La Paz, the City That Resisted the Sky
When Rob reached the outskirts of what was once La Paz, Bolivia, he was greeted by a cold, dry wind descending from the heights. The city, perched over 3,600 meters above sea level, stretched before him like a natural fortress. From the eroded peaks of its mountains to the deep ravines that cut through the capital, everything in the landscape screamed survival.
But what caught his attention the most wasn't the ruin… it was the potential.
From his vantage point on a high slope, Rob observed closely. Unlike other cities that had been devoured by colossal beasts and unchecked mutations, La Paz appeared… different. The structures were more intact. There were no signs of craters or uncontrollable fires. Yes, there was ruin and abandonment—but not massive destruction. And then it clicked:
"Here, the enemies were smaller. More scattered," he murmured to himself.
Because of the altitude, the thinner atmosphere, and the cold climate, the larger beasts had avoided settling here. What remained were smaller, quicker, more elusive creatures. Dangerous, yes—but manageable. Rob smiled with a mix of relief and resolve.
"This place… is perfect."
Not just for its relative tactical calm. There was so much more. The geographic conditions made La Paz a natural bastion. Topographical isolation. Valleys that could become protected agricultural zones. Access to underground aquifers of pure water. And most importantly: a vast network of mineral, natural, and structural resources capable of sustaining a self-sufficient city.
Rob walked to an old abandoned telecommunications station. From there, with his digital map open on the Survival System's panel, he began mentally outlining what would become his new plan.
"My base in Chile is strong. But it can't house all of South America. Not alone. If I want to save millions… I need more," he reflected aloud.
La Paz wouldn't just be a refuge. It would be the Second Bastion of Humanity.
And this time, he would build it from the ground up with that purpose.
Rob opened the encrypted communication channel and made direct contact with Alan in Chile. After a few seconds of static, his friend's unmistakable voice responded:
"Rob? Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Listen… I found the place. It's perfect. Water, resources, altitude. Everything. Alan… this city could hold millions."
"Millions?" Alan repeated, stunned. "That would change everything."
"Exactly. I'm starting from scratch here. But I need time. I'll gather survivors, eliminate threats. Then I'll lay the foundation. You and Marcelo, focus on upgrading the support systems in Chile in case we need to coordinate massive transfers."
"Understood. And… Rob… take care of yourself. If you fall, we lose more than a leader. We lose hope."
Rob ended the call, Alan's words weighing heavy on his shoulders.
He knew it wouldn't be easy. In fact, it wasn't easy now.
From the edges of the lower buildings, figures began to emerge. Small, agile, with eyes that glowed like burning coals. Mutated beasts—yes. Smaller than those in the south, but just as lethal. They knew he had arrived. And they weren't going to let him be.
Rob took a deep breath, tightened his reinforced gloves, and placed his hand on his sword's hilt.
"Come on then, demons. I'm exactly where I want to be."
The Awakening of Starfall
The battle began before Rob could organize a defense plan. The mutated beasts, though smaller than those he had faced in the south, were faster and moved in packs. Like coordinated swarms, they poured from cracks, sewers, and ruins, sweeping across the terrain with almost liquid motion.
Rob fought through them with his sword, but their numbers far exceeded what he had anticipated. Every time he cut down a creature, three more took its place. Worse still—they adapted to his fighting style. They leapt from unexpected angles, attacked in waves, and even seemed to follow a coordinated strategy.
"I can't keep this up," he growled, bleeding from his side. "If I keep holding them back like this… there'll be nothing left of me."
Then he remembered. A skill he had seen in his past life. A forbidden art, an epic technique capable of deciding entire battles: Starfall.
It was an A-rank ability, one that only warriors with full mastery of their energy and weapon could awaken. Rob, now on the brink of collapse, knew this was his only chance—to risk everything.
He climbed atop a half-collapsed tower. From there, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and channeled all the energy he had absorbed over the past months. His body vibrated. His soul burned. His sword trembled in his grip, glowing with a bluish-white light that split the air.
Then, he raised it to the sky.
"Starfall!" he roared.
A colossal blade of light appeared above his head, aimed skyward. A deathly silence fell over the city for a second… before the blade shattered into hundreds—then thousands—of ethereal shards that descended like a rain of blades.
The beasts never stood a chance.
Each shard found its target. Every strike was precise. The air filled with flashes and screams. Rob dropped to his knees, exhausted, watching from the tower as silence finally returned to the city.
He had won.
But he had almost died doing it.
