The moment that deep, thunderous sound echoed again across the desert world, every single youth instinctively froze.
That was another first thud. The second came ten seconds later, and this time, they all frowned deeply.
The third thud followed—deep, echoing, and heavy—and most of the youths braced themselves, assuming it was another round of three like before.
But when the fourth thud struck the earth like the judgment of some ancient god, something changed… drastically.
In an instant, the brown mist that had already made vision hellishly difficult began to shift and swirl unnaturally, almost like it was being sucked into a whirlpool of darkness.
The mist vanished again, but not in the same way.
This time, it didn't just turn transparent. No. The entire mist dimmed like someone had switched off the sun.
A wave of grey swept over the sky and even the mist turned ashen, as if someone had drained the color out of the world.
And then came the cold.
