The Dawn of the New World

"Argh!"

Hao Xuan's body went taut as a horrifying scene began to unfold right in front of all the spectators.

A flood of shadowy hands poured out of his eyes in an explosion of dense chaotic energy that pushed each and every individual to the wall.

Their numbers grew from dozens to hundreds to thousands in the blink of an eye until no one could even keep count.

Each hand was slightly different as if it belonged to a separate person. Some were smaller like those of children while others were older and sturdier. They shot out in every direction possible but once they were more than a meter away their silhouettes would meld into the nothingness of the surroundings.

They were reaching for something in the distance, blindly trying to grasp onto whatever came within their reach. And the brute demon who was several times larger than anyone else in the room obviously became the largest target because of it.

*ROOOAR*

It bellowed from pain whenever a hand grabbed a hold of it because that spot would be left feeling ice-cold, so cold in fact that it sapped every all demonic energy from his body.

It scrunched up in a ball trying to get as far away as possible but there was not much room to move.

The others had much the same experiences, even Wern and Alfen who could not even gather enough energy to scream for help.

Wern's eyes rolled back into the sockets as several small hands went straight into his chest and somehow came out in his mind palace. They dug in deeper than anything ever had and pulled at his very soul.

Several of the hands came into contact with Eurig but turned away a moment later. Whatever they were looking for, he did not have. But that didn't mean he didn't feel them invading his very being, going into places that he did not even know existed.

Only Arnett was saved from this horrible event because most of his body was still engulfed within the demonic blob and all the hands that came in his direction were inadvertently absorbed by "it".

This lasted for a mere 40 seconds and when it finally stopped Hao Xuan looked much different, a lot more human at least.

His eyes were filled with the original green pupils but there were tears around them as he gasped for breath on all fours.

Hao Xuan punched his forehead repeatedly while headbutting the blood-ridden floor in between until his pupils focused and he could see again.

"Hah...hah...am I...back?" he mumbled through heavy breaths while looking at the mess around him.

Gathering some strength he slowly stood up before stretching lightly. The muscles of his arms and legs convulsed with loud pangs. He felt the oh-so-familiar pain and sighed in relief.

"I really am back," he whispered with no small amount of disbelief until a voice sounded within his ears.

'Please...help Eva...'

"Huh?" looking around for the source his gaze automatically fell on Arnett who wasn't even conscious anymore.

Hao Xuan walked up to him and saw the true shape of the blob that was enclosed around him.

"What the fuck are you?" he squinted hard because he was seeing something much different. In his eyes, the blob wasn't transparent. It was still shapeless but within that goo were different "spectral" body parts floating around that to his eyes were glowing with a strange light.

His hand suddenly jerked forward and shot into the goo, grabbing a hold of a piece of the breastbone with a strange symbol on it. He clenched hard, crushing it into powder.

*Screeeeeech*

A high-pitched screech sounded within the room before the goo suddenly turned into black liquid.

Arnett's body fell out which Hao Xuan swiftly took in his hands. His brow furrowed in a tight knot as he stared at the boy's face.

'Eva...please save Eva...someone..'

His words echoed within Hao Xuan's head. This wasn't through spiritual sense but something completely different. He could hear them clear as day and somehow knew who he was talking about.

"Eva, where is she?" he subconsciously voiced his thoughts but to his surprise, someone answered from beside him.

"I know where she is my lord. Let me take you to her!"

Hao Xuan turned towards the speaker and his expression turned ugly. It was a monster, an amalgamation of thousands of serpents taking the shape of a human being.

"What...are you?"

"My name is Eurig, my lord. I was sent here for you. The savior knew you would be here."

The more Eurig talked the worse it made Hao Xuan feel. In his eyes it looked and sounded like there were thousands of squirming snakes hissing at different wavelengths to create his voice. There was nothing human about him.

But he still listened to what he had to say.

"The savior? Who is that?"

"I can take you to him, the savior wants to meet you as well!"

"Take me to Eva first.. This boy won't shut up about her."