and mother made him feel at home once again. He knew he couldn't relax however, with the overload in two weeks. If he wanted to live with his family in peace, he had to deal with the oncoming crisis first.

After breakfast, Elise told Clover she wanted to skip school that day to spend time with him.

Clover shook his head. "No, we have plenty of time left when you get home. Don't shirk on your school work." He patted her head as she gave him an unwilling look.

"You'll be back when I get home… right?" She asked softly, as she latched onto his arm. She held on tightly as if she wouldn't budge until he gave her an answer. Elise wasn't willing to part with her older brother again.

"I need to go out for a bit to explore the city. I'm planning on joining your school for the moment. Since you said it was under the martial clans. Who knows, maybe I'll see you at school tomorrow." He pulled Elise into his embrace. "I'll be back, I promise."

Elise gave a satisfied "En" as she leaned onto his c.h.e.s.t. She could feel how muscular his c.h.e.s.t had gotten. His arms which held her were equally as sturdy and reliable. Elise felt safe being in his arms.

"Alright... that's enough. Go. Don't be late for school!"

Worried that she'd miss class, he escorted her outside, watching as his precious sister left for school.

Clover went back inside to find Pringles sleeping on the couch.

"Coooo! Coo….." Pringles seemed to have been in an interesting dream. He had walked into the house and instantly hopped on the couch to take a nap.

Clover's mother pushed her wheelchair into the living room. " Who is this little fellow?"

"This is Mr. Pringles, he's my partner."

"How adorable! It even has a little bow tie!"

Clover changed into loose dark turquoise pants and a sea-green robe with a dark green sash. The outfit was given to him by Elise yesterday. She had secretly gone out to ask their neighbors for their son's old clothing. Their son had joined the core disciples of the martial clans so he resided in the center of the city. He picked up his things slung his backpack on. "Mom, I have to go take care of some business now. I'll be back later." He gave her a hug.

His mother knew she couldn't stop him from going. Her son was all grown up now. He had his own business to take care of. She gave him a kiss on his forehead and patted his arm. "My son has gotten more handsome over these two years without me knowing!" she said proudly, "be careful of those girls who would want to take advantage of you…"

Clover was a little embarrassed. He hadn't really noticed the changes in him. But his training made his frame more fit-looking while his body cultivation had cleaned his body of his impurities. It made his skin clear and vibrant so he naturally had now skin flaws. His body was still slim and tone, and didn't have the bulky type of muscles people would see on bodybuilders.

Previously his build was not as muscular, but now, his toned muscles could be seen when he wore a tight shirt and he also acquired a sharp jawline. He was only sixteen years old so even now, he had time to grow taller. With the guidance of his body cultivation, his body would have growth without the previous impurities so he would naturally become even more attractive as time went on.

That was one of the pleasant byproducts with cultivation. It was able to rid themselves of their bodies impurities and aligned themselves closer to nature. Naturally, things with little impurities and a stronger alignment to nature will be far more attractive.

"Don't worry, Mom I've had my fair share of those girls. I've learned my lesson." Clover reassured her as he held her hand. "I have to go now. So that I'll be back in time for dinner." He gave his mother another hug, grabbed Pringles and then left.

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A teenager with a chicken on his head walked casually down the streets of Newark City. The city was many times larger than the average city back before the Awakening. The architecture was similar to that of ancient China, the wood and stone buildings were very similar, except they had a slightly more complex design. Since the martial clans had been around since ancient times and held on to those ancient Chinese elements, ancient Chinese architecture in their culture had grown into something more profound and complex. They also relied on magical elements to strengthen the quality of their buildings along with modern architecture elements.

The building were beautiful. They were decorated cleverly with multicolored stones and intricate woodwork. The windows had elegant arching sills with high quality wood. Many buildings were crowded with people entering and exiting. Those buildings often were very tall, sometimes as tall as skyscr.a.p.ers, which was an impressive task to construct with ancient Chinese architecture methods and without the use of modern technology such as cranes or cement. The roads between each building were wide as a highway and were paved with smoothly cut rocks made impressively level with each other. Even those in wheelchairs had a smooth time rolling their wheels across the smooth rock road. It was unlike anything Clover has ever seen before.

Vendors and shops filled the sides of the road. They sold artifacts, cultivation manuals, special herbs, clothes, food, almost anything that anyone wanted. They had almost everything.

Clover wasn't sure where to go next. The city was so massive that he got lost within the sea of shops and vendors and people. Pringles had begun to wake up and look around from the top of his head.

"Something familiar… is coming our way." Pringles said after giving a thorough scan around. He began to circulate the Shadow Crow Bloodline. In case anything unexpected came.

Boom! A shockwave was felt from quite a distance away. All the cultivators began clamoring about as they heard the noise.

A golden light surrounded Clover as a figure appeared out of the surrounding golden light. Clover realized the temperature around him was beginning to heat up a little bit. He realized that the golden light surrounding him wasn't just any kind of light.

They were flames.

The figure that approached him also had golden flames running off his long coat. His head was completely bald and shiny to the extent that it glistened like a newly waxed car. His eyes emitted a bright golden yellow glow which his sunglasses failed to completely mask.

"Brother... " a voice only Clover and Pringles could hear rang in their consciousness, " Why do I sense my brother's bloodline on you?" Golden flames danced around him like grass swaying in the wind.

Clover squinted at the figure. Wait I've seen this guy before… He broke into a grin, "You finally decided to shave your entire head, Principal Baldy? I almost didn't recognize you behind those sunglasses. Remember me? I beat up all those kids in middle school and you told me off for weeks! It's me, Clover!"