Apocalypse Forecast

When Huai Shi put down the teacup, he felt as if the world had suddenly become clear.

It was uncertain whether to describe it as a weight being lifted or as having attained some sort of enlightenment. He was calm, as if he were a monk in deep meditation. There wasn't the slightest ripple in his heart, as if he had achieved great enlightenment and seen through Red Dust.

Soon, he reacted. He lowered his head and looked at the ripple of purple in the teacup. "What is this?"

"A special Terrestrial Anesthetic."

Raven lifted a wing, pointing to the tube remaining on the side of the table. "I scraped off some scraps from the Crying Snake's horn and made two tubes of it by chance. I thought I'd give you one as a gift."

"An anesthetic?" Huai Shi asked. "What is it used for?"

"Let me think how to put this..." Raven pondered for a moment. "If a physical anesthetic blocks pain, then this one helps you temporarily let go of desires. After taking it, for a short while, you will not feel anger, hesitation, or sadness; at the same time, you won't feel joy, happiness, or pleasure either. According to the creator of the Potion, what hinders humans from seeking enlightenment are their inherent instincts and emotions. Only by losing all of these can one acquire calmness from nothingness and attain true reason."

"And then?"

"Then just do whatever you need to do." Raven shrugged. "It's just a sedative. What miraculous effect could it have? However, sometimes this undisturbed calmness is the most precious thing. At least choices made in such a state won't lead to regret. As for other effects, they are secondary."

Huai Shi nodded in understanding. "So it's a 'Regret Pill,' then?"

"It should be called the 'Non-Regrettable Drug,' I'd say," Raven inquired. "How do you feel?"

"Very well."

Huai Shi let out a long sigh, found a more comfortable position on the chair, and slowly relaxed. He finally felt tired and sleepy.

It was three o'clock in the morning; it was time to sleep.

"So—" Raven asked, "did you gain anything?"

"Nothing, except for this."

Huai Shi tossed the ring onto the table. The platinum ring, embedded with diamonds, rolled a few times on the table before stopping. It settled, revealing the two names engraved inside.

"My parents are probably dead."

In the silence, Huai Shi lowered his head to gaze at his parents' wedding ring, finally accepting this reality.

Raven shook her head. "Maybe it was pawned?"

"Yes, it's possible."

"Or maybe it was lost?"

"There's that possibility."

Huai Shi nodded. "Thank you for the drug. I feel much more at ease now."

"No need to thank me," Raven shook her head. "Just consider it part of a Contractor's job."

"I'm going to sleep now. Will you keep busy?"

"I'll probably have to work overtime a bit." Raven turned to look at the faint glow slowly rising in the reaction vessel. "The last stage is almost finished. You should rest, Huai Shi. Get a good sleep. Everything will pass."

"Okay."

Huai Shi got up and headed towards the bedroom. But as he stepped onto the staircase, he saw the white mark on the wall where the family portrait used to hang, and his footsteps halted.

For a long while.

He said, "I really miss them."

"I know."

Raven, her back to him, said nothing more. Only the sound of his footsteps gradually faded away.

She quietly watched the boiling metallic light in the Crucible, listening to an echo that seemed to roll like a sea tide. Like a patient farmer, she waited for the moment of ripeness.

A miracle from the Abyss was silently brewing in the vessel.

It wouldn't be long before Huai Shi's developmental period would come to an end.

This was the final step among all the restorative Potions, laying the omnipotent foundation for the Stigma.

If development is always accompanied by growth, then what grows is often pain. This pain is worth remembering and experiencing. It will eventually be engraved in the body, along with the miracle.

"Sleep, Huai Shi," the black bird whispered. "I promise, this is the last cruel lesson. After this, you will have a bright future."

As for that uninvited guest... Leave it to 'the master of the place' to deal with.

「Half an hour earlier, within the collapsed sacrifice site.」

In the inner chamber filled with rocks, King Ocean's corpse suddenly twitched.

The dagger pierced through his heart quietly shattered, turning into black dust that merged into the cold blood.

Thus, from the remains of the dead, a viscous fluid slowly oozed, gradually coalescing into an ephemeral shadow.

Like a moth struggling out of its cocoon, it writhed. It greedily drew in the blood from the ground, undulating unpredictably as it devoured the corpses on the ground, screeching in agony.

"It's all... your fault..."

A lamenting voice emerged from its throat, shrill and piercing. "It's all... your fault... Dead... We... will all die..."

