The next day, great upheavals erupted across the world.
In the aftermath of the Spiritual Descent, many nations suffered devastating casualties.
In even worse cases, some national leaders exploded on the spot.
In the Western Hemisphere, the nation of Liberty became one such tragic example. Their national leader had suddenly exploded during a televised press conference, setting off nationwide panic and chaos.
In the Northwestern Hemisphere, the nation of Crownreach was similar. In the wake of the chaos, the Crownreach's Imperial Family suddenly announced the passing of their Queen, catching everyone by surprise.
Overnight, a royal family member ascended to the throne.
The eldest daughter, now referred to as Queen Morgana, claimed succession.
Following her enthronement, Queen Morgana swiftly established the Global United Awakened Organization for the continent of Europa and called upon all world leaders to convene for an emergency discussion.
Unfortunately, her call was not guaranteed to be answered.
Close to them, in the nation of Solvante, the Church was still unresponsive towards questions about the Nine Apostles' relation to their religion. However, despite their silence, they provided timely assistance throughout the nation.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the cold nation of Kremlov experienced unending chaos.
Although the nation put all attempts to quell the chaos, many strategic facilities had shut down from sudden monster attacks. Regions experienced the brunt of powerful horde attacks, causing severe nationwide casualties.
However, rumors floated that a figure draped in a bear's hide had singlehandedly quelled the chaos in one region.
In the wake of all this, the cold nation of Kremlov had entered a lockdown period and began to employ drastic measures.
In the Southern and Southeastern Hemisphere, the situation was even more unstable.
Many smaller nations were already on the verge of falling apart, but the sudden descent of chaos had become the pointed edge that blew up all possibilities of peace. Government bodies fell, and many had become a No Man's Land.
But the worst of all was in the distant, vast land that stood in the center of the world.
The continent of Afrasia suffered the most harm, with its massive wildlife population turning into hordes of powerful monsters that ravaged the lands.
The land, the seas, and all parts of the world…
Chaos descended, and like a stone thrown in a puddle, the changes rippled across the planet!
Without a doubt, Blue Star has entered a new era!
***
With chaos taking over the outside world, many civilians had quarantined themselves indoors.
As a result, the internet experienced the most traffic it ever had since its creation!
"Kremlov, Goryeon, Hanya, Longxiu… all nations enter a lockdown period. Is the end of the world approaching?"
"What are Awakeners? Did you also awaken a power inside you? Read this…"
"Nine mysterious beings descend! Ninety Nine Calamities! Has God finally grown tired of us?!"
"How To Survive In The New Era! Read This To Save Yourself!"
Several headlines were trending on the internet, articles popping out every few seconds.
Discussions from netizens flooded every forum.
In particular, the Global Forum was the most active, with netizens discussing the fallen leaders and the potential future of the planet.
In a post by "WheelchairBasketballFan", entitled, "Let's not pretend anymore. The world is ending, what's your final wish?", several comments immediately popped out.
"CtrlAltResign: Resign from work."
"Sir-Fluffy-Paws: Person above, are you still working?!?!!"
"CtrlAltResign: I work in the IT industry. The internet is pretty much the only safe place in the world, but that also means it has to be maintained at all costs. Let's just say that I can't resign right now or else one of the most useful sites you know will shut down."
"ShiningArmor: Is the site about intense interactions between men and women?"
"CheeseWizard: This guy… :skull:"
"PunsOfAnarchy: I give up. When it's my time to be an adult, the world ends?"
As the chaos raged on, no one held any optimistic thoughts about the future.
In a different post by "LordOfFlies", entitled, "Everyone with no powers has died. Only those with powers are left. I believe that the world would soon be controlled by who has the strongest powers."
Immediately after, comments slid in the post.
"CaptainObviousAF: Naturally. This means the world will shift to a strength-based class hierarchy soon. Money and authority will be superseded by ability. It doesn't matter how rich or powerful your family is, if you're weak, you'll be left behind."
"MidgetWrestler: I got a weak talent. Am I doomed?"
"CaptainObviousAF: Depends. Strength in this context does not just refer to physical or destructive potential, but also impact. Just like the Industrial Revolution, people were replaced by machines who performed better and more efficiently. If your talent is specialized, you could be the next legend in a field. That means more status in society."
