Famine 159: World Shift

[0 days remain until the world shift]

That night never ended; dawn never came. The suffocating mist rose higher and higher, swallowing even the farm beneath its feet.

Boom—
A familiar thunderous sound echoed.

Every time before a world shift, this same phenomenon would occur. Over the years, everyone had grown used to it. Illusion Town sat empty—no soul on the streets.

As long as people sheltered within the same building, they’d reappear in the same place after the shift. Hence, just before the world shift, everyone gathered indoors, staying close to friends and loved ones.

Such stillness and peace had become normal.

Except—for one person.

[Prejudices among humans are mountains] reopened, and the entire terrain of the farm heaved and buckled, rising like mountain chains.

Nidhogg sat atop the highest peak. He seemed at ease, bare-chested and powerful, gold-red slit eyes facing the sky ablaze with supernatural signs, head tilted back ever so slightly.

Locked eyes with the [Eye].

Nidhogg stretched out a hand, and a flaming greatsword, taller than a man, materialized in his grasp. Molten lava dripped at his feet, curls of fire rising upward, engulfing him entirely. Within the blazing fissures, a twisted, wild smile flashed and vanished.

Bang!
With an eruption of flame, his dragon wings unfurled!

“I am candidate number 001, Nidhogg. I choose to initiate the second stage of the [Eye]’s trial here.”

The evil dragon’s fire surged in storming waves. In the sky half-illuminated by the inferno, Nidhogg held out a hand, beckoning the [Eye] with murderous intent in every word:

“You—get down here!”

Buzz!

In that split second, a piercing ringing lanced through the minds of every soul on the farm.

The very notion of sky evaporated.

In its place was nothing but the [Eye], filling every point overhead.

It was as if a planet-sized entity had risen above the horizon: streaked, bloody sclera for a sky, a vast crimson-flecked pupil in place of the sun.

The [Eye of the Main God] had descended.

The [Eye] fixed on him, suspending a sphere of pure white light before it.

Death.

In that instant, the hair stood up on every inch of Nidhogg’s flesh.

He didn’t know what the white light was, but absolutely understood: if it struck him, he would die. No regenerative power could save him; he would be utterly erased from existence.

Boom—

Half a second later, a fan of blinding white light swallowed the earth before him.

——

A few nights ago, in the farm’s basement.
This was the only place outside the [Eye]’s sight.
The core’s blood-fibers covered everything, candles flickered warm on the floor, and the farm’s elite were gathered here, their forms encircling Sizhiyan.

“Very well. The battle conference for the [Eye of the Main God] is now in session.”

As all eyes settled on him, Sizhiyan sat with composure behind the stone table, his gaze sweeping across everyone assembled.

“The first step is to lure it down.”

The first person he looked at was Nidhogg, seated in front of him.

The others stood, but Nidhogg lounged in the room’s only sofa, lazily gnawing on skewers.

In such a solemn place, those who didn’t know him well glanced askance, but Nidhogg was unconcerned, biting off chunks of meat.

Sizhiyan said, “We don’t need to sit idly by, waiting for another trial to descend.”

“The last victory showed us that the ‘battle’ between players and the [Eye] is less a test, more a challenge. The [Eye] cannot refuse our challenge.”

“The Main God placed certain limits on the battle, but those limits aren’t on us—they’re on the [Eye].”

So long as no player does anything that would anger the Main God, the [Eye]’s assault will not fall.
The first battle had its powers restricted.
The [Eye]’s attack could last only a single night.
Players did not have to kill the [Eye]—just injuring it was enough to make the attack stop and cause it to retreat to the sky.
If the battle was won, players would receive valuable intel on the [Eye].

This time, the [Eye]’s second trial would not descend on its own.

Here, Sizhiyan paused. “That means…”

Nidhogg grimly finished the thought for him: “In the Main God’s eyes, we’re weaklings.”

“The [Eye] is an existence beyond our reach—so dangerous it’s been shackled with restrictions, lest it crush us like insects.”

Sizhiyan nodded slightly. “Exactly.”

“And so—”

“If we are to destroy the [Eye], it means all those limits will be lifted.”

“We’ll have to face the [Eye] itself.”

“And that first shot… can only—”

His gaze settled on Nidhogg. Still half-reclined at the center of the group, Nidhogg chewed his food, eyes unmoved, totally unconcerned while the others worried. He gave a little smile, flashing his fangs.