After Starfall – The Santa Cruz Alert
The following day, Rob remained in La Paz. Not only because of the cooldown period for the ability—Starfall could only be used once every 24 hours—but because he needed time to recover.
He found refuge with a small group of survivors hidden in an underground community center. There were just over three hundred of them—exhausted, starving, but still clinging to hope. They thanked him as if he were a savior. Rob, in turn, used the day to inspect available resources and begin mentally drafting the first plans for the bastion he would build there.
That night, as he lay on an improvised mattress, the message arrived:
[Priority Survival Alert! City of Santa Cruz under siege. Threat level: high. Local Guardian at risk. Survivors near collapse.]
Rob's eyes snapped open. The most densely populated city in Bolivia after the fall of La Paz was on the verge of destruction. And according to the message… its last line of defense was a single man.
Rob sat up. He vaguely remembered having visited Santa Cruz in his past life. Yes. He had attended an engineering expo there before the apocalypse.
That was enough.
"I can use teleportation. I've got an anchor point there."
He stood, sharpened his sword, and looked around at the few who still slept nearby.
"Saving this city was the first step. Now… I have to save another."
The Guardian of Santa Cruz
Teleportation dropped Rob into the heart of hell.
Santa Cruz—once one of the most populous cities in Bolivia—was plunged into absolute chaos. The streets burned. Buildings collapsed. Screams of desperation echoed everywhere. Human corpses and mutated beast carcasses mingled in the streets, proof of a battle that had raged for days.
Rob landed inside a crater among ruins. The air was thick with the smell of blood and ash. He activated his tactical perception and locked onto the last significant source of human resistance: the city center. Only a few thousand survivors remained, trapped behind improvised barricades and surrounded by hordes of monsters.
And there, at the front, fought a lone man.
"It has to be him…" Rob muttered through clenched teeth.
The figure at the center of the siege stood about 1.80 meters tall. Dark-skinned, black hair tied back, his body covered in wounds, sweat, and dust. He wielded a lance made from bone—a curved fang from some infernal beast—with the skill only earned through hundreds of battles. Rob recognized him immediately: José, the Guardian of Bolivia.
In his past life, Rob had heard rumors about a man who died defending his city to the very end. He could have escaped. He had the skills. But he chose to stay. To fight. And to die with his people.
"Not this time," said Rob, descending with fury.
Rob dove into the battle. C- and D-class beasts surrounded José, and a B- class monster was charging straight for him. José barely managed to block the attack, his lance vibrating from the impact. His right leg was bleeding. His left arm was barely functional.
Then, from the sky, a blade of light fell.
"Starfall!" Rob roared.
The sky split open. A titanic sword descended, shattered, and turned into hundreds of energy blades that rained down like divine judgment. The beasts were pierced one by one. Chaos turned to silence. Gasping and bleeding, José looked up at him in disbelief.
"Who… are you?"
Rob extended a hand.
"An ally. One who came to save what you refused to let die."
José dropped to his knees—not from weakness, but from relief.
Architects of the Future
In the hours that followed, Rob and José organized the evacuation of the wounded and the controlled burning of mutant remains. Rob personally helped stabilize the barricades and ensured the fallen were buried with dignity.
By nightfall, José led him to a reinforced tent in the basement of a library.
There, Rob met María, José's wife. She had been an architect before the apocalypse—sharp-eyed, firm-voiced, with her hair tied back and a calm strength about her. She welcomed Rob with a silent bow and then showed him a deep blue blueprint.
"This spear," José said, "She made it. She has an A+ rank ability: Crafting. She can design anything, as long as she has the materials and knowledge."
María added,
"I can build weapons, shelters, defenses… even full infrastructure. I've always loved weapons. I studied them since I was a child. Architecture and war… they're not as far apart as most think."
Rob looked at them with genuine respect.
"Then you two will be the architects of the Second Bastion."
José looked up.
"Are you serious?"
"More than ever. La Paz will be the operations center. But Santa Cruz has something no other city has—survivors, spirit, and two leaders who've already proven their worth."
José gave a weary smile.
"You can count on us."
Before Rob went to rest, María approached him once more.
"I have a request. My best friend… she lived in Paraguay. Before we lost contact, she said everything had been destroyed. She and others fled to Buenos Aires. If you can… help them."
Rob nodded solemnly.
"I will. It's time to keep weaving the broken threads of this continent together."
[End of Chapter 20 – To be continued in Chapter 21: Buenos Aires in Flames]