Back into the lab, everything appeared washed in black and white, as if time itself had paused.
Beyond the serene, glowing white lights, the room was bathed in a dazzling, fiery hue.
The virtual panel displayed a clear yet elaborate rendering of meteor rain, seemingly engulfing the entire landscape.
The entire moment felt utterly desperate, rending the hearts of viewers worldwide!
Dr. Edward stood in silence throughout the process, speechless. His small stature has been trembling since the start of this incident.
A chill ran down his spine, and for the second time in his life, he experienced pure, unrelenting fear!
It was like thirty years ago, when they hunted that Mystical Bird—yet back then, he only caught a faint taste of it, as everything was under their control.
But this time was different.
For the first time, he truly felt the fear of death....
An absolute despair washed through his very existence, his soul!
"How can it be like this... Ho—how can!"
Dr. Edward felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Just moments ago, he had succeeded in creating the first wonder of the Supernatural Era, eager to expand his reach into the vast sea of knowledge and fame.
Now, everything was slipping away!
Alas, before his eyes, reality began to slip away—so seamlessly that he had no words to describe the unfolding scene in front of him.
"It's fake! Yes, it has to be! Reeta! What the hell are you pulling? Reactivate everything—restore it all to how it was!"
Crash! Bang!
"No, no, no...! Ahhh! Why is this happening?" Dr. Edward seemed to have gone mad—for real this time.
He ran frantically from one part of the lab to another, smashing everything in a fit of rage.
Kai, who was also shocked by these unbelievable changes, finally snapped back to his senses amidst Dr. Edward's sudden outburst.
In that moment, as clarity returned, Kai felt his entire body tremble with excitement and joy.
A dry laugh escaped his throat, a sudden burst of emotion breaking free with a soft "pfft."
"Hahaha! Serves...This Damn world! Serves you right!" he spat as his lips curled upward in excitement.
"The deaths of those innocent souls will be recompensed by all of you! Justice is here, and no one will escape—Dr. Edward, not even you! Hahaha! You're done for this time!"
Kai's maddening laughter and hysterical words caused Dr. Edward to freeze in place, momentarily stunned.
Each of Kai's words grated like nails on a chalkboard, and a growing wave of anxiety welled up within Edward's heart.
For a moment, it was as if countless faces appeared before him, leaving his mind clouded with bafflement.
His body wavered, as if he were on the verge of losing all strength.
Despite his lifelong cruelty and viciousness, a chilling fear briefly gripped him as if a nail had been hammered in the middle of his heart.
Nevertheless, he shook his head fiercely and glared angrily at Kai.
"Enough of that! Do you really think that could kill me? The great Dr. Edward—pioneer and father of the Supernatural Era! How dare! How dare you, you little beast!"
Dr. Edward pointed a trembling finger at Kai, his yellowish eyes flickering with a red hue as blood surged faster through his veins.
"Thhhuuud! Boom!"
Before he could speak further, a deafening explosion shattered the silence.
A forceful blast struck the ground with overwhelming power, sending shockwaves rippling through the air.
The roar was so intense it nearly drowned out all other sounds, threatening enough to strip away one's sense of hearing.
The impact was so tremendous that the entire laboratory trembled.
Even the ultra-shock-resistant glass shattered into fine, sand-like particles, unable to withstand the sheer force.
The force of the explosion also caused the entire lab to tilt slightly to the right.
Though the meteorite had fallen far from the valley where the lab was built, its impact sent shockwaves through the region, triggering chaos!
"Crash-Bang! Rumble...!'
Snow and mountains began collapsing one after another.
The air was filled with deafening crashes of falling snow and rocks, accompanied by the distant thunder of meteorites striking nearby and far-off lands.
The phenomenon persisted endlessly, seemingly with no end in sight.
As countless mountains collapsed, snow loosened from their peaks and began to cascade downward, flowing like a raging river of ice and rock, carving new vein-like structures across the landscape.
