Apocalypse Forecast

"Please, mourn for him—"

The dream seemed to be pierced by those words.

Though it was a humble plea, it carried a power that defied Huai Shi’s resistance.

The deep command echoed relentlessly in his mind, overlapped and transformed into hysterical roars and echoes, almost filling every corner of Huai Shi’s consciousness.

His will rapidly dulled, comprehending this sorrow, joined in lamentation with the other party.

An invisible vortex appeared, pulling him, as if leading him somewhere...

No mourning, sorry to interrupt, goodbye!

Huai Shi instinctively flicked a triple snap, and in that instant, heard thunder from afar.

A sharp lightning streaked across the void, striking his forehead.

Waking him from the dream.

He opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling.

Breathed heavily, drenched in sweat.

Lingering facial sting, body numb, nose bloody, even foam at the mouth!

When he turned his head to the bedside, he saw ’Resentment Water’, leaning against the headboard, the damaged weapon now showing strands of frost and scorch marks.

That was the origin of the thunder in the dream.

The dormant miracle sensed the surrounding anomaly, instinctively operated, shattered the inexplicable dream, allowing him to wake.

Though the method was a bit rough...

High-voltage electric therapy is really something!

"Thank you, huh!"

Huai Shi gratefully patted Resentment Water, rubbed his stiff neck, got up, walked to the bathroom, washed his face, and finally sorted out the situation a bit.

Was it an illusion, hallucination, or something else?

He wasn’t sure, but had experienced similar sensations countless times.

Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy’s strong affinity with the Abyss, plus the blessing of the Book of Fate, almost turned him into a spirit medium, inadvertently triggering things.

Seeing ghosts often.

Yet, Huai Shi felt this time was different.

Because its ending was particularly... different.

At the end of the nightmare, just before Huai Shi awoke, he seemed to hear a familiar laugh. Like a bystander, examining the weary man in the dream in Huai Shi’s form, mockingly.

A thoroughly heartless retort.

"Why mourn?"

Complete outsider, fair enough.

Huai Shi deeply agreed.

What’s the situation here?

Who to mourn for? Who died? How did they die? Where?

Inviting a passerby to a funeral is inappropriate, isn’t it?

Judging by the looks, not even considering offering a red envelope!

Expecting someone to play the dutiful mourner with empty words is rather insincere.

If they were unkind first, Huai Shi had no psychological burden in reciprocating.

He washed his face, brushed his teeth, paid Source Substance protection money for ’Resentment Water’, and shaved Broken Dog’s fur, only to be bitten several times due to amateur technique...

Was supposed to attend a training course, but now it feels like a babysitting job for the whole family?

There’s a troublesome woman gone unaccounted for.

Life is hard, Huai Shi sighed.

The only good news was the notification from the Alchemy Puppet: in about an hour, they’d arrive at Helios Workshop.

However, the bad news exceeded his expectations.

After breakfast, following directions to the lounge, Huai Shi sensed the strange atmosphere inside, overwhelmingly heavy.

Everyone’s faces were somber, an ominous aura floating in the air.

Only Iz was still humming, puffing on forever-lasting cigars, greeting Huai Shi.

"What’s wrong?" Huai Shi walked over, surveying the surroundings.

Not sure if it’s an illusion or what, but it seemed like fewer people?

"Not all here?" he asked.

"No, if not counting Garandor, you’re probably the last one," informed Iz with a cheery smile, "something rather unpleasant happened, I thought maybe you wouldn’t make it either."

"Hmm?" Huai Shi instantly alert.

"Last night, Current Circumstances time, around 4 AM, the Child of Leviathan’s all artificial humans ceased operation," Iz said, "mysteriously, without any sign, all went offline regardless of location."

"Wait, offline meaning?"

"Externally speaking, probably... asleep?"

Iz shrugged helplessly, "Hard to grasp, artificial humans, with Source Substance so thin they didn’t even sleep, ended up dreaming, truly a century-leaping discovery.

No control using any Mystic Ritual, completely scrapped state, with no abnormality post-disassembly. Even new production ceased functioning in seconds.

This was enough headache already, but that wasn’t all..."

Saying this, he glanced at Huai Shi meaningfully.

"Why look at me like that?" Huai Shi wary, "this has nothing to do with me, why would I, unoccupied, mess with your artificial humans on the ship?"

"No, I’m just surprised, with your keen sensitivity, how you’re completely intact, that really eases my mind."

With these words, Iz’s smile unchanged, yet its true meaning unclear...

He just raised a hand, pulling out a completely dim gem pendant from his collar, casually asked, "that dream, you saw it too, right?"

Huai Shi’s eyes widened.

His voice drew the surrounding Alchemists’ gaze, although their expressions were far from happy.

Now, Huai Shi finally comprehended.

The weird dream wasn’t an isolated case, more like a universal voucher, accessible to all!

But since Iz said it like that...

"That’s right, some people were left in that dream." Iz shrugged regretfully, "They haven’t been able to wake up until now. Garandor is trying, but the success rate is slim."

In the long silence, Huai Shi finally felt a lingering fear.

But soon, he noticed something amiss.

