Li Xi wanted to scream, wanted to rage, wanted to let out a primal howl of despair. But his body had betrayed him. It refused to obey, rising numbly into the sky like a puppet on a string, joining the forest of other white pillars of light.
As he was enveloped by the radiance and carried upward, looking down at the shattered remains of the earth, his mind went completely blank.
He stared at the destruction, numb. Dazed. Foolish. Like a vegetable pulled from the soil.
The human brain is a complex machine, but in the face of the destruction of its home world, Li Xi's billions of neurons simply shut down. What unfolded before his eyes exceeded the boundaries of human cognition. The sheer scale of the horror triggered a physiological failsafe, forcing his consciousness into a merciful silence.
Countless pillars of light ascended, sucking the surface of the planet dry, dragging everything towards a gaping black hole in the sky.
Skyscrapers, rivers, vast oceans, ancient mountains, and geological layers kilometers deep were ripped away. They mixed together in a chaotic slurry, forming the largest tornado spiral in history, a funeral procession for a planet spiraling into the void.
Earth. Born billions of years ago. Sculpted by humanity for millions of years. It had endured disasters, wars, and time itself to birth a brilliant civilization.
Now…
It was gone.
"Spatial barrier opened. Low-level life planet captured. 8,895,448,454,541 lives secured. Estimated time for planar integration: 3 hours."
After hearing that cold, incomprehensible voice, Li Xi promptly lost consciousness.
When he opened his eyes again, the darkness of a basement greeted him.
Initially, there were nearly thirty people there. Men, women, the old, the young. Caucasians, Asians, Africans. A microcosm of the world that had just died.
After the initial panic subsided and the barriers of language were clumsily overcome, they reached a preliminary consensus: Survive.
They clung to a desperate arrogance. They firmly believed that with human wisdom—the intellect that had ruled Earth for eons—they could overcome this predicament. They told themselves they would rekindle the light of humanity. They imagined themselves as pioneers, trailblazers, saints to be worshipped by future generations.
The air buzzed with discussion. People listed their skills, their degrees, their talents, speaking as if they were about to write a new history book.
But that utopian delusion was shattered the very same day. It didn't leave even an atomic trace.
A terrifying life form descended from above. With a casual wave of its hand—a gesture one might use to swat a fly—it blasted the strongest men they had elected into a bloody mist.
There was no negotiation. No weapons were drawn. In a way Li Xi and the others couldn't even begin to comprehend, the "elite" of their group died instantly. They were reduced to a multi-colored stain on the wall.
Fortunately, the creature did not slaughter them all. It merely selected a few and left.
It didn't care about their resistance. Or rather, their resistance was so insignificant it didn't even register as an annoyance.
This indifferent cruelty reminded Li Xi of his childhood in the countryside. It was the feeling his parents had when they stood outside the pigsty during the New Year, picking out the fattest pigs for the slaughter.
Back then, he had stood outside the fence, watching the grunting beasts and drooling, never once considering whether the pigs were willing to be eaten.
Now, the roles were reversed. He was the fat pig being examined, and his thoughts mattered just as little.
The "good" news was that the creature didn't make them wait for death on an empty stomach. Food and water were provided in unlimited quantities. The taste was alien, the texture wrong, but it was enough to keep them alive and healthy.
But this "kindness" terrified Li Xi even more. He remembered feeding the pigs. He remembered hoping they would eat more, just so they would gain a few extra pounds before the knife came down.
In the days that followed, some tried to fight. But those who resisted were the first to be picked, and those who were picked never returned. After a few examples were made, the resistance died.
Resist, and die immediately. Submit, and perhaps live a few more days. The math was simple. Everyone knew how to choose.
For Li Xi, there was a grim silver lining: those stronger than him had all been culled. That made him the strongest one left.
The strongest naturally occupied the best position—the corner. It was the spot furthest from the door, the spot that offered the illusion of safety, the spot where one could live the longest.
It wasn't that no one thought of escaping. But the cell door, which looked like flimsy wood that could be shattered with a kick, was harder than reinforced steel.
One man had tried to slash it with a military knife he had concealed. The knife snapped. It was completely unscientific.
This was clearly not Earth. No one said it aloud, but the truth hung heavy in their hearts. Silence was their way of clinging to a sliver of hope.
What if?
What if they were just in some hidden corner of Earth?
Before hope is completely destroyed, humans will selectively ignore reality. Despair only truly sets in when the last lie is burned away.
The remaining twelve people in the cell had long since given up on the future. They were just waiting for the end.
