The sky was bleeding.
It wasn't raining, but rather gasping from an invisible pain. Thick, rust-colored clouds hung overhead, gliding above the three fugitives like ghosts from an ancient war.
Lin Xian ran at the front of the group, his sword strapped to his back, his eyes scanning the ground like a monk reading a forbidden incantation. Every muscle in his body was taut like a drawn bowstring.
Yue Mi was running behind him, tightly clutching the hand of her younger sister, Yue Xuan. Her heart was on the brink of collapse from fear, but her feet pounded the muddy ground with all the willpower she could muster—because death behind them… was faster.
Behind them, the howling rose.
"Aaaaooooo!"
It was a howl unlike anything Yue Mi had ever heard. It wasn't the cry of an animal—but something else... something born from the womb of hell, from the screams of victims and the wrath of heaven. Demonic wolves chased them like embers of living fire, moving across the earth with torn limbs and poisoned drool, their eyes ablaze with unspeakable hatred.
Yue Xuan screamed, stumbling and falling.
Yue Mi stopped instantly, grabbed her sister and lifted her, but when she turned… the wolves were closer than she'd expected.
She shouted, "Lin Xian! They're close!"
But he didn't answer. He only glanced back and raised his hand toward her.
"Keep running!" he said deeply. "Never stop!"
Then he turned and drew his sword.
Just one moment—was enough for him to cleave two wolves that had leapt at him, splitting them midair. Black blood sprayed like ash.
But the number… was too vast to count.
"This is madness…" he muttered. "Their numbers have grown. They… multiply through curses."
He ran back beside them, his voice urging them on: "We need a forest. Or a tunnel. Anything to cover the sky… Hurry!"
But there was nothing—just open land, gentle slopes, and mountains distant like forgotten dreams.
They ran… until their legs could carry them no more.
They ran… until their breaths became stabbing knives.
And then, as in every nightmare, the ground betrayed them.
It was a small slope, but treacherous—they fell. Yue Mi and her sister tumbled among rocks and mud, the wolves closing in fast.
Lin Xian rushed after them, but time wasn't on his side.
When Yue Mi rose, she saw the end.
Ten, twenty—no… thirty demonic wolves surrounded them.
Yue Xuan screamed, and Yue Mi lifted her arms to shield her.
"Lin Xian…" she whispered, "I'm scared."
Lin Xian had planted his sword into the earth, his chest rising and falling, his heart… silent. He had no energy left. He had spent everything inside him to escape… but now, death had arrived.
"I won't let them touch you." he said, standing between the girls and the beasts, his trembling body a shadow of resolve.
But... the end was near.
Then, without warning...
Everything stopped.
The wind fell silent.
The wolves froze. They didn't move, didn't howl—they just... stared at the sky.
Yue Mi raised her head… and saw hell descend.
Above them, the clouds tore open.
And a figure emerged—not a bird, not a creature—but something massive, alive, pulsating between the clouds with liquid red flesh. It was a flesh dragon, its body writhing amidst tongues of lightning, its wings like bloody velvet curtains, and its eyes… were like twin suns drowning in hatred.
Every wolf on the field began to whimper.
Then one screamed, followed by another, and then a chorus of howls… before chaos erupted.
The wolves began to flee.
Lin Xian couldn't believe his eyes. He turned toward Yue Mi, who was staring at the dragon with an open mouth.
Then… the unthinkable happened.
The dragon began to melt, shrink, transform… as if its body were reshaping itself.
From within the wings, flesh, and mist—a man emerged.
He stood before them.
The same man… who had saved Yue Mi before.
His face was just as she remembered—crimson eyes, jet-black hair, and a black-shouldered coat drenched in blood. But now, he looked different. More than the mind could bear.
Lin Xian drew his sword and said cautiously, "Who are you?"
The man didn't answer.
He stepped forward slowly, then stopped before Yue Mi, his gaze falling to her chest, where the warmth still pulsed from their first encounter.
Then he spoke in a voice unlike any human voice:
"The pulse has begun. The time is nearing.
You will need me… when the second gate falls."