"AnastasiaOfTheSnow: That's true…"
Such posts were just one among many in the forums.
As Zold scrolled further, he saw more and more creative posts.
'Even though the world is ending, these people can still joke around like this…'
He mused internally.
Then again, the Celestial Priest was the same.
Zold switched to the "Lunarian Forums", checking if there were any notable posts in his homeland.
The government's announcement, which included an indefinite lockdown period, was pinned on top of the forum.
After scrolling for a while, he didn't see anything worth reading.
At that moment, a message appeared at the top end of his screen.
"Chongji: Zold, I see that you're online. Are you still alive?"
Zold pressed the notification and quickly typed.
"Zold: Yeah. Are you okay?"
"Chongji: No. Mom died yesterday."
He couldn't help but pause slightly. A moment later, he began typing again,
"Zold: Sorry for your loss, Chongji. I'm here if you need me."
"Chongji: Thank you. How about you? And Stelle?"
"Zold: I'm okay, I'm an orphan, remember? I'm not sure about Stelle. She and I broke up yesterday."
"Chongji: Oh yeah, my bad. So I was right… no wonder you were so aggressive yesterday. Oh yeah, what kind of talent did you awaken?"
"Zold: Nothing special. How about you?"
"Chongji: Good. I think I lucked out."
"Chongji: Speaking of which, have you been lurking in the Block Group Chat? Most of the guys are bragging about their talents. If I weren't in such a terrible mood, I would be showing it off as well… damn it. I need your support later when I brag."
"Chongji: … On second thought, maybe not. Stelle is pretty active there, can't believe that woman is already looking for another man. Tsk. Tsk."
'I guess college students will be college students…'
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but rub his nose.
Always full of gossip.
Zold was about to reply again, but a message from another person suddenly popped up.
"Maria Auburn: Are you done preparing? The meeting is in an hour…"
"Maria Auburn: Since there's a lockdown, I'll send one of my drivers to get you."
"Maria Auburn: Sent a sticker."
Zold glanced at the time on his phone and realized that the meeting time was indeed in an hour.
But…
'Has she always been this childish?'
He read Maria's replies with a strange expression.
What's with the sticker? Shouldn't their generation be a bit less savvy on the internet?
… No, why was he reading too much into it?
"Forget it."
Zold shook his head and simply sent a like sticker to Maria's message.
Then, he turned off his phone and immediately began to prepare.
However, just as Zold got off the forums, a trending post began to rise in the "Lunarian Forums".
If he had stayed longer, or perhaps if Chongji didn't message him, then he would've seen this post and recognized it!
It was a post from the user, "Mylovelysunshine", entitled, "To the person that saved my child and other children in the Zoo, thank you."
Below it, a description was attached.
"We were on a Zoo fieldtrip with other children, but then the animals suddenly went berserk and people exploded one after another. We had resigned ourselves to our deaths, but we hoped our children would get to live… we thought that even that would be denied to us, until you (that person) appeared."
"With your strength, you could've easily escaped, but you chose to kill all the monsters and save everyone in the Zoo. I remember that you were wearing the Lunarian University's uniform, I wish to thank you in person! If anyone knows this person with the following characteristics, please forward this to him…"
Comments appeared below the post.
"HighestLowest: Is this real?! Wait, he killed all the monsters?!"
"JungarianHotdog: Wait… this checks out. A report suddenly came in an hour ago that the government discovered multiple animal corpses, including a massive brown Gorilla in the national Zoo, all of which were suspected to have mutated significantly through spiritual energy."
"JungarianHotdog: Strangely, the corpses were split open. Though the biggest discovery was the Gorilla. The report states the Gorilla's physique was so inhumane that they couldn't imagine anything standing against it, yet it had died. Although the cameras were destroyed, experts found that most of the damage on the Zoo was caused by the Gorilla."
"Bulgory: I saw the report. I can't believe a human could kill a monster like that… :0."
"Asenso: @Mylovelysunshine, are you certain that it was a college student???"
"JungarianHotdog: Yeah OP, that's hard to believe. But if that's true, then… undoubtedly, he might be one of the strongest in the nation right now. Or perhaps, in the world."