The Dawn of the New World

"FUCK! HOW COULD I FORGET ABOUT HIM?!"

Hao Xuan just now remembered a very time-sensitive matter that he had completely forgotten about. That was one thing that could not wait any longer so he quickly made Grey change destinations.

"Go to the dark mountain at the back of the city instead!"

"Neigh!" both of Grey's heads bobbed up and down as he increased his speed yet again, tearing through the dark forest in a whirlwind.

But as much as Hao Xuan wanted to think everything would be fine, something deep inside him was saying otherwise. There was a hole forming in the pit of his stomach.

The two-hour return journey was cut to less than seven minutes with Grey's speed and soon Hao Xuan could see the dark mountain in the distance.

"It's fine, I'm not too late," he told himself again, "I can even ask Ashura of the Six Paths to tell me how to get to the river Styx. He has been locked in the underworld for ages, a few more hours is nothing. It will all be-"

Just then, Grey leapt over a ridge and the city of Argham came into view. But when Hao Xuan looked in its direction the last word got stuck in his throat, "-fi...."

Pulling on Grey's mane to make him stop, he jumped down wide-eyed and mouth agape at the horrific scene in front of him.

Other than the main city gate not much was left standing. A good forty percent of the western city area was simply not there. In its place was a massive crater that stretched out for tens of kilometers in the same direction.

There was not a soul in sight anywhere nor any other signs of life.

Weak-kneed, Hao Xuan walked through the broken gates with a heavy heart. There were signs of fighting all around but no actual bodies. His shoes stuck to the ground that was covered in a layer of coagulated blood.

The area straight ahead used to hold all refugees and was the most densely populated section of the city but now it was completely empty...that is whatever was left of it.

The buildings were mostly destroyed and the makeshift camps were basically just ash and dust at this point. It looked like a fire had broken out amidst all the chaos.

Hao Xuan walked through the debris for several minutes but could not locate anyone. There were too many potent smells and ambient sounds for his senses to find anyone with either.

"What the fuck happened...where is everyone?! Baracus, run a scan for any living beings nearby."

*Beep*

[Initializing Scan]

[Error: Background Radiation Levels Exceeding Nominal Range]

[Scan Interrupted]

A series of pop-up notifications came up followed by an explanation from Barcus.

"There are too many conflicting energies in the surroundings. All ranged sensors are ineffective."

Finally, left with no other choice, Hao Xuan closed his eyes and began spreading out threads of spiritual sense in all directions. This was an especially risky move considering it could give out his location if another being capable of using spiritual energy was nearby but it was still better than yelling into the air.

The threads covered a distance of 20 meters in all directions but found nothing. Then they extended to 50 meters, 80, and 110 but only after reaching 140 meters did he find something still moving.

"Southeast!"

Cutting across the wartorn city streets that were completely unrecognizable from the Argham that he remembered, Hao Xuan quickly reached the intended destination which was a small part of a much larger building that was all but destroyed.

He stopped a few meters away to inspect the surroundings. It was eerily quiet but from this close up he could hear the rough breathing of a person hiding somewhere under the rubble.

Gathering some Qi in his hand Hao Xuan prepared to fight before abruptly pushing the pieces of rubble away with his feet.

"AAAAH! DIE!!!"

A blade shot out of a crevice aiming for his head. Hao Xuan didn't even bother dodging upon sensing the force behind it. It hit his arm and bounced off like a rubber ball.

Hao Xuan reached down and pulled out the attacker by his neck.

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" the man screamed trying to scratch Hao Xuan's face but his arms just couldn't reach.

"Stop! I'm not your enemy!" Hao Xuan spoke by augmenting his voice with Qi, making it almost as deadly as a sound attack.

He made sure to control the intensity though so it wouldn't do much more than daze him momentarily. As expected the man stopped struggling and Hao Xuan put him back down.

He was wearing the armor of the city guards and despite his face being covered in soot and dried blood Hao Xuan still recognized him from earlier. He didn't know the man but had definitely seen him around.