An unknown world. Unknown dangers. Every sunrise was a stolen victory.
In that small cell, food was plentiful and the temperature was mild, yet the atmosphere was a perfect microcosm of doomsday.
To live one day longer than the person next to you… that was the only goal. The morals and laws learned over decades of civilization had been trampled into the garbage.
There were no human emotions left. Only naked, bestial instinct.
Li Xi could feel the hostile gazes scraping against his skin in the dark. He knew they longed to drive him out, to take the corner for themselves. But whenever Li Xi returned their stare, heads would abruptly lower. They didn't dare look the alpha wolf in the eye.
Relying on his hard fists, Li Xi had become the undisputed ruler of this wretched group. He hoarded the best resources. Until his powerful body failed, no one dared challenge his authority.
Some women tried to use their beauty, offering themselves to him in exchange for protection, for a few more days of life. What they got was Li Xi's cold, ruthless fist shoving them away. He mercilessly pushed them in front of him, using them as human shields.
Li Xi didn't feel any shame. He was human, too. He wanted to live. More than that, he wanted to survive to find his family.
He didn't know if his family back in the countryside had survived the tearing of the world. But without seeing their bodies, Li Xi stubbornly brainwashed himself. As long as I don't see their corpses, they are alive.
The basement had no windows. Li Xi didn't know if this world even had a sun.
Time was measured only by the sound of footsteps. They rang out like the turning pages of the Book of Life and Death. That sound was the only signal that Li Xi had survived another day.
Tap, tap, tap.
The moment the footsteps echoed, Li Xi roughly grabbed two women, pulling them in front of him as meat shields. He squatted carefully in the deepest shadow of the corner, not daring to look up. He was terrified that eye contact would attract the attention of the horror outside.
The remaining twelve people huddled in the gloom, making the cell—which could have held dozens—feel vast and empty.
The footsteps stopped. The breathing in the room was so suppressed that Li Xi could hear the thumping of his own heart.
He didn't need to look to imagine the scene outside.
A Grim Reaper. A mouth dripping saliva that melted the floor. Scarlet eyes scanning the menu, deciding which morsel to devour.
"の#￥...￥...￥..."*
An unknown, jarring language echoed. But the tone was unmistakable: disdain.
Li Xi's heart jolted. This was the first time the creature had spoken.
Strange pronunciation. Utterly unintelligible.
As expected, it wasn't a language of Earth.
Before Li Xi could wonder why the terrifying life form was so unusually talkative today, gravity seemed to vanish.
The women in front of him floated into the air. One by one, people were flung to the sides, pinned against the walls by an invisible force, until the two human shields Li Xi was holding were ripped from his grasp.
Li Xi looked up.
He met the eyes of the life form. It was looking at him with the playful, cruel gaze of a cat watching a mouse.
Li Xi understood then. Even if he acted like a rat in a sewer, even if he discarded all dignity to hide behind others, he couldn't escape fate.
He hadn't been spared before because he was good at hiding. He had been spared simply because the creature hadn't wanted him yet.
The safety of the corner was a delusion.
Today, he was chosen.
Two women were chosen along with him.
The entity outside moved a single finger. Instantly, the three of them felt as if their bodies were bound by invisible hemp ropes. Their limbs straightened rigidly. Helpless, they floated into the air, drifting behind the creature, floating out of the basement.
Resistance? There was none.
They couldn't even twitch a muscle, let alone fight back.
And then, the world opened up.
Gentle sunlight. Pleasing green scenery. Sweet, fresh air.
...And an Altar, covered in mysterious, glowing patterns, stained with scarlet blood that had not yet dried.
The unknown terror that controlled their lives stood before them. It wore a wide robe and held a dark brown wooden staff, half the height of a man. The appearance was strikingly similar to the Wizards depicted in Earth's fantasy stories.
Unable to comprehend its true nature, Li Xi's mind labeled it simply: a Wizard.
The Wizard flicked a finger.
One of the women flew onto the Altar. She was a foreign beauty with blonde hair and blue eyes. In the beginning, when there was still hope and conversation, Li Xi remembered she had said she was a reporter.
When the Earth was torn apart, she had been on assignment, far from the city centers, allowing her to escape the initial annihilation.
On Earth, a woman with such perfect proportions and status would have been untouchable. A successful, wealthy member of the upper class. Someone a person like Li Xi would never even meet, let alone speak to.
But here...
Ignoring her sobbing and desperate pleading, the Wizard began to chant. It was a rapid, harsh spell that only the universe understood.