Candle shadows flickered. The pulsing beat of the farm’s core drowned out their voices.
By the time the last detail was nailed down, dawn was near.

Nidhogg finished his skewers, incinerated the wood to ash in an instant, and scattered it on the floor. He stretched and made to leave.

Sizhiyan called out after him, “Don’t put too much faith in immortality. The [Eye] has seen you before. It’ll be ready this time.”

Nidhogg stuffed one hand in his pocket, waved lightly, and looked back over his shoulder with a sly grin:

“……”

——

The white glow receded.

Within the fan-shaped region swept by the white ray, half a mountain had vanished. The cut cross-section towered in stark layers—uncannily smooth, like a perfect slice through a cake, yet missing parts looked as if they’d never existed at all.

Nidhogg hovered above the ruins, chest heaving, sweat-sheened muscles glistening with cool terror. His dragon wings were fully spread, beating against the gale.

Barely a hairsbreadth from death, he’d exploded with every ounce of might to dodge. The tip of one wing caught the white light and turned to dust—completely unperceivable, beyond hope of regeneration.

“Hah! Not bad at all!”

Nidhogg roared into the flames, radiant and wild.

It had been so long—so very long—since he’d felt such real, narrow survival. A battle between life and death.

What exhilaration!

Fire raged on in the dragon’s slit pupils. He slashed the greatsword, carving through the sky like a blade, killing intent crashing like a tidal wave, wrapped in flame, charging straight for the [Eye]!

“Come!”

Clang!

The burning blade, trailing sparks, crashed down on the [Eye]’s colossal pupil! The [Eye] held its lid shut against him, malice and hatred overflowing in its gaze.

Down an inch. Down, another inch!

Every part of Nidhogg bulged with veins, face grimacing with crazed ferocity.

In this instant, every weakness—every restraint—was left behind. He was that ignorant youth once more, the whole world and all his organs burning with him, everything ahead consumed to ashes.

It was Sizhiyan’s first time seeing Nidhogg go all out.

One man, against the [Eye] that could wipe out the world!

A feat only Nidhogg, among all the players, could hope to achieve.

Or… was he even human?

A harbinger of the end, hatched without morals, kin, or law—the evil dragon incarnate.
Nidhogg, swirling with blood and flame, his grimacing face twisted in the same monstrous way as the [Eye] itself.

Whoosh!

A sharp whistling noise swept past Nidhogg’s ear.

Something flickered by and lodged in the [Eye]’s toughened lid—too tiny, too fast, veiled by Nidhogg’s inferno—neither side ever noticed.

On the comm, Shi He’s calm voice came through: “Brother, it’s done. Withdraw.”

The three words were like ice on raw flame—sizzling, smoking, cooling rage to ash.

“……”

Nidhogg closed his eyes, silent a moment, then suddenly laughed, a note of release in it.
He let go, fire reeling back, condensing around him. The greatsword twirled with a brilliant wreath of fire and fell with him to earth.

[Don’t… run…]

[Don’t run don’t run don’t run!]

The air filled with a flurry of piercing, twisted whispers—like a little girl’s, yet not quite human.

Countless specks of white light condensed in the sky like raindrops, streaking down as deadly beams.

Nidhogg, darting and rolling, flashed a crooked smile. “Me, run?”

He flung out a hand, dragon wings snapping open, and the stream of flame twisted into a hook, snagging the [Eye]’s eyelid!

Nidhogg wrenched back with all his might!

Crash!

Suddenly, the world quaked.
Caught in the state of world transition, the land and sky churned in formless chaos; the [Eye], dangling overhead, was caught off-guard and yanked earthward.

In the turbulent winds, Nidhogg’s voice was barely more than static: “Who told you I was running!?”

Crash!

But the [Eye] wobbled only briefly before wrenching itself to a halt, wedged in midair.

Blood vessels laced its sclera, blood like tears trickling and steaming down through the fire, yet though it seemed on the verge of collapse, it remained furious and indignant, absolutely unwilling to yield.

“—Tch…”

Nidhogg’s body shook with strain, baring his fangs in agony, the sharp teeth cracking under the pressure only to heal fast each time. Every fiber quivered at max effort—but the [Eye] was stubbornly holding.

But it didn