0. The hard life.

The sun began to set, casting gloomy shadows over the streets of Ararat. Traders opened their stalls, signaling the start of a new night.

In this world, the world after the era of Great tribulation, day and night had switched roles. People lived their daily lives at night, while daylight marked the time for rest.

On an abandoned street in the 31st district, Zilong raced through the empty alleyways, his eyes sharp with purpose, jaw set in determination.

"Thief! Get back here!" a voice yelled from behind him. Gritting his teeth, Zilong quickened his pace, leaping over rooftops and cars, taking sharp turns to confuse his pursuers.

He glanced back at a group of young men, panting as they chased him. 'Three hours and they're still on me,' Zilong thought, frustration flaring. He knew he needed to act fast if he wanted to escape.

Weaving through a narrow path, he burst onto a main road. Pedestrians turned to watch as the men continued to chase him.

"STOP!"

'Oh sh*t…' Zilong looked up to see a woman dressed entirely in black, staring at him from a  rooftop of one of the buildings, her expression cold and unfeeling.

"This is bad," he muttered, his heart pounding. The cops had arrived.

He pushed himself to run faster, but a sudden sharp pain tore through his back, causing him to stumble and fall. His hand instinctively reached for the wound, and when he saw the red blood on his palm, his eyes widened in shock.

'But how…?'

The answer came to him immediately. hter was only one explanation—an Astryx Weaver.

'I thought all the Astryx Weavers were sent on that mission last week,' he thought frantically as he looked up. The woman was retracting an elongated whip, stained with his blood, and a piece of his flesh.

"Argh!!"

The woman, middle-aged with slight wrinkles near her eyes, stared down at him coldly as she descended from the rooftop. "So, this is the thief who's been causing trouble," she said, glancing at the man beside her.

"Yes, Lady Evelyn," the man responded, bowing.

'Wait, did I hear that right? Evelyn?' Zilong's heart sank. 'The head of the police force came after me herself?!' Panic set in, and he looked arond frantically,  seeking find a way out.

Evelyn lifted him effortlessly by the collar, her eyes piercing into his soul. She reached into his pocket, pulling out a piece of bread, she frowned.

"Where is the Astryx crystal?" she asked icily, dropping him and grabbing his neck in one swift motion, as if her hand had teleported to his throat.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zilong gasped, gritting his teeth as he gripped her wrist. Their eyes locked, and she studied him intensely.

"Don't worry, I'll make you cough up that Astryx crystal," she said, her voice laced with sadistic amusement.

' This can't be good. '

---

The scene cuts to an alleyway. Zilong, held by two men, is bent over, his back facing the cruel policewoman. She cracked her whip again, the 45th strike, ripping into his skin. "I told you, trash—where is the Astryx stone?" she sneered, looking down at him in disdain.

Zilong squirmed weakly, his body trembling, blood pouring from the deep gashes covering his back, legs, and buttocks. His strength had left him ten strokes ago, and now he lay motionless, barely clinging to consciousness.

Evelyn looked disgusted as some of his blood splattered on her. "Ugh, peasant blood," she muttered in disgust.

Those words made Zilong's entire body tense. His bloodshot eyes snapped open, rage filling him.

"You heartless bit*h!" he screamed, his voice raw, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked.

*Crack.*

His vison blurred. He didn't know what happened next—everything went dark.

"Is he dead?"

"Should we get help?"

"Leave him."

Zilong barely registered their voices as they walked away, not even looking back. 'When have they ever cared?' he thought bitterly. 'When have they ever shown us sympathy? When have they ever felt our pain?'

His vision turned red, blood oozing from his eyes. "Am I crying blood again? Damn..."

People walked past him, ignoring his broken, bloodied form. Some glanced at him in disgust, while others covered their noses.

Zilong gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand, dragging his wounded body through the crowded streets. Blood stained the ground beneath his feet as the bystanders distanced themselves from him—this was how his daliy life looked like, it has been like this and Zilong couldn't picture it getting better or worse.

Eventually, he reached a hidden alleyway. He glanced around nervously before smiling.

"Looks like my acting paid off," he whispered, diving into a garbage can. After rummaging through its contents, he pulled out a glowing rainbow crystal.

"Got it," he grinned.

The beating from the policewoman was just another day for him. It wasn't the worst thing he'd endured.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, Zilong uncovered a hidden sewer hatch on the floor of the alley way. He opened it and climbed inside, hurrying through the damp, dark tunnels.

"Hey, Brittany." "Hey, Josh," Zilong greeted some rats as he passed by. Eventually, he reached a clearing. There was nothing there except a burnt bed and a picture frame beside it. It wasn't much, but it was home.

He rushed to the bed, where his sister lay, her once fair skin now pale and sickly, her cheekbones visible.

"Hey, Sis, I finally got the cure for your illness. You won't have to struggle anymore," he said softly, sitting beside her. "I even brought bread."

But there was no response.

Zilong frowned. "Maybe she's just sleeping," he thought, but something felt off. She would have at least mumbled something, even in her sleep.

His heart sank as he gently shook her. "Sis?"

No response. Her hands were cold—colder than usual.

"Impossible! She was fine just a few hours ago!" he panicked, shaking her more violently.

"Sis…"

"Sis!"

"SIS!!!"

His breathing became erratic, his vision blurred. She wasn't breathing.

"She was fine this morning!" he thought in disbelief as his chest tightened. His breaths came in ragged gasps—he was having a heart attack as he stared eyes-wide at his sister.

"She's dead... She's dead!" The words echoed in his mind as he collapsed beside her bed, his bloodshot eyes streaming with tears of blood.

"WHHHYYYYYYY!!!" he screamed, his voice reverberating through the sewers. "WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS?!"

His fists clenched, his body trembling in fury. His sister was gone. And he would be next.

"BRING HER BACK! EVEN THE GODS AREN'T SAFE FROM MY RAGE!"

First his father, then his mother, then his little brother, and now his sister. This creeping disease had wiped out his entire family.

Zilong's hands trembled as the reality hit him.

She had died, and he hadn't even been there to hear her last words. If that policewoman hadn't interfered, his sister might still be alive, he would have saved her in time.

Hatred boiled inside him.

'Do you want power?' a voice echoed in his mind.

"...What?"