"Isn’t it enough to give a slight stimulus to wake someone up?" he asked in confusion, "How come some people haven’t woken up?"

As soon as he spoke, everyone’s gaze became subtle.

No one knew whether it was jealousy or astonishment.

But soon, seeing the scars on his face and arms from dog bites, they all came to understand and turned to admiration.

Being able to be bitten awake by a dog is quite a talent.

"Is your dog that awesome?" Iz was also dumbfounded, incredulous, "Why not lend it for a try?"

Broken Dog squatted lazily beside Huai Shi, yawning.

Its tongue flopped out, and with a wicked smile, it revealed three rows of overlapping sharp teeth that glimmered like razors, with hooks that made one’s body shiver.

"...No, I think it probably won’t be of any use."

Huai Shi’s eye twitched slightly, "But how does that saying go... you’re free to try if you want."

He was gradually coming to understand.

Perhaps he wasn’t awakened by Resentment Water’s electricity.

Because when he woke up, he was already foaming at the mouth, not knowing how long Resentment Water had been electrocuting him.

"What did you all dream of?" he inquired cautiously.

This was not something worth hiding; everyone dreamed of the same thing—a haggard-looking man, like a homeless wanderer, roamed the desolate land as if eager to invite people to attend his family feast...

Without exception.

There was no difference in ethnicity, hair color, or height.

A middle-aged man with blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in black, riding a horse, with an empty scabbard at his waist, and fingers covered in scars, wandering like a grave digger.

After consolidating the information, everyone discovered that those who woke up were the ones who did not answer him.

Some even realized that the dream was not theirs immediately and forced themselves awake using various methods. Whether it was through Alchemy Secret Rite, odd relics, or using their own Stigma.

Like Iz, a prodigal second-generation heir, he even used up a Stand-in Living Stone capable of blocking a deadly curse and substituting his death at crucial moments.

One can only say he is indeed a pay-to-win player.

The most peculiar one was Rachelle.

The pale-faced man cowered in the corner, eyes bloodshot, yet unbelievably spirited.

Like a startled bird, ever since being frightened by an attacker, he hadn’t dared to sleep at all!

Unexpectedly, he coincidentally avoided this sudden death verdict, which can only be described as sheer luck.

But in Iz’s narration, Huai Shi noticed yet another oddity.

—No one dreamed of the last sound in Huai Shi’s memory.

"Now you know your sister’s worth, don’t you?"

Tong Ji’s phantom appeared on Huai Shi’s shoulder, sounding quite cheerful, "That’s the value of the elder sister; not only making Contractors mesmerized but also waking up her silly one at crucial moments..."

Waking me up just takes the bill and cruel reality, thank you.

Huai Shi covered his face and sighed.

This time, he absolutely fell into the pit...

No, as soon as Tong Ji asked to come along, he should have realized it couldn’t possibly be a sweet duo trip...

"Ah, what a perilous and arduous journey, overcoming hardships, supported by effort and friendship, everyone is about to successfully reach the destination."

Tong Ji lamented, "Just thinking about it is enough to make one moved."

"Enough, Tong Ji, let’s stop tempting fate, shall we!"

Huai Shi suspected she wouldn’t stop until the broken ship was oozing out.

"What’s to fear?"

Tong Ji looked over, puzzled, "Aren’t we already here?"

She raised her wing to point to the end of the resting room, at the giant window occupying nearly the entire space.

In the expanse of darkness in outer space, a vague silhouette slowly emerged.

The Child of Leviathan sang its whale tune, silently gliding through the vacuum of Hell, swiftly passing through the planetary rings formed by dust and meteorites before their eyes.

In the course of a single night, it spanned distances measured in billions of kilometers.

Then, everyone caught sight of the terrifying phenomenon formed by countless Hells surging with Abyss tides below.

Separated by vast depths, that enormous power churned the material of Current Circumstances, causing endless cyclonic winds to form on the gathering stars’ surfaces.

Countless molten metals and dense liquid hydrogen boiled within, becoming a chaotic cauldron, continually unfolding layer upon dizzying layer of waves.

Beneath the countless turbulence and violent transformations, a storm vortex large enough to swallow all of Current Circumstances rotated madly.

It appeared like an eye looking from the Abyss into Current Circumstances.

Fierce and icy cold.

Indifferently watching this cluster of visitors oblivious to the heights and depths of heaven and earth.

At this moment, right above Jupiter’s most well-known ’Demon’s Eye’, in the star’s synchronous orbit, that fierce and grotesque silhouette gradually became clear.

Barely recognizable was its once glorious and dignified posture.

It was the scorching Iron Temple that once ran across the Sky Dome during mythic times.

But now, the colossal structure had been entirely penetrated by countless sharp giant pillars, while the other half collapsed, twisted, and distorted into an eerie form unimaginable even to postmodern architectural designers.

Scarlet streaks constantly seeped from fissure-like cracks everywhere, spreading outward.

Like a strangled infant’s umbilical cord, floating in vacuum.

All that remained was a mute lament.

Echoing in the minds of all witnesses.

Lingering undispersed.

This is the remnant of Helios.