by H.J Kits
In a far-future, post-apocalyptic South Africa, nearly all of humanity has been turned into hardened-clay statues for 3,517 years after a mysterious blue light freezes the world in an instant. Zion, a sharp, history-loving teen from Cape Town’s elite Baobab Academy, is the first human to break out. Naked, alone, and marked by a glowing crack down his face, he awakens into a wild, reborn Earth where cities have become savannas and wildlife—some native, some descended from old zoos and parks—rules the land. Determined to rebuild civilisation from scratch, he enters his own “Stone Age,” crafting tools, weapons, shelter, clay pots, and a bow while learning to survive predators and strange new apex beasts. At the same time, his driving purpose is to find and free his frozen friends—especially his powerful best friend Kosei and the calm, sharp Kaori, whose unspoken feelings for Kosei haunt Zion’s memories. As he explores the transformed Western Cape, tames his fears (from mandrill monkeys to a monstrous feline predator), and pushes himself to innovate, Zion becomes both survivor and pioneer, laying the first ropes of a new human era—while something unknown and intelligent quietly watches his progress from the shadows.
