Apocalypse Forecast

[Hell·Depth One]

Outside the cabin lay the desolate ruins of an ancient city. Skeletons and decaying steel littered the place, as if a catastrophe had passed—or perhaps not, merely decay.

All was silent, as if the entire city had died, reduced to ruins.

Only beyond the shattered massive archway, something seemed to awaken in the Sky Dome, opening its eyes, a vast pupil like the moon itself looming over him.

Between the sky, composed of what seemed like accumulated rotting matter, and the land, akin to rubble, pale faces fluttered like Butterflies under the blood-red Moonlight.

The cold, as viscous as tidewater, slowly engulfed him.

Stripping away all warmth…

Huai Shi couldn't help but gasp; the panic and unease conveyed by the memory surged like a tide, ceaselessly battering him.

He could only keep peeling the negative emotions off himself, turning them into Apocalypse. Even so, the bone-chilling cold was unstoppable.

Pain like poison screamed in the depths of his consciousness. The test subject roared, wept, and struggled—but from beginning to end, no one spoke to him.

Only the violent shaking began once more.

The depth counter displayed again: [Depth Three]

A roar came from outside the cabin, the sound of countless heavy machines operating. What met his eye was molten lava surging beneath the hollowed-out ground and rust-covered assembly lines.

This was an engineering project built upon Hell itself, where enormous assembly lines rotated unceasingly. Rows upon rows of crimson hooks held countless people.

They seemed still alive, desperately struggling and wailing in despair as they were delivered one by one into workshops. They disappeared amid the relentless cutting and crushing, until in the end, only the sharp lament of metal friction remained.

Ultimately, from the assembly line, they transformed into an array of tables, lamps, clocks, and Bronze Mirrors, sent into the darkest depths.

[Depth Seven]

War.

War was like flood and fire, submerging everything.

The roars of combat filled his ears—monsters fought each other, tens of thousands of Giants gathered, sheathed in steel. Like slaves, they roared under the whip of their Master, treading on corpses as they advanced.

Those Lock Chains were fastened around the necks of even larger creatures.

The dozen women, each hundreds of meters tall.

They were bare-skinned, their flaxen hair ablaze. They wailed and howled, dragged forward, singing in pain and despair. Wounds on their backs that looked like torn wings dripped with searing blood, and broken Halos were suspended above their heads.

Their songs were hoarse and piercing.

Praising the gods who had died.

[Depth Nine]

An endless sea, the Original life soup boiling. Giant Beasts and monsters devoured each other, only to be reduced to Ashes by the Thunderfire from the sky and the magma from the fissured earth, beginning yet another futile cycle.

[Depth Ten]

Darkness, endless darkness. Amidst the desolation, a silhouette sat quietly on an Iron Stone, like a prisoner. He spoke, he sang, he danced.

Waiting for death.

[Depth ???]

Chaos, a dazzling light, death, destruction, God Spirit, despair, despair, despair, despair, despair...

…

In the endless fall, he learned fear, began to scream, and descended into madness.

In the end, he grasped despair.

At the very, very end, as everything was about to be destroyed, that person subconsciously shouted that name.

"Mother…"

Then, everything came to an abrupt stop.

Darkness struck.

He awoke, from the ignorance and shackles of a mere mortal.

Soul manifested.

His Sublimation began.

.

.

Huai Shi opened his eyes, staring blankly at the Sky Dome.

After a long while, he finally came to his senses.

Even though he had long been accustomed to fear, when he became Red Gloves, he still found it hard to resist the despair and pain with which he had once empathized.

It was like being thrown into the deep sea and forced to grow gills.

So rough, as if life had no meaning at all.

Damn it…

His head throbbed. He slowly propped himself up, drained the cup of reviving tea Raven handed him, and finally felt slightly relieved after a long moment.

"It seems the Hell Depth Experience is quite effective," Raven whistled. "That Red Gloves guy probably underwent splitting surgery in advance to prevent information leaks after death. The records he left are a complete mess; the most valuable part is probably this one."

"That institution… he was…"

"Right. More than sixty years ago, during the Cold War, Holy Rome decided to counter the pressures from Dongxia and the Russian Federation on the eastern front. They did this by selecting certain humans and genetically modifying them, creating a Legion of Sublimators.

The project was called the Fountain of Life.

What you saw must be their method of artificial Sublimation—far too crude, forcibly throwing people into Hell for a high-stakes gamble.

Only thirty-one successfully sublimated, Red Gloves being one of them. Later, due to complications, only four remained alive. That's when the project was halted."

"…So you're saying, Red Gloves is actually over sixty years old?" Huai Shi couldn't believe it.

"Yep, that's right. How does it feel to have beaten up an old man?"

"..."

