Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.

Chapter 790 790: Hope.

For exactly seventy-two hours, the electric storm had raged like a tantrum thrown by the heavens. Sparks danced across the shield, a few generators blew up, and residents trembled in their houses. Then, as suddenly as it came, the same voice thundered from the sky:

"This is the Universal Repairman Organization. The grid is stored and all rifts and tunnels are closed. Humanity may step forward once more. You can now come out of your homes."

The announcement echoed like a divine decreed. Sunshine had taken the children, White and Hades into the space during this time. They came out immediately, rushing to the windows.

"Mom, is it over? Is it really over?" Ariel asked.

Sunshine moved to the balcony, pushing the doors open. Hades and the children followed her. White remained on the couch, figuring it was time to watch cartoons.

Hades stood behind Sunshine, one hand on her shoulder and another gripping Castiel's fingers. He asked the same question Ariel had just asked. "Is it over?" After nearly two years of floods, bitter winter, famine, burning heat, acid rain, volcanic ash and all the mutants, was it truly over?

"It's a miracle!" A man cried from a balcony in the apartment just below theirs. "We are saved."

Sunshine didn't look as thrilled as that man or the rest of the residents. "Saved? The sky still looks like burnt porridge. We are just in a better position than where were yesterday."

Hades squeezed her shoulder. "You sound thrilled," he laughed.

She sighed. "I am. Truly, I am. I just don't know how to be happy about it. I thought I would cry or be beyond excited for this moment. But somehow, I am numb."

His hand crept to the back of her neck. "You have to try honey, just try. Finally, we have real hope."

In Kingsbridge, an excited soldier opened the small gate. Residents who were thrilled started rushing outside. They saw the horizon, smeared with grey ash. Some people raised their arms as if expecting angels to descend.

"I can see the sun." One screamed.

Major Grayson's voice shouted over the speaker. "Inside, everyone, get back inside. You are not authorized to go outside. The gate will be locked in a minute."

As soon as he finished his warning, a mutated hyena leaped out of nowhere. The first man barely had time to scream before the hyena swiped him into the dirt. Chaos erupted. People scattered, tripping over each other, shrieking as the animals mauled anyone within reach. The main gates were opened, soldiers rushed outside, taking down the beast.

Residents turned to the main gates, running inside much easier. The injured were carried inside, and the gates were closed again.

"You idiots." Major Grayson stormed out of the command center. "What were you thinking? The sky may be patched, but the world is still broken! You didn't even stop to confirm if there are any watchers stuck down here with us. Did any of you see a single mutated or mutant beast evacuating in the twelve-hour window?"

His questions and anger were met with silence. The people that had looked hopeful only a moment ago were filled with fear. Reality had returned so quickly.

Silence fell inside the base. The announcement which told humans to step forward had left out their reality. The apocalypse was not exactly over.

An old man fell to the ground in tears, cursing the repairman organization. "We waited 72 hours for this? For monsters?"

While people were struggling with reality, Sunshine rushed to the command center. At the same time, drones left the base, setting off for different destinations. She sat before a camera that projected her face and voice wherever the drones passed and on every screen in the base.

"People of Earth," she began, "we have endured a lot of suffering and grief since the meteors fell. We have buried friends and family. We have fought beasts and slept on empty stomachs. And yet, we are still here."

The drones zoomed in, transmitting her image to every surviving base.

"I know that you are all excited, but I need you to take a moment to breathe and come back to reality. Yes, the sky is patched. No more watchers, no more mist, no more mutants. But don't mistake patchwork for paradise. There are monsters that are still lurking outside. Bears with scales, wolves with wings, chicken as big as trucks, crocodylus, snakes as tall as skyscrapers. I have seen them and so have many of you. The effects of the apocalypse are not going to vanish overnight. They limp, they linger, they bite."

Lisha sighed loudly next her, hugging Bob tightly.

"But hear me well." Sunshine said with strength. "Healing is possible. Hope is possible. We are not doomed to cower forever. Our weather will become normal slowly. The mountains will go back to sleep. With proper care, our soil will become fertile again. Those beasts that hunt us, we will hunt them right back until we wipe them out of existence. We will rebuild, brick by brick, one seed at a time. We will teach our children that survival is not just about hiding, it's about living."

She paused, letting the drones capture her determined face.

"Do not rush blindly into danger. The world needs fixing, and we are the ones that are going to fix it. From now on, we continue to proceed with caution as we have done before. Under the Quinn group, fortress four will continue to provide relief and help everyone out there. When our expansion reaches you, I urge you to embrace it. When our aircraft's land in your areas, don't attack them. Let us work together to rebuild the world."

The drones caught every word, broadcasting her authority and message of hope in near and distant bases. More drones set out, carrying the same message in different languages, to corners of the world.

She ended the external live broadcast and switched to an internal one. "Attention residents, patience is the key to rebuilding. If anyone insists on opening the gates without permission, I will personally kick them in the ass. Get your heads on straight people, we haven't come this far to die carelessly."

Sunshine pushed away from the console, stretching her hands. The sky was patched, but she felt as busy as ever.

"What next?" Hadrian asked her.

She stretched her arms and took a deep breath. "I am going to the tallest watchtower, to look at the sky."

Soon, night draped itself over the base like a heavy cloak. Sunshine was still in the watchtower, standing against the railing. From there, she could see drones circling the sky, their lights blinking as they carried her speech across the world.

Hades was there beside her, quietly keeping watch beside her. He had been her anchor from the beginning of the apocalypse--steady, dependable, the kind of man she could fall asleep next to without a worry that everything would fall apart.

"Your speech was wonderful," he said softly,

She shifted, leaning her body against him. Her forehead rested on his chest. His heartbeat was steady, grounding her in a way nothing ever could.

"I am tired," she admitted. "All the leadership, the crazy repairs, the fights. Now that the sky is closed, I am wondering if I was just pretending to be strong."

Hades tilted her chin up. "Pretending? Sunshine, you carried this base when everyone else wanted to curl up and hide. If that is pretending, then the world needs more pretenders."

She laughed, the sound breaking through the silence. The drones patrolled the base, dangers were unearthed. But for once, she was not in a panic. She was simply a woman in love, standing in a watchtower with the man who had survived every storm beside her.

Their lips met, gentle at first, then fierce, as if sealing a vow. It wasn't a fairy tale kind of sweet kiss, but of apocalypse survivors: raw, desperate, full of hope.

A drone that was circling above them captured the moment. Warren decided to share it with the entire base, broadcasting it on the big screens.

They pulled apart but remained close. "So, what now?" Hades asked her.

Sunshine looked out at the dark, ashy grey horizon. "Now? We heal. We laugh. And when we meet a mutated beast, we fight. But tonight...tonight we rest. And tomorrow, everyone skips training."

Even those words were broadcast. Residents applauded, for different reasons. Some laughed, as if she had given a command for them to do so.

As her their lips touched together again, Sunshine heard a chime in her mind.

[Host, the dooms wand carrier has entered The Xylos Domain.]

She closed her eyes and responded. "Activate all the wands and blow them up."

Now, the joy arrived.