Because of his senses overexerting themselves in this moment of desperation, Hao Xuan was able to stretch what should have been a split-second event to several times its length.
Time seemed to have come to a standstill as he peered downwards and finally caught a glimpse of what it was that was chasing him.
Scores of robed figures were floating up into the air behind him. If they had any to begin with, their faces were completely shrouded within the darkness that even the lighting strike could not pass through.
They didn't have any visible lower limbs but the hands that were reaching out to grab a hold of Hao Xuan didn't have any skin or flesh. It was just...moving bones.
Their appearance matched almost 1 to 1 to what Hao Xuan imagined wraiths would look like and he wasn't far off either since a single look in their direction left Hao Xuan completely devoid of any warmth, physical or spiritual.
It felt like all his positive emotions were forcefully stripped away, replacing them with a feebleness that he had not felt in a very long time.
Hopelessness, doubt, and absolute dread took root within his heart in that short moment and he knew that it wasn't something the likes of him was supposed to lay his eyes upon. (Reference image in authors notes)
And as if that wasn't enough, something else grabbed his attention from the corner of his eye.
Hao Xuan turned his head sideways to glance towards the direction he was running to and saw something that he would not soon forget, not in this life or the next.
A skeleton was staring in his direction. Well, it didn't have any eyes so there was no surefire way to tell but he just got a feeling of being preyed upon, not much different from the sixth sense of a mouse when a hawk locks onto it from the air.
The only problem was that this skeleton, what little bit of it was visible, was much larger than average. The skull alone was at least 80 meters wide and although Hao Xuan couldn't see the remainder of its body which was embedded within the cliffside, something told him that it was proportionate to the skull if not much larger.
The world suddenly came to a standstill. Hao Xuan realized that time had actually been slowed down to such an extent that it looked like it had stopped. And without even thinking about he knew the source of this change.
The skull slowly lifted into the air. The cliffside it was embedded in trembled and broke apart to reveal a humanoid hand. But the palm alone was almost the same size as the skull of not larger and it was coming straight at him. (Reference image in Authors notes)
Unable to retaliate in any other way, Hao Xuansimply pulled back his own hand and threw out a punch.
"AAAAAHH!"
Hao Xuan mustered the few morsels of courage still within his heart and roared defiantly knowing full-well the obvious outcome.
He closed his eyes and put all his strength in his fist but the devastating force of impact that he was expecting did not come. Instead, he felt his hand connect with another that completely neutralized his strength.
"The fuck you doin' bitch? Did you eat something poisonous again??" a familiar voice brought him back to reality.
Hao Xuan slowly opened his eyes and saw Jin Wang's face inches away from his. He sighed and released his fist, taking a step back.
"There you are. Welcome back, dipshit," Jin Wang remarked jokingly.
Hao Xuan jumped to his feet ready for anything but upon seeing where he was he quieted down.
"I'm....back..."
He was back in the brightly lit city, listening to the hustle and bustle of before. He looked in every possible direction waiting for something to happen but nothing ever did. He was still on top of the same roof with an imprint of his punch right in front of him.
Hao Xuan started breathing heavily as panic set it.
"No but...there was fire and then blood and death...which one is this? Which one will come here?" he mumbled like a madman pacing back forth on the same spot.
Jin Wang's smile froze and his brow furrowed listening to his rambling. When he had found Hao Xuan a moment ago he was sitting here lifelessly but something was incredibly wrong with his body.
Jin Wang was looking right at him but it felt like Hao Xuan would disappear any second.
***
Authors Notes:
All images are posted in the Official Discord.
Link: https://discord.gg/AHdSBFQ
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Reference Image Link (1): https://i.pinimg.com/564x/72/8a/fe/728afe881c3f50b55b28a6459710be99.jpg
Shortened Image Link (case sensitive) : https://urlzs.com/SVxih
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Reference Image Link (2): https://i.pinimg.com/564x/ee/2f/2f/ee2f2f71708f1ea1e5e0d1350cc5c6b8.jpg
Shortened Image Link (case sensitive) : https://urlzs.com/KKhEo