Beggining of The New Era.

"Why the hell are you telling me this?" Alex looked at Ran Yunxia with a headache. She had arrived unannounced, declaring that she needed his help. She went on to explain that she had been feeling unlike herself lately, experiencing intense soul disturbances and sensing her own personality fading. Alex suspected that she might be under the influence of a soul-devouring parasite, but he couldn't fathom why she had come to him. He was no expert in matters of the soul, barely in touch with his own.

"Well... I don't know. There's something about you," Ran Yunxia replied.

Alex raised an eyebrow, teasing, "Oh, is this a confession, then? You're making this awkward, lady."

Ran Yunxia blushed furiously. "No, no, sorry! It's not like that," she stammered. "I just feel drawn to you in some inexplicable way. My soul finds solace when I'm with you, but I don't understand why."

Alex looked at her, smirking. She appeared like a love-struck teenager, but he could sense her true feelings. In the midst of war, Alex had suppressed most of his emotions, and though he had begun to regain them with his family, the emotion of love still remained distant. However, he did feel a particular fondness for Ran Yunxia.

"Yes, I understand, but I don't fully comprehend what you mean," Alex replied as he stood up.

"Where are we going?" Ran Yunxia asked, puzzled by Alex's actions and her own inexplicable attraction to him.

"To find Sect Master Lin, of course. He's an expert in matters of the soul and such," Alex explained before heading outside.

"No, no, no, not Sect Master Lin—" Ran Yunxia tried to protest, but her words were cut off by a massive explosion from outside. Alex peered out and saw a crater where there once was none.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

A towering figure descended from the sky, causing the ground to shudder.

"HEY ZHI LI!!! LET'S FIGHT!!!" a voice, full of excitement, came from the newcomer, Hong Xuanli.

"I'm sorry, Hong Xuanli, but I don't have time for a spar right now. I need to help my friend," Alex replied, patting Hong Xuanli on the shoulder.

"Oh, really?" Hong Xuanli's enthusiasm waned.

"Yes, but I promise to fight you three times as hard as yesterday when we get the chance," Alex assured him.

"REALLY? THANK YOU!!!" Hong Xuanli exclaimed before flying off.

Alex watched him go, sighing. Three months ago, they had sparred relentlessly every week. While Alex was significantly stronger, he couldn't help but marvel at Hong Xuanli's rapid improvement. Each spar required Alex to unleash more and more of his strength, a phenomenon he couldn't explain but was eager to explore in the future.

"Let's go," Alex said to Ran Yunxia, his focus now on resolving her issue quickly. He wanted to embark on a hunt to break through to the Soul Gathering Realm and had little time to spare.

"I see..." Ran Yunxia glanced back at where Hong Xuanli had flown off, her hidden emotions betrayed by a barely noticeable grimace. She followed Alex.

--

They headed towards Sect Master Lin's abode, determined to find answers.

However, a sudden, excruciating pain tore through Ran Yunxia.

"It's starting again... AGGHGHH!!!" Her scream pierced the air.

Alex immediately caught her, concerned. He could feel something terribly wrong with her soul.

"What's happening to you?!" he asked urgently.

"It's happening again... AGHGHHHGHG!!!" She cried out once more.

Alex instantly looked over and saw many people coming to this spot and flew off fast to Sect Master Lin's Building.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

--

"MASTER!" Alex burst into Sect Master Lin's house without warning.

"Agh!!!" Sect Master Lin jumped, startled.

"What—" he began to ask, but Alex was interrupted.

"AGHGHHHGHG!!!" Ran Yunxia's agonizing scream echoed through the room.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

An explosion of energy erupted, knocking Alex away from Ran Yunxia.

A dark line of energy shot into the sky, casting the entire area into darkness.

"WHAT!!!" Sect Master Lin opened his eyes with fright and appeared close to Ran Yunxia, he immediately looked at her and turned pale "THIS IS HERE!!!" He gritted his teeth and took out a bell. a big bell and rang it "I hope this works too" He rang it many times and the shockwave slowly got destroyed.

"Phew this wa---" Sect Master Lin didn't even finish before.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

An even stronger energy wave broke the bell and went up in the sky.

The sky turned completely dark.

"What is this?!" Alex looked up at the dark sky with growing fear. It felt as if a malevolent entity was peering down, ready to devour him. The fear was palpable, and if he felt it, he knew others did as well.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING?!"

"HELP ME! I'M SCARED!"

"IS THIS THE END OF THE WORLD?"

Sect members panicked, their voices filled with terror. Even the elders were unnerved.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

BOOOOOOM!!!

Grand elders from their mountain retreats soared towards the source of the massive energy wave. they went so fast it was basically teleporting at that point... they went towards the energy wave fast...

Alex was outside the building, unable to enter no matter how hard he tried. The energy was too overwhelming, and protective arrays had activated, sealing the building and everything inside. he could not even feel what was happening to perceive what was this energy wave. Alex felt immediately scare after feeling something around him, everything looked very weird to his senses as he could feel them...

"Why is my heart pounding so fast?" Alex wondered, looking around at the strangely quiet surroundings. he felt some kind of weird feeling he got from watching horror films in the past... like everything could be a jumpscare right now... this was more affirmed by the sound he felt...

Pssssst!!!

Everything fell silent.

Not a sound could be heard throughout the sect.

Most disciples were rendered unconscious.

Elders sighed in relief that they would not have to deal with panic.

Unbeknownst to them all, this was just the beginning of their nightmare.

End Of Chapter.