Thinking about how a half-crippled old man had nearly strung him up and thrashed him, Huai Shi felt a sense of the surreal. Yet what he found even more unbelievable was, Were those places he entered really Hell?

Does Hell really exist in this world?

Although he had heard about it many times, he had never taken it to heart. It wasn't until he witnessed it with his own eyes that he realized such bizarre places really did exist in this world.

"To be precise, any place that falls outside the Border can be called Hell. What Red Gloves experienced were probably pieces of the Abyss that Byzantium and others found while exploring beyond the Border, most of which are worthless places.

But if you want to take it literally, Huai Shi, Hell truly exists in this world. However, it's not the afterlife, but worlds that have already died—tombs piled up from the remnants of worlds from countless epochs past.

In there, nothing that happens should come as a surprise..."

"Dead worlds?" Huai Shi asked. "Do worlds die too?"

"'Just like people die, all things will eventually come to an end—if that's what you consider dying, then they have died,' Raven calmly said. 'However, I prefer to call it Nirvana and rebirth, a cycle.'"

"Alright, we've talked enough tonight. You should go to sleep."

Raven turned and spread her wings, flying towards the basement.

Huai Shi, meanwhile, got up and walked toward the upstairs bedroom.

In that instant, their movements faltered simultaneously, and they turned to look at each other as if by unspoken agreement.

Both felt an anomaly emanating from the Book of Fate.

Huai Shi reached out his hand, and the Book of Fate emerged once again.

But this time, it wasn't as tranquil as before. The Book of Fate vibrated slightly, as if it had received some kind of call, conveying a certain message to Huai Shi.

This was the first time the Book of Fate had actively shown any unusual signs to Huai Shi.

Huai Shi looked at it in astonishment, then looked towards Raven.

"What's going on?"

Raven remained silent, as if discerning something. After a long time, she suddenly laughed softly.

"How interesting..."

She asked, "When do you go to school?"

"The day after tomorrow, Monday. Why?"

Raven nodded. "So you're free tomorrow then?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm, since we rarely have time…"

After pondering for a moment, Raven then playfully winked at him. "How about we go on a date together?"

"..."

Huai Shi rolled his eyes, waved his hand dismissively, and walked towards his bedroom.

This woman has finally lost her mind.

Oddly, before falling asleep… he suddenly wished that the one who had just spoken to him had been in her human form.

Consequently, he didn't sleep all night.

.

.

The next day, in the early morning, Huai Shi was awoken by Raven.

Carrying a small backpack, a very expectant Raven hopped around on his chest. "Get up, get up, young man! A man who isn't punctual won't be favored by ladies."

"Have you washed your hair?"

"Have you washed your face?"

"Have you brushed your teeth?"

"Have you changed into new clothes?"

"Are the gifts and bouquet ready for the meeting?"

Amidst Raven's barrage of noise, Huai Shi, feeling utterly dejected and sporting dark circles under his eyes, shuffled around the house. Like a zombie, he changed his clothes, washed his face, and brushed his teeth. He then sat at the dining table, vacantly stuffed the breakfast Uncle Fang served into his mouth, and finally downed a whole pot of coffee.

He then glanced at the time on the wall.

Six-thirty.

Are you mad! Huai Shi roared. Even if it's a date, who the hell schedules a date for six-thirty in the morning! The park isn't even open yet!

Raven completely ignored him.

She was currently talking with Uncle Fang.

Meanwhile, Uncle Fang bent down to offer a small flower he had picked while tending the nursery that morning, smiling as he praised, "Today's lady looks especially vibrant."

Raven took the flower with one wing and cast a look of exasperation at Huai Shi. "Look at Old Fang, then look at you. Learn from him!"

Huai Shi pursed his lips. We're both old foxes; sister, who are you trying to fool with your ghost stories?

"'Young Master, respecting a lady's beauty is an essential virtue for a gentleman,' Uncle Fang said as he helped Huai Shi into his coat. After they had gathered their things, he opened the door for them. The private car Uncle Fang had chartered for the day was already waiting in the courtyard.

"Sir, please."

The uniformed driver, wearing white gloves, bowed to Huai Shi and then opened the car door for him.

At last, Uncle Fang placed a bag containing sunscreen, an umbrella, and a coat into the car and nodded farewell. "I've already booked lunch for you both at Brown Restaurant in the city center, along with flowers and a park boat tour package. I wish you both a pleasant outing today."

"See that? It shows how formidable a man can be when he's meticulous," Raven whispered admiringly on Huai Shi's shoulder. "Learn from him, little brother. If you had even a third of Old Fang's finesse, I wouldn't worry about you staying single for life."

Huai Shi was speechless.

His gaze towards Uncle Fang turned to one of profound awe.

Uncle Fang… He's terrifyingly capable!