The strange rain gradually eased, and the clouds above slowly dissolved into nothingness. Below, the three of them remained in confusion, but unease outweighed everything else.
"Maybe we should go back. Just leave the stuff here; we can come clean it up tomorrow," Luna said. At that moment, she had no appetite. She only wanted to get away.
Morgan didn't have the mood to tease her either. The sense of dread in his chest earlier was unbearable. He nodded firmly. "Run, now. I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Alright." John nodded and dashed off with them, glancing up at the sky a few times as they ran.
That rain was far too bizarre. It had clearly been real, yet it left behind no trace at all. It felt like the whole thing was just an illusion.
They had barely covered a few dozen meters when the open field where they had camped suddenly twisted into chaos. A massive gate appeared out of thin air, warped and unstable.
The three of them stopped at once and turned around. The disturbance was too loud to ignore.
"What the hell is that? Is this even scientific?" Luna cursed, eyes widening at the impossible, writhing gate before them.
"Don't look! Just run!" Morgan grabbed her arm and kept moving.
There was no point in staring. Better to get as far away as possible.
They sprinted for their lives, but the parking lot was too far and the hilly path was rough. Luna shouted, "Damn it, whose genius idea was it to come out here for a picnic?"
"Ah... that was me." She looked a little embarrassed.
"Not funny. I swear, if we don't make it out, we're dead for real," John muttered, struggling to keep his usual composure.
As they ran, Luna's ears twitched. Her brows furrowed, and she came to a sudden stop, throwing herself sideways.
A dark blur shot past her like a cannonball, slamming into where she had just been standing.
Crash!
She had dodged, but not completely. The impact sent her flying into a tree.
"Cough, cough…" She hacked a few times, covering her mouth to stop herself from spitting up whatever came up her throat.
"Luna!" the two shouted, panic in their voices.
She ignored them, scanning the area for the creature that had attacked her. But before she could spot it, several more monstrous shapes were already closing in.
She let out a weary sigh, smearing the blood on her palm through her black-and-white hair, adding a third color to it.
"Hurry up and run, both of you. I'll hold them off." Her voice was steady, her eyes filled with a resolve that said she'd drag the enemy down with her, even if it cost her life.
Hearing that, Morgan nearly lost it. He roared, "You idiot, what the hell are you talking about? Who needs a glutton like you to save us? Get moving!"
"I can't run anymore. The only thing I can do now is buy you time." She no longer had the strength to argue with him.
Morgan was about to speak again when John yanked him back and shoved him away.
"Go! Alone she won't buy much time. I'm staying to help her."
"I'm not leaving—" Morgan started but stopped when both of them shot him a glare.
"Go! If you die here, even in hell we won't forgive you." Their voices rose together, sharp and commanding.
Morgan drew in a deep breath, the corners of his eyes wet, but he didn't act on his emotions. As much as it tore at him, he could tell they were serious.
He could see clearly Luna wouldn't last seconds on her own; she was already badly wounded. With John, maybe they could buy more time, but if he stayed too, it would only end with all three of them dead.
"I… I'll live. I swear!" Morgan nodded heavily, then turned and ran for his life without looking back.
"Aren't you scared?" John asked, standing next to Luna, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Scared? Of course I'm scared. But I don't have the strength to keep running. Better to buy some time so at least one of us survives. Besides… that thing is too strong."
Cold sweat streamed down her forehead without her realizing it. That brief clash earlier had already driven a professional fighter like her to despair.
"We're really unlucky, huh? Go out for a picnic and run into this. I just hope Morgan makes it out alive." John exhaled slowly, his face somber.
"I hope he survives too… but I doubt it'll be for long. It looks like the world has already changed. In these final moments, I'll give it everything I've got." Her eyes locked on the approaching monsters.
"Ah, what a shame. Meeting you two was the greatest fortune of my life. If only we'd had more time together… Now, it's do or die." John said, his gaze growing colder and sharper by the second.
…
Morgan finally reached the parking lot. He fumbled for his keys but froze mid-motion. Behind him stood a dog; its eyes glowed blood-red with madness.
It lunged straight at him, leaving Morgan no choice but to roll across the ground several times to dodge. His car key flew from his hand.
"Damn it, the key…" He started toward it but stopped cold when several more pairs of red eyes appeared in the darkness.
He abandoned the key and bolted into the thick woods, trying to hide among the trees.
'They bought me time. I can't die here.' He thought, forcing his trembling legs to move.
He didn't dare run normally. Each step was careful and silent, his body tense as he tried to avoid drawing the beasts' attention.
But the farther he went, the more hopeless it became. The monsters were everywhere, and their numbers were growing.
