The crimson sky finally broke. Heavy clouds bled rain, each drop striking the ground like falling shards of glass. The red moon above glared down upon the drenched settlement, glowing brighter than it ever had an omen, not a comfort.
Deep within Settlement DR02 the home of the coroules scavengers and where it all began.
Miss Cathie's anxious figure darted back and forth beneath the flickering lamps. Her breath came in short, uneven gasps as the storm worsened, the air thick with unease. The once-bustling outpost now echoed with faint murmurs and the distant crackle of thunder.
Her hands trembled as she wrung her soaked apron, eyes flicking toward the gate and back again. Four days. It had been four days since the scavengers left for the Lansing. Four endless nights without word no signal, no messenger, not even a whisper, tho she didn't expect to hear from them in the first place her heart was uneasy her fears of the worst happening to them grew
She tried to tell herself they were fine. That Coroules, Naran, and the others would return soon. But deep down, the silence was suffocating her. Ever since the Roar agents and Gruger himself had stormed out of the settlement, something had shifted something in the air, in the way the wind carried faint cries that didn't sound quite human.
The people were restless. Fear spread like the rain running through the cracks of old stone. Miss Cathie felt it too an ache in her chest, a growing certainty that something had gone terribly wrong.
And yet, all she could do was wait. Wait beneath the bleeding sky as the crimson moon stared back, unblinking.
Open the gate!"
A Roar Enforcer shouted from atop the wall surrounding Settlement DR02.
"OPEN THE GATES! OPEN THE GATES—THEY'RE BACK!"
The other enforcers hurried to pull the thick ropes holding the massive gates shut. With a harsh creak and the groan of strained hinges, the heavy metal gates began to part. Through the pouring rain, the familiar shape of the Roar Agents' Metabus slowly rolled into view.
It was barely recognizable.
The once-proud carrier was now heavily dented, its surface scorched and twisted. A strange, uneven cannon-like device was mounted on its roof, glowing faintly beneath the crimson light of the moon.
The enforcers exchanged nervous glances, whispering among themselves. None of them could understand what they were seeing or where the rest of the team had gone.
Before Gruger and his agents left DR02, they had called the settlement to arms, rallying desperate workers, wanderers, and the unemployed—offering heaps of credits to anyone willing to follow them on an expedition. Many accepted, believing Roar's promises of fortune and glory.
But now, as the battered Metabus crept through the rain, the truth settled over everyone like a shadow.
None of those men were coming back.
Not long after, another vehicle rolled in behind it—the Coroules Scavengers' Metabus. Or what was left of it. The roof was torn off completely, the sides burned and battered, and every movement of its wheels made a sharp, metallic screech that cut through the rain like nails against stone.
The sound made several enforcers cover their ears, wincing.
And then they saw him.
Naran.
His hands were locked on the steering wheel, his grip stiff and trembling. His face was as pale as snow, drained of every trace of color. His eyes were hollow, lifeless like empty wells that had seen too much death. The rain washed over him, but he didn't move, didn't even blink.
He drove forward slowly, mechanically, like a puppet still forced to move even after its strings had been cut. Tears mixed with the rain on his cheeks, streaming down from eyes that looked too tired to cry. His lips quivered, but no words escaped.
Whatever he had seen whatever he had lost had shattered something inside him.
"Hey, you!" one of the enforcers called out, raising his voice over the rain. "Are you hearing me?"
The man frowned and stepped closer to the slowly moving vehicle. "Hey! Are you deaf or something...?"
He stopped mid-sentence. His eyes widened as he peered inside.
Blood.
It was everywhere.
Coroules lay slumped to one side, unconscious, his arm tied tightly with a soaked bandage that still oozed blood. Dark veins traced up his skin, pulsing faintly with unstable mana.
"Mana... Mana backlash."
The enforcer's stomach twisted. He looked farther inside and saw Micah, motionless, blood dripping from the wound on his neck. And beside him, a small boy with black hair, shivering violently as the rain poured through the open roof, soaking his clothes.
The enforcer took a slow step back, his face pale. He didn't dare ask what had happened.
He simply turned and waved the others away.
"Let him through," he muttered quietly.
The gates shut behind them with a hollow thud.
And as Naran drove deeper into the settlement, the sound of the rain drowned out everything except the faint, broken hum of the engine and the soft, hollow breathing of a man who had already lost too much.
Isn't that Naran?"
"It's him," someone replied, and murmurs spread quickly among the crowd as Naran's battered Metabus came into view, screeching and grinding to a halt near the Coroules Scavengers' main building.
"What happened? What the hell happened?"
"They look like they've been through a lot…"
The vehicle let out one last painful squeal before stopping completely. Dust and smoke drifted around its dented frame.
"Ma'am! Ma'am!" a loud voice snapped Miss Cathie out of her thoughts.
"Naran.... Naran and the others… it looks like they're back!"
Relief washed through everyone inside the building. People rushed to the gate, fumbling with the ropes and chains to open it.
"They're back," someone whispered. "They're finally back."
As the gates creaked open, the injured, the elderly, and the anxious families hurried out, their eyes scanning for loved ones. But all they found was the half-destroyed Metabus, its metal scorched and dripping with rain.
Miss Cathie ran forward the moment she spotted Naran.
"Naran… Naran! How was... how was—"
She couldn't finish. His hollow eyes, filled with tears, said everything. Her heart pounded as she pulled open the Metabus door.
Inside lay Micah and Coroules unconscious, pale, and covered in blood. For a moment, she couldn't even tell if they were alive.
"Naran…" her voice trembled. "Where's Ji-Ung?"
Her tone cracked, louder now
"NARAN! WHERE'S JI-UNG?"
Her voice broke into a scream. "WHERE THE HELL IS MY HUSBAND?"
She dropped to her knees, sobbing. The others ran over, hoping for good news, but the moment they saw the bodies, hope turned to horror.
"Ma'am, what happened?" someone whispered, but the answer hung in the air unspoken and heavy.
"Carry them! We need to move them inside!" another yelled. "Someone get the Mistress!"
As Coroules, Micah, and the little boy were carried away, Cathie just stood there frozen, trembling. Then something inside her broke.
"No… No, Ji-Ung wouldn't leave me," she whispered to herself. "He promised he'd come back. He promised."
She stumbled out of the Metabus, staring toward the road Naran had returned from.
"He'll be back soon… he'll be here," she said, placing a trembling hand on her stomach.
"No, don't worry, honey. Daddy will be back. He promised, remember? He said we'd live in peace… together…"
But her voice faltered. Everyone watching knew the truth. The ones who came back were the only ones who survived.
Still, she refused to believe it.
"No… no, don't say that! He'll be back!" she screamed, tears mixing with the rain pouring under the crimson sky.
She fell to the ground, memories flooding her mind the nights they spent together, their wedding, his smile the day he left. She curled into herself, sobbing uncontrollably.
And as the storm raged above her, one final thought pierced through her sorrow:
He died beneath the crimson sky, never knowing the life he'd left behind was already growing within her