Snake pulled out a cube and a weathered leather-bound book. The symbol of a crying eye was engraved on the book's cover.
Snake placed the cube right between the Azure crystals, opened the book, and began chanting the ancient manuscript. Before long, the Azure crystal reacted. A burst of wild energy caused the lights in Sector 03 to flicker and shatter into pieces.
Slowly, the crystal rock fractured, creating a void where the Azure core was forcibly sucked into the open cube.
As Snake recited every line of the incantation, the Azure crystal seemed to scream in silence. That night, all of PETERUMMAN experienced massive energy chaos.
"Captain Snake, we don't have much time! Speed up your ritual before both of us are killed!"
Snake ignored him. Several gripping seconds passed until finally, the entire Azure core was successfully trapped inside the tightly locked cube.
Instantly, parts of the districts in PETERUMMAN plunged into pitch-black darkness. Slowly, the screaming alarm of danger fell silent.
Snake chuckled softly, then stared at Kaelen.
"What's next? We let this world witness the beginning of its own destruction," Snake replied with a wide, horrifying grin.
That sentence felt like a curse that instantly shook the city's order. Far from where they stood, the ripples of destruction spread rapidly through the underground network, triggering mass panic across every corner of the city.
The eastern district was in chaos as the giant heating machine there shut down, and all city lights went out. The residents in that district rushed out of their homes.
"Mama, what's happening? Where is Papa?" a little girl asked her mother.
"Papa will come pick us up, come here, don't stay far from mama. We will evacuate from here with the others, or we will freeze."
Amidst the sea of people aggressively fighting to evacuate, a violent human current suddenly broke their formation. The collision of bodies and hysterical screams caused the little girl to slip from her grip. "Mama!" she cried, dragged away by the panicked crowd's wave.
"DIAN!" the mother shrieked hysterically. The woman tried to chase after her, but in an instant, the little girl vanished, swallowed by the human wave.
"Did any of you see my child?" she asked everyone she met. "Please look for my kid? She's wearing a green sweater with braided hair." However, no one cared about her. She knelt limply, hugging her knees. "Dian, where are you, honey?"
The cries were nearly drowned out in the roar of the evacuation, until a few seconds later, a man wearing a black cloak with a hood successfully broke through the aggressive crowd, found the child, and brought them back together amidst the chaos. "Mama!!" the little girl shouted.
"Dian, come here honey, hug mama."
"Be careful, ma'am, don't lose her again," the sturdy man said.
Before the woman could even say thank you, the man had already vanished.
However, it was not only the surface of the city that was dying. The domino effect of the Azure core theft burrowed deeper, tearing apart the security boundaries of the most heavily guarded vital facilities.
Far from the dark and cold eastern district, inside the damp, ozone-scented underground detention facility of Sector 03, the atmosphere was no less chilling.
Wawa, Subject 033, curled up in the corner of an iron-barred interrogation room alongside other members of Unit 008. His body shook violently, not only because of the cold cell walls, but due to the image of their tragic comrade Jep, whose corpse had just been dragged away without explanation. The iron door opened with a sharp, squeaking sound. Two gas-masked guards entered in silence, dragging Wawa out toward the central interrogation chair beneath the sway of a slow-swinging single hanging lamp.
"Answer, Subject 033!" snapped a military interrogator in a demanding tone, throwing sensor data records that tracked Jep's whereabouts before he was executed near the main reactor. "What did your comrade see before he was eliminated? Were you guys working together to steal the Azure crystal core?!"
Wawa looked up, tears streaming down his pale cheeks. He remembered Jep's final smile. Amidst the cruel grip of this interrogation, Wawa realized that Unit 008 had been framed into a conspiracy vortex run by higher-ups far bigger than they could ever imagine. "Nugia, help me!" he cried inwardly.
The silent screams behind the cold walls of Sector 03 seemed to vanish without an echo, buried beneath the shadows of a more massive destruction. The energy bursts from the reactor crisis not only paralyzed the underground facility but also triggered a wave of panic within the highest command center. The ripples of chaos spread rapidly through steel floors and reinforced concrete, breaking the rigid silence of the city's night.
