Chapter 93 - World on the Brink

Chapter 93

World on the Brink

Above Kraków, almost juxtaposed with the sun itself, an otherworldly vortex spun ominously. It hovered mainly above the Wawel Castle, casting a foreboding shadow over the Vistula River. The sky, once a canvas of serene blues, now churned with dark, swirling, ashen clouds. From the maelstrom suffused with a trace of death, monsters–creatures of nightmare and chaos–came pouring forth like a grotesque downpour, descending upon the city with a voracious hunger.

The streets of the Old Town, usually bustling with the energy of tourists and locals alike, transformed into a scene of harrowing desolation. The Cloth Hall, a symbol of  Kraków’s rich mercantile history, became a rubble, a battleground, its once proud structure now marred by claw marks and the acidic burns. St. Mary’s Basilica, with its iconic twin spires, stood defiantly in the face of the onslaught, but the relentless tide of the creatures left it scarred and desolate, a haunting silhouette against the darkened sky.

“RUN! GET THE HELL AWAY!”

“DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!”

“Help… help… please help me…”

“Where are the Awakened?!”

“I can’t die like this… no, I can’t die like this!”

Disharmonious cries bellowed out from the tortured city streets, their voices marred with horror and desperation. However, they may as well have been silent, their rungs drowned out by the roars of the misshapen things.

The Awakened of the city fought as well as they could, their spells illuminating the smoke-filled air with bursts of ethereal light, casting long shadows on the remains of the Florian Gate. However, despite their efforts, the Awakened were continuously pushed back, their ranks dwindling under the relentless assault. The monsters seemed almost endless in number and variety; some bore the terrifying visage of nightmares, with twisted limbs and gaping maws, while others were more subtle in their horror, their forms almost ethereal, yet equally lethal.

Just as it seemed that the Awakened gained a semblance of foothold, the massive vortex shook violently, unleashing a shockwave that further toppled the surrounding buildings. A moment later, a jutting figure began crawling out from it, a formidable presence that commanded the attention of all who remained. It towered above the ruins of the city, a composite of the very essence of fear and destruction. Its body was a tapestry of terror, all with elements borrowed from its lesser kin–scales that shimmered with an unholy light, eyes that glowed with malevolence, and limbs that moved with a grace that belied their monstrous strength.

What little hope there was expired immediately–the abomination’s mere presence suffocated life, and all living beneath its gaze could only tremble and dissipate into ash, scattering in the wind.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

“Mommy…”

“Save us! SOMEBODY!!”

Cries were soon dulled–and within an hour, the entire city of Kraków lay desolate, turned into a ruin. Monsters roamed the streets still, some drinking from the rivers of blood, others desecrating the corpses, and some yet mindlessly devouring stone and steel.

Kraków, however, was not the only city that met its finality.

In the quiet, picturesque city of Lijiang, nestled amidst the serene mountains of the China’s Yunnan province, a peaceful evening was obliterated by the abrupt appearance of a dark and swirling vortex that materialised in the sky above the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, casting an ominous shadow over the city.

From the swirling abyss, a horde of monstrous entities began to pour out, descending upon Lijiang with reckless abandon. The city, with its winding lanes and traditional Naxi houses, hardly stood a chance–the monsters rampaged through the streets, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake.

The famed Old Town lay in ruins, its once vibrant market squares overrun with chaos and fear. Ancient buildings, some dating back centuries, crumbled under the monstrous onslaught. The intricate wooden facades and beautifully carved roofs of the historic structures were torn apart, their fragments littering the cobblestone streets.

From the onset of the apocalypse, the Awakened were not welcomed in the city, which made it even more tragic when the whirlpool of darkness descended upon it. The night slowly fell, and the darkness consumed everything–there was nothing there but misshapen things lumbering in the nothingness, forever devoured with mindlessness.

**

Ethan frowned deeply.

There was agitation seeping from between his brows, his bright eyes cast in the shadow of doubt… and far more importantly, terror. That was right–Ethan was terrified. For the first time since he’d come back, he felt fear consume him. It wasn’t because more and more cities across the world were being consumed by the sudden onset of Fields, something that hadn’t happened even at the worst times in the past. No, what terrified him was that the fourth Tunnel related to preventing that thing from escaping… was cleared.

Ethan knew very well where the Tunnel was situated, and now he stood precisely there–but there was nothing. Others who accompanied him–everyone save for Layla and Sarah–remained silent, feeling terror, too, as they’d never seen Ethan seem so defeated before. Who was it?

