Chapter 1: The Mist
"Hey Zhao, did you see the news? Today's weather is strange, right?"
"That's true, first time seeing snow in April."
"Hmm, wait—what's with that red fog?" someone shouted.
Zhao was surprised and looked at the sky. The whole area was covered by a thick red fog, rolling in like a living thing, its edges curling and twisting unnaturally. The air grew heavy, carrying a faint, metallic scent that stung his nostrils. The snow beneath his feet, already out of place in April, began to melt where the fog touched it, leaving behind patches of blackened earth. A chill ran down his spine, not from the cold, but from the sudden, oppressive weight of the atmosphere.
Around him, the crowd grew restless. A young woman clutched her phone, frantically tapping the screen, but it flickered and died, its light swallowed by the encroaching fog. An older man in a heavy coat muttered prayers under his breath, his eyes wide with fear. Children clung to their parents, their cries muffled by the thickening mist. Zhao's own heart raced as he tried to make sense of it. He'd seen strange weather before—typhoons, heatwaves—but this was different. This felt wrong like the world itself was unraveling.
(Planet X10089 has reached sufficient population)
(Activating sequence)
(Mass synchronization in progress....)
(1%..)
(17%)
(30%)