The Gluttony Seed implanted in this shell since its baptism finally sprouted in death. The Border Variant, composed of Source Substance and bearing its host's final hatred, was born from death.

Just as the Lord had once said to King Ocean.

The Sacred Spirit's final mercy descended upon this place.

Even if a miracle from the Abyss would never bring happiness or peace.

"Hatred... I... hate..."

Bloody tears flowed down a distorted face that closely resembled King Ocean's. The shadow crawled on the ground, whimpering like a deformed Hunting Dog and rolling in pain.

Until at last, it found a small button in a crevice.

"Found it..."

It licked the button that had fallen from the young man's sleeve, crying out in delight and frenzy, "Found... it... Found it... Found you!!!"

In an instant, the shadow boiled over, engulfing the button. It writhed ecstatically as it slithered through tiny cracks, returning to the surface of the earth.

The shadow, as it flitted across the ground, was utterly invisible.

Free from the confines of matter, it moved at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

It shot straight over the city in Deep Sleep, constantly circumventing various obstacles. Completely indifferent to the people it brushed past, it headed directly towards Stone Marrow Pavilion.

In the end, after passing through a gloomy forest, it stopped outside an iron gate.

Under the moonlight, the shadow on the ground twisted hungrily. It collided forward repeatedly but could never penetrate the gate, which was hollow and large enough for a stray cat to pass through freely.

Eventually, with a forceful leap, it squeezed through a crack in the wall. It hopped into the courtyard overgrown with Wild Grass, hungrily moving toward the locks Huai Shi had secured.

POP. Like a bursting bubble, it was repelled.

Its pale face was reflected in a shattered window on the side of the main building, along with its contorted body.

It looked as if organs from seven or eight people had been randomly stitched together. Several limbs twisted wildly. A large maw in its abdomen opened and closed, dripping with saliva-like blood.

The reflection also revealed the figure that stood in front of it.

In the grimy glass, one could only see a lean and tall silhouette.

One could barely make out the riddled suit on its body, the meticulously placed bow tie at its broken neckline, and the monocle resting on its nose.

But at that moment, just as a patrolling Guard might spot a thief attempting to scale a wall, its seemingly empty face now displayed unmistakable anger.

Its lips moved, forming a silent warning: Get out!

The completely out-of-control erosion body screeched, flailing its limbs randomly, pressing forward step by step. Then, the figure raised its left hand.

Its five fingers slowly closed.

Silently, an invisible Power converged toward the center, like the collision of iron walls, crushing the ghastly thing into a pulp.

Immediately afterward, the pulp spontaneously combusted, leaving nothing but a wisp of black smoke to vanish into the air.

The button that had fallen to the ground was then carefully picked up. The figure rinsed it clean under the water pipe, meticulously wiped it dry with an old towel, and then placed it in a box in the backyard storage room.

It was placed carefully alongside several dirty toys, two broken award certificates, and an old photograph of a baby.

The box closed.

The figure nodded slightly to Raven in farewell.

Then, it vanished silently.

「In the quiet room.」

A four-armed Naga sat in front of a mirror, silently wiping the blood from his wounds. After cleaning the withered gashes, he took out a small knife and began to scrape away the dead flesh bit by bit, until the grim bones beneath were exposed.

He bent down and opened the box on the floor. After hesitating for a moment, he took out a tube of red Potion. He broke the seal, clenched his teeth, and poured the boiling, metal-like solution onto the wound.

Amid the SIZZLING sound, the Naga convulsed violently. He let out a muffled roar as his long tail thrashed, nearly reducing the entire bathroom to rubble.

At last, the metallic solution solidified on the bone, merging with the flesh as if it were newly formed muscle, becoming indistinguishable.

Apart from the ghastly gap in his scales, no other wounds could be seen.

He seemed drained as he let out a sigh of relief and released the Stigma. The sturdy Snake-man in the mirror slowly shrank, and even his two extra arms retracted into his shoulder blades.

The man named He Luo, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, looked at himself in the mirror. After a long moment, he splashed his face with cold water, then finally stepped back and collapsed into a chair, his face pale.

After a while, he picked up the phone and dialed the number.

"Boss," he said, "I might have screwed up."

"Did you slip up?"

"No, everyone who knew is dead. But while I was cleaning up, I ran into two Sublimators. I'm not sure where they were from."

Qi Wen on the other end of the phone was silent for a long time, then sighed regretfully. "Then we'll have to resort to the backup plan..."

The call was disconnected.