That was the only question that hung on his mind–it wasn’t by accident. There was one good reason why Ethan left this Tunnel for last–it was so far out in the middle of nowhere, far out in the Australian Outback, that it was impossible for someone to simply ‘stumble upon it’. Someone had deliberately come for it–which meant that someone else, too, knew its precise location. It wasn’t difficult to deduce who it was.

Even if Ethan didn’t know their identity, he knew that they were mostly responsible for how the world was cascading into madness. Ethan hardly mingled more than necessary, knowing that it was for the best if he simply took some benefits without changing things too much. The other person, however, didn’t seem to care. For one reason or another, they appeared dead set on completing some goal that was at odds with humanity surviving. After all, if they’d come from the future, like Ethan, they must have known what that thing is capable of. And yet… they didn’t care.

“Dig out a chamber for Delilah to create a portal,” Ethan took a deep breath and forcibly calmed himself down. There was no point in panicking–right now, what he had to do was figure out a countermeasure. Not for defeating that thing, but for surviving.

One simple truth appeared in front of him–they couldn’t stay on Earth. However, he didn’t want to leave. If he left, all the advantages that he had would vanish. He would, once again, be tossed to the bottom of the scale and left to rot. He could hide in other worlds, and perhaps even prosper to some degree… but it wouldn’t come even one percent to what he would be capable of accomplishing on Earth.

No, there’s still a couple of months left, Ethan gritted his teeth. Unless there’s absolutely no other way, I can’t leave. I have to find out who the fuck it was that cleared the Tunnel. By God, I will trounce you with your own spine, you fucking devil…

In the meantime, a solitary figure floated near the massive orb that lay suspended above the Atlantic Ocean. There were still countless carriers floating around it, circling it within the radius of ten miles, observing it day and night. Nobody, however, noticed the figure gently caress the orb.

“He’ll come, soon,” the woman whispered lovingly. “And once he does, I will finally set you free.” Though she gained no reply, she continued to stroke the cold surface beneath her fingertips. “It was dangerous for a moment, you know? Somebody else returned. I don’t know who, but they are cautious. It must have been arranged by the Council. But it’s futile. Whether it’s the Council or the Sages… nothing could have stopped me. It is strange, though. This world is tiny. They shouldn’t have cared for it that much. Someone rather important must have intervened for some reason. But it doesn’t matter. They never stood a chance, anyway.” The woman sighed and looked up at the sky, her gaze diluted in the distant memories. Countless figures flashed through her mind, but she still couldn’t deduce who it was that intervened.

“All things under heaven will soon know,” she mumbled into her jaw, her figure beginning to disappear. “The Fallen shall rise once more.”

She vanished without trace, leaving behind dust and ash. Mere seconds later, a different figure appeared where she was–it was that of a young girl, seeming no older than ten, golden-haired and blue-eyed, with a rather strange look in her eyes. She looked around for a moment before her gaze fell upon the massive orb.

“What the hell did you do to glaze her eyes so much?” the young girl clicked her tongue. “Even after all this time, she’s still trying to free you. Alas, she’ll fail, once again. She did screw up this timeline quite a lot, though. For that alone, I can’t help but punish her a bit. Please understand–this was one world that she should have never gotten tangled in.” A low hum suddenly escaped the massive orb, but the sort that nobody but the young girl heard. Her expression turned strange for a moment before she shook her head.

“Fine, I won’t kill her,” she said. “How about this? I’ll imprison her for thirty years. After that, I’ll let her compete for Providence. That agreeable with you?” no other hum came, which prompted the young girl to sigh, turning back and looking up at the sky. “We’re both bound for something strange, I’m afraid. This tiny world is bound to draw the attention of even the Sages. When that happens, you’ll at least be able to hide in this damned cocoon. The only thing I can hope for is for that handsome older brother of mine to make a name for himself and shield me. Hm? Oh, he’s coming back home. I have to go.”

The young girl’s figure flashed and disappeared, reappearing hundreds of miles westward, deep up in the mountains. She watched as quite a few figures crawled out from the underground, with the man leading the charge showing a rather ugly expression. The wisdom in her eyes faded as she turned to a childlike statue.

“Ethan, you’re back!” she exclaimed jubilantly, running over with her arms spread, tossing herself into his embrace freely.