Everyone was terrified. They didn’t know why they were here or what those creatures were, they could only run for their lives. Yet the rune-covered beings kept leaping forward, igniting human after human into searing fireballs.
"...How did we end up in the Gray Realm?! We were just walking along the tracks!"
"Where are the tracks? Why are they gone? How do we get back?!"
"It burns... It burns!!"
"We barely escaped District Three... Are we really going to die before reaching Aurora City?!"
"..."
The will to survive consumed them, but their speed was no match for the small, agile creatures. The monsters could erupt from the ice beneath their feet at any moment—there was no escape.
One by one, figures collapsed into writhing fireballs, not dying instantly but screaming as they slowly burned to ash. Pure terror spread like wildfire through the crowd.
Boss Xu clutched his sobbing child, stumbling backward as flames illuminated his face. Even his eyes couldn’t hide the despair.
"No... Daddy won’t let you die!"
Gritting his teeth, Boss Xu pushed his body to the limit. A black rune-covered creature suddenly burst from the ice’s reflection beside him, grazing his side. He barely had time to shield his son before a fireball exploded behind him, the blast hurling him forward.
His clothes burned away, his back seared black. A scream tore from his throat, but he forced himself up and kept running.
Ahead lay only endless gray sky and barren ice—no shelter, no escape. Ripples spread across the frozen surface, sealing off all retreat.
Hopelessness flooded Boss Xu’s eyes.
Then, a blinding headlight pierced the ice beneath his feet like an approaching sun. A speeding train shattered the boundary between worlds, materializing on the icy plain!
BOOM!!
The roar of steam shattered the silence. The massive locomotive tore through the air, its wheels crushing three emerging creatures as flames erupted beneath its carriages, leaving a fiery trail across the ice.
The train’s sudden arrival formed a black line between the fleeing crowd and the monsters, a border between life and death. Screeching brakes sent sparks flying across the ice.
The survivors froze, staring dumbfounded at the train. At its helm, a figure in a coat stood silhouetted against the billowing steam, firing at the leaping creatures.
Chen Ling?!
The familiar face left them stunned. It felt like a dream—hadn’t they just watched Chen Ling speed away in a lone locomotive? How had he returned with a full train?
Bang!
The shot disintegrated a cluster of creatures. As the train slowed, Chen Ling spoke calmly, "Stop gawking. Get on."
At the carriage door, a little girl peeked out, waving frantically. The crowd snapped out of it, scrambling aboard.
Chen Ling stood at the helm, watching the creatures dart across the icy reflections. His eyes narrowed...
Then, he leaped lightly from the train and charged toward the nearest one.
Sensing his approach, the creatures swarmed. They flickered between the ice and its reflections like a school of fish churning the sea.
This time, Chen Ling didn’t use [Judgment]. Relying on pure speed, he snatched one mid-air. Only when it writhed in his grip did he get a clear look.
It resembled a miniature eel—palm-sized, finger-thick, its surface etched with the same mysterious runes as the seaweed from the Frozen Sea...
"More runes?" Chen Ling frowned. "Are these eels and that Calamity... related?"
Clutching the eel, he drew his gun and fired at the oncoming swarm. With [Secret Eyes], his aim was lethally precise. A few shots reduced them to bursting fireballs that fizzled into nothingness.
"Self-destruct when attacked... Not even first-tier?"
Chen Ling quickly grasped their nature. Holding his sole "specimen," he turned back and then paused, noticing something in the ice.
He crouched, studying the rippling surface. Deep within the reflections, swarms of shadows moved in unison, migrating like fish in the abyss...
Countless eels, all surging in one direction. Chen Ling followed their path, his frown deepening.
"Aurora City... They’re targeting it?"
He’d always assumed Calamities were like wild beasts of the Gray Realm—each unique, behavior unpredictable. But this sight challenged that belief... Were the eels drawn by instinct, or something guiding them?
No time to ponder. A larger swarm had noticed the disturbance and was veering toward him. Chen Ling retreated to the train, calling to Zhao Yi, "Go. Now."
"Which way?"
"See the track reflections under the ice? That’s the convergence point. Head there."
The train had idled, letting survivors board. At Chen Ling’s command, steam roared as it accelerated toward the glimmering reflections.
As the locomotive’s shadow merged with the ice, the worlds realigned. The train tore back into reality, leaving the survivors dizzy as leaden skies gave way to dim sunlight. The familiar tracks reappeared beneath them.
"Outside Aurora City, the Gray Realm’s convergence is worsening... At this rate, the two worlds will soon become one."
Chen Ling gazed at the unremarkable ice behind them and murmured, "And nothing will stop it."