Far from the crying prisoners, behind the magnificence of skyscrapers piercing through the storm, Central Zero suddenly fell silent in tension. Emergency warnings flashed red, illuminating the sterile corridors where the city's rulers breathed. Amidst the increasingly uncontrollable situation, heavy footsteps hurried toward the main trial hall—the place where the fate of every district and PETERUMMAN's biggest secrets were at stake.
The military command headquarters, Sector 01 trial hall.
"The emergency meeting begins," said Harlin, the highest leader of PETERUMMAN. "Only five people, very well," Harlin continued.
"What is happening?" Vier asked calmly. He wore a blue suit with a fedora hat that never left his head.
PETERUMMAN's highest general, Supreme Commander Pantas—who was also the leader of Sector 01 and Harlin's personal bodyguard—looked at the leader before speaking. Harlin nodded. "The Aether Core has been stolen, disrupting energy supplies. The instability has caused several districts to lose power," he explained.
"How dangerous is this?" Vier asked again.
"Sir, we only have three days before it's too late," continued Supreme Commander Pantas, a middle-aged man with a serious tone.
"How is your handling of this? And the identity of the perpetrator?" asked Elos, one of the higher-ups whose pale skin contrasted sharply in the dim room, his red lips smiling broadly.
"Are you sure you can clean all this up?" chimed in Kriston, another higher-up who always wore sunglasses.
"In my opinion, we must immediately find a way to recover the Aether core from the Azure crystal. If not, PETERUMMAN will perish in this frozen world," Harlin interrupted sharply. The echo in the trial hall sounded like a death sentence.
"Lord Harlin, leave this to me. Sector 07 will drag the culprit in within two days," Vier replied calmly. He adjusted the position of his fedora hat, his eyes staring sharply around the table.
"Ha-ha-ha! Don't joke around, Lord Vier," Elos interjected with a dismissive, discordant laugh. "Your own subordinates who died on duty haven't even been able to find the culprit to this second. Now you want to take over the case?"
Vier remained calm despite Elos's vulgar provocation. "Lord Elos, it seems you misunderstood. The death of one of my generals is actually the key. We deliberately kept all information strictly confidential because there is a traitor among us," Vier retorted coldly.
"Don't make excuses, Vier!" Elos cut in angrily. He turned toward the supreme leader, "Lord Harlin, let me handle this case."
Vier smirked faintly. "Elos, you don't even have an army. How could you possibly handle it alone?"
"Shut your mouth, Vier!" Elos rose from his seat, slamming his hand hard onto the table, making the glasses upon it rattle.
Harlin immediately intervened before the situation turned into physical violence. He stood with a dignified presence that made the entire room freeze. "Enough! Everyone, regarding this matter, I order you to cooperate. Vier, I trust you! Find the culprit. Pantas, control the situation. The rest of you, stay calm and don't meddle."
Elos locked his gaze on Vier. The cold-blooded, fair-skinned young man seemed to struggle to hide his inner thoughts beneath the black shirt clinging to his body. Beads of sweat now began to wet his forehead.
The meeting was over! Everyone dispersed at Harlin's command.
In front of the buzzing elevator door, Harlin stepped close to his loyal bodyguard. "Supreme Commander Pantas, mobilize all experts to handle this crisis!" His voice was nearly drowned out by the opening of the elevator doors.
Pantas frowned, halting the supreme leader's steps. "Lord Harlin, why are you handing this mandate over to Lord Vier instead?"
Harlin glanced briefly, staring intensely at the man beside him. "I believe he will find the culprit. Sector 07 has great people."
"But, isn't the death of General Dragon still their dark secret to this day?" Pantas pressed, voicing the doubt festering in his chest.
Harlin sighed shortly, then patted the commander's shoulder gently. "Pantas, trust me. I know Vier very well," he replied calmly.
He stepped into the belly of the elevator as it began to creep shut, leaving a hanging question in the air. "What will happen next, Sir?" Pantas muttered softly outside the elevator doors.