While Kain was dealing with the two mindless, Amelia had to deal with the failed cat mutant. It lunged towards Amelia, faster than any of the mindless.

The mismatch of its body didn’t slow it down. She dodged to the left, her back hitting the wall, then she sprinted down the hall. She needed space to fight, and she needed to give Kain space.

It ran after her, a strange hiss-meowing sound coming from its throat.

Instinct made Amelia drop into a split before her mind could even catch up. The sudden swipe of wind above her head told her the cat had just tried to rip her to shreds.

Sweeping her legs, she got up quickly. The cat opened its mouth, the jaw split impossibly wide. Amelia’s heart pounded in her ears.

Her hand trembled slightly, but she gripped the handle of the machete firmly. She slowed her breathing and waited.

The cat stalked towards her, head swinging. It circled her, and she moved opposite, crouched slightly.

She didn’t wait for it to lunge. She knew it was looking for an opening; the minute it found an opening, it would move.

Kicking off her heels, she ran straight at it, accelerating as much as she could. A downward strike cut off the cat’s ear as it moved to the side.

Amelia didn’t give it time to relax. She swiped the machete towards it, slashing at its abdomen. She felt resistance, but continued.

She swung her body in a graceful arc as the cat stumbled back. She reached for its neck, cutting it in the process. Every slash was given as soon as the other ended.

She didn’t let up until she saw the cat stop moving.

Breathing heavily with her hands on her knees, she felt someone touch her back. The machete swung out, only to be caught.

"You aren’t planning to ruin your happiness, are you, Amy?" Kain drawled.

She stood and glanced at where the machete was. She blushed before letting go.

Kain looked at the woman before him. The splatters of blood on her body, her heavy breathing. He grabbed the back of her head and kissed her.

It was a bruising, devouring kiss.

This was the woman he remembered from his past life. The one who was relentless in battle and ruthless to her enemies, but would still give up everything for him.

He picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His hands found their way under her shirt. Their breathing was heavy. Kain ground his hips against hers.

[Task complete.]

[Collect the mindless ones and proceed to the Fifth Floor. Now.]

He groaned, hearing the system in mind. Pressing his face into her chest, he tried to calm himself.

Now was not the time for this.

And he noticed something strange about the system. The tasks were too urgent, like it know something was coming.

The urgent ’now’ told him things weren’t simple.

He collected the things and moved towards the door. He still hadn’t let go of Amelia, so she was still wrapped around him.

"Put me down," her muffled voice said.

"No," Kain responded. He had finished the tasks. He was going to make love to his woman.

Whatever the system needed him to do on the Fifth Floor could wait until later.

The second he stepped into Floor One, the rumbling started.

’Are you fucking kidding me?’

But it did affirm his thoughts. The system knew this would happen. It gave him the missions for a reason.

He went straight up to Floor Five. It was his safe haven in all of this.

He finally let Amelia down, and the two of them stood in the doorway.

"System, what the hell is going on?" he yelled, enraged.

[The world is breathing.]

The mechanical words sounded almost prophetic. Four simple words, and yet Kain thought it was anything but simple.

The first earthquake, half an hour earlier, wasn’t an event he remembered from his past life. There was only ever one.

Now there’s this. He could feel the entire building tilting on its axis. He trapped Amelia in his arms while steadying himself.

He felt lucky; he had only the children in the nurturing station earlier.

But what he didn’t know was that when the mission for the mindless ones was finished, the system, with the children inside safely upgraded.

Right now, in Dominic’s room, the children were watching the world change.

They saw as the building undulated, a steady rising and falling, like breathing. The ground split open, swallowed buildings whole.

Mountains were moving closer and farther at the same time. The entire world was being rearranged.

Kain and Amelia felt the sudden shift in the building. The feeling of falling came suddenly. Kain crouched, planting his feet.

The shaking stopped, but the descent had begun. An abrupt bang rang out in the room. The feeling of falling had stopped. But the sound of rushing water filled his ears.

Carefully, Kain moved to the window.

He needed to see what was happening. Being unaware made his mind swim. When he opened the drapes, he found his view had changed completely.

Paradise Gates had never been so close to the mountains. Yet now, he could almost reach out and touch them.

He made his way to each window only to find that on one side of him was a mountain and on the other side was a mix of buildings and vast waters.

His brows furrowed. His hand pressed against the glass, and he leaned forward, his face almost touching the glass, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

"Amy, you tell me, did the water get high?"

He needed to hear her say no.

Amelia walked carefully to his side. She, too, had seen what he had seen. She wanted to tell him no, but she couldn’t. Her breath fogged the glass, coming out in short bursts.

"It," she swallowed. "...I think, it did."

Standing on tiptoes, she looked down. It didn’t help, but she thought of another reason the water level might look so high.

"K, I think...I don’t think the water level went up, I think we went down."

Such a silly statement, but it made his heart race. The falling sensation he had felt earlier could be explained if that were the case. The building tilted and fell.

But it was also an absurd notion. It tilted then fell at such an angle that when it landed, it righted itself.

Whatever the reason, he needed to find out. Not knowing was killing him. He had now stepped into uncharted territory.

ding, ding, ding

The sound of the security system stopped him.

He figured it was Jon, coming to find out if his food source was still secure.

His mouth fell open when he saw the crowd outside. Not for the crowd itself, but what was behind them...water.