Although the Northern Lands were sparsely populated, home to few humans and animals, the destruction affected many, leaving a trail of chaos and despair in its wake.
The ground trembled beneath their feet, and distant cries echoed through the cold air as countless lives, whether human or animal, were upended by the relentless storm of falling snow, shattered rock, and collapsing earth.
The chaos seemed unending, as if the world itself was caught in a relentless, unstoppable force!
The dense snow forest of the Far-Northern Land was ravaged not only by countless meteorites crashing down upon it but also by the collapse of numerous mountains, sending avalanches of snow and rocks racing like a furious, rushing river.
The scene of rocks and the snow river fully shows the dominance of true natural forces!
As if anything that will come in the way will lose its existence and will be buried in this river of snow forever!
Although the icy river eventually slowed and mostly ceased, the vast, endless Northern Forest finally saved the lives of those live on the other side of the forest from this fearful and heartless snow disaster!
Even after some time had passed, meteorites continued to fall from the sky, albeit at a reduced frequency.
In truth, the catastrophe of the Northern Lands cannot be considered the scariest or most severe of its kind.
Such disasters were, in fact, happening across the land at similar or greater levels of devastation.
Even the most devastating disasters struck the cities lining the continental shores and the scattered islands, especially those nestled in the heart of the sea.
Nearly all of the population was wiped out, swallowed by the relentless chaos.
The destruction was not solely caused by meteorites; many enormous ones—some as large as cities—plummeted into the ocean, triggering massive upheavals.
The sudden collision churned the seas into a frenzy, causing the water levels to surge skyward.
Tsunami-like walls of water roared across the landmasses of the Grey-Star, crashing ashore with unstoppable force, inundating regions hundreds of miles inland and leaving nothing untouched in the path!
The impact left many of the most populous cities scorched and in ruins.
Meteorites not only obliterated vast swaths of these urban centers with brutal force but also ignited fires that engulfed the remains.
The collision caused towering, once-famous buildings to collapse, burying countless people beneath the rubble.
Many of these cities had already become ghost towns, with almost no survivors!
The scene exuded an overwhelming sense of despair and desolation for those who luckily survived this ordeal.
The world was plunged into utter chaos, and both people and beasts were caught in its relentless grip.
Among the devastation, the unfortunate lab personnel—many of whom perished beneath the terrifying sound impacts of multiple meteors— causing them to bleed internally and thus faced a grim fate.
Those who survived within the lab, and particularly from the military camp, fled in panicked disarray as the situation briefly shifted in their favor.
Fleeing was easier for the military, with open camps and prepared vehicles at their disposal.
Nevertheless, most soldiers were caught unprepared by this catastrophic natural onslaught, and finally, their soul left their bodies in this grand natural cause!
Even more so, those who survived lost all their composure, and many soldiers had forgotten that their primary duty was to safeguard the personnel in the lab—especially Dr. Edward.
In the face of such overwhelming destruction, all sense of order had dissolved!
As the soldiers fled, the surviving scientists and staff also abandoned the lab.
In truth, those who remained alive were no better than beggars, barely holding on.
While many rushed toward the exits in a frantic escape, the chaos outside was even worse than within.
In fact, only those with a keen sense of survival stayed inside, clinging to whatever hope remained.
They knew that venturing outside unprepared, in such a perilous environment, was essentially inviting death.
Yet, many still fled in panic, driven by instinct rather than experience, unaccustomed and without knowledge, because they are not used to the survival mood.
Unlike those who fled the lab in panic, the standby soldiers were not fools.
Their cautious response and retreat stemmed from always being prepared for the worst.
However, these soldiers proved to be less trustworthy—more concerned with their own survival than risking danger to save the scientists, especially Dr. Edward.
Undoubtedly, when faced with a natural disaster, few can stand and fight for justice or morals.
In the end, it's your life that matters most—something clearly reflected in the actions of these soldiers.
As the saying goes, "life and death are determined by fate."