Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

Darkness spread like a tide, engulfing the entire world.

Survivors who had experienced the earthquake looked up at the aurora borealis filling the sky, but the familiar lights of thousands of homes were nowhere to be seen in the city.

They never imagined that in this era, firelight and auroras would illuminate the night for humankind. It was as if a global earthquake had transported them back to prehistoric times. Like their ancestors in the caves, these modern humans gazed at the starry sky in bewilderment.

Howard sat listlessly on the gravel pile, looking out at the once bustling city that had turned into a pile of sand. The lights that used to illuminate the city at night had all disappeared, with only a few torches and flashlights wandering around.

He is still very weak, and the intense hallucinations that accompanied the earthquake seem to have been confirmed not as a simple mental illness, but as something that truly involves the realm of mysticism.

According to Dr. Agnes, she was horrified to see Howard burning up in front of her, as if white phosphorus were spontaneously combusting on his body without any wind; the blackish-red flames felt completely devoid of heat.

If it weren't for the doctor as a witness, he probably wouldn't have believed that such a strange thing existed, let alone that it happened to him.

What exactly is the dragon that torments him at night, the dragon of death that causes him so much suffering?

The flames that ignited on his body seemed like an illusion; he didn't notice any special changes in himself, only a weakness reminiscent of someone recovering from a serious illness.

The flames seemed to have burned something off his body.

Howard wrapped his coat tighter around himself to ward off the cold wind. He was a recluse for many years, so much so that he was unwilling to gather around a campfire where people gathered in such a time of crisis to seek warmth in the dead of night.

There are always things to start a fire in the ruins of a city. Perhaps he should rummage through the dumped ruins like those scavengers to find more sources of heat and food for himself.

However, guided by his veteran instincts, Howard consistently refused to approach the crowd. He frequently changed his resting position, cautiously observing everything around him.

The city beneath his feet was not located in an earthquake zone. If it had been an accident, even with the risk of aftershocks, rescue teams from outside would have seen some trace of it, even if it was just a few slogans shouted through a loudspeaker or a helicopter rushing in to rescue the rich.

In fact, there was nothing there; the entire city was eerily silent, and the death toll was undoubtedly rising over time.

In the face of sudden disaster, many survivors still want to continue the inertia of their past lives in order to prevent their nerves from collapsing too quickly.

Dr. Agnes went to look for her family and doesn't know how they are doing now, while Howard is all alone and has no one to rely on.

Many people did this, making up the vast majority of survivors. After all, earthquakes are not entirely unfamiliar disasters and cannot be called the end of the world. People still have hope in their hearts and believe that life will go on.

Currency is still circulating normally, including banknotes. Howard can now see many people exchanging money for food, and there are also many who have mustered up the courage to dig for buried gold in the ruins.

Howard had seen war destroy cities, where people lived in similar ruins, easily returning to a barter economy, where violence and bloodshed were constant.

At least he hasn't heard any bursts of gunfire yet.

Cities are incredibly crowded nests, extremely fragile, and constantly in need of external support. The survivors will soon run out of readily available resources and lose basic order, at which point the situation will only become more chaotic.

Howard's food for tonight came from the collapsed supermarket, which must have been looted.

He stockpiled some food and water, but rescue efforts were nowhere to be seen. He was supposed to build himself a shelter, but little did he know he would have to endure several more cold nights.

The large-caliber pistol he carried was a last resort; Howard could only pray that he wouldn't end up in the worst possible situation.

Although he doesn't know who to pray to now.

He had already turned off his cell phone, and without a reliable power source and internet signal, this electronic device was no more useful than the flashlight he had taken from the supermarket.

Before shutting down his phone, Howard took a selfie with a serious expression.

This was his habit, because he wasn't sure if it would be his funeral portrait.

The mechanical watch stubbornly persists in its mission, working precisely second by second, so that he does not lose his grasp on time.

Howard, flashlight in hand, searched the city for a suitable place to spend the night, but what he discovered first was something unexpected and new.

"This is... a tree of peace and joy?"

Silently, these withered trees reappear in the city, deeply rooted in the earth, like a persistent nightmare for humanity, always there.

This mysterious tree seems to always be associated with disasters. It is said that it appeared suddenly during World War I, as if it had no growth process and its seeds were never found.

The Anle Tree was publicized as a deadly poison in human society and was severely cracked down on after its first appearance. As for what to do with the trees after they were cut down, it remains a topic that is avoided in historical records.

Only those obsessed with the mystical will seek out the Tree of Peace, even venturing into uninhabited wilderness; their groups also attract many who hope the Tree of Peace will grant them death.

Howard keenly sensed the danger and deliberately moved away from the Tree of Peace that had appeared in the city ruins. He soon discovered the gathering of people.

If in peacetime people would only talk about the suddenly appearing Tree of Peace during their busy work hours, now that people no longer need to go to work to earn money, the issue of survival is presented in the direct form of having enough to eat and wear, which undoubtedly provides fertile ground for the resurgence of faith.

Especially with someone fanning the flames... Howard spotted a figure draped in a gray-black robe, a symbol he was all too familiar with. They were usually found on the front lines of war, but now they had a new, vast stage to perform on, and the city was now filled with death and despair.

The "Death Faction" also has branches. In addition to the original goal of personal suicide, the group has split into two groups. One group firmly believes that mysticism is real, that the Death Dragon is the manifestation of the supreme divinity, that the Tree of Peace is auspicious, and that the Dragon Dream Syndrome is a blessing. The other group is more extreme, believing that everything should be attributed to death, and that death is the only absolute equality for all beings.

The former once tried to rely on advanced online platforms to promote their beliefs, while the latter vigorously promoted conspiracy theories and attacked the modern internet.

They believe that the networks created by major companies have intruded into people's lives, becoming incredibly advanced while depriving people of their privacy. Companies have poured the network into people's minds like flowing water, making people take it for granted and even enjoy it, until the water fills up more and more, freezing people's thinking ability, expanding from the inside out, and completely destroying a person's will.

It was all a conspiracy by the company, including the depraved world war. Everyone was played by the company. Human dignity has long been trampled on. Now the world has lost hope, and lies and falsehoods are everywhere. Death should come completely, and all things should return to equality.

With electricity gone and the internet collapsed, life has been shattered in the aftermath of the earthquake, and people's visions for the future are almost crippled. Such rhetoric will fill their current lives like an expanding sponge, absorbing the very water from the despair and confusion in their hearts.

Even as a patient suffering from Dragon Dream Syndrome, Howard would rather have encountered heretical charlatans who believed in death than these more extreme, ambitious individuals who intended to exploit death.

He knew things were about to get chaotic here.