…
A whole day passed. Morgan's face was pale and sunken, with dark circles under his eyes and lips cracked and dry, and his clothes were torn and caked with mud. He crouched inside a rocky crevice, catching every stray drop of water he could just to stay alive.
Running nonstop since yesterday, it was the worst day of his life. He couldn't even head down the hill. There was nowhere left to hide below.
From a nearby bush came the faint sound of rustling footsteps. Morgan froze, despair filling his eyes as he looked toward the noise.
There was no way another human could be here. In his condition, he could barely stay conscious—death was inevitable.
A wolf stepped out of the brush, but its body was cracked open, glowing with molten lines like flowing lava.
"A monster, huh? Guess I'll have to break my promise," Morgan muttered, closing his eyes and giving up all resistance.
He couldn't even run anymore, let alone fight back. Dying quickly might even be a mercy.
The wolf stared at him, eyes bloodshot with madness, growling as drool dripped from its fangs.
It pounced. Its claws tore deep into Morgan's chest, leaving gaping wounds as blood gushed out, soaking the strange pendant around his neck.
A strange light flared from the pendant, enveloping Morgan's body and swallowing the entire space around him.
…
"Ah!" Morgan cried out in a desperate voice, sweat tracing down his forehead as he suddenly shot upright in bed.
His eyes remained utterly panicked, as if those razor-sharp claws were still right before him.
He glanced around cautiously and found the space strangely familiar. This was clearly his bedroom.
"Was it a dream?" He mumbled as he pulled out his phone to check the date.
His eyes widened in shock when he saw the phone display, March 10, ten days before that horrific event had occurred.
"No, this is absolutely not a dream." His voice turned solemn.
His memories were not a few hazy fragments but more than ten full days of clear recollection.
His gaze fell on the pendant at his throat, the item he'd bought at the antique market. He touched it to test it and felt nothing out of the ordinary.
'Why is there no reaction? Did I do it wrong? Ah, blood, it must be blood.' Morgan thought to himself, then took a knife and cut a line across the tip of his finger.
A drop of blood fell onto the pendant, making it glow with an otherworldly light.
The surrounding space warped, and Morgan felt his consciousness being drawn into the pendant.
He felt astonishingly light, as if invisible seawater were lifting him through the void.
Around him, glittering stars trailed in succession, as though he were inside a miniature universe.
At the center of the space, gathered energy coalesced into the apparition of an old man with a long beard.
He wore glasses on one eye, his clothing looked very antiquated, and his bearing was scholarly, like that of a distinguished researcher.
"This is my first time meeting my heir. I am a projection of Kevin, an SS-rank puppeteer. You must have many questions; ask them all now because this projection will dissipate after this meeting." Kevin said, his tone and appearance both radiating profound wisdom.
Morgan froze for a moment, unable to process what was happening. But he quickly calmed himself. After all, he had already died once. There was no point in being shocked by everything he saw.
"Master Kevin, can you explain those monsters that suddenly appeared?" he asked respectfully, bowing his head with his hands clasped.
Since Kevin had acknowledged him as an heir, that made Kevin his teacher in a sense. Showing respect to one's teacher was only proper.
Kevin's projection waved a hand, and the surrounding space began to shift. From the cosmic void emerged countless monsters of all shapes and sizes.
Morgan's vision blurred from the sheer number. Before his death, he had only seen a few kinds of these creatures. And compared to the ones before him now, those earlier monsters seemed like nothing more than slightly vicious animals.
"What… what are these?" he asked, his voice trembling.
"They are monsters born from chaos, bringing destruction and disorder to every civilization they touch," Kevin explained.
The explanation was too vague, and Morgan couldn't quite grasp it. He asked, "Master, could you be more specific? Like, what makes them special, how are they created, or what exactly is chaos?"
"These monsters cannot truly be considered living beings," Kevin replied. "They are twisted manifestations formed from the energy of chaos. When you kill them, they will eventually be reborn somewhere else in the future or during the next descent of chaos upon another civilization." He paused briefly.
Then he waved his hand again, and the scenery shifted once more. The monsters vanished, replaced by six unique artifacts floating in the air.
"Chaos can be seen as both apocalypse and divine blessing. From a rational point of view, it is remarkably fair. Those who can adapt to chaos will gain unimaginable rewards.
These items are, in order: core, frame, armor, conduit veins, sensor unit, and weapon. Each is dropped by monsters from chaos. Gather all six of the same tier, and they can be assembled into a puppet."
Behind the six artifacts, a glowing magic circle appeared, within which the outline of a puppet took form. The six items slowly floated into their designated positions.
A brilliant light flared, and as the circle shone, the six components merged into one, forming the complete figure of a puppet.
"What you have just witnessed is the process of synthesizing a puppet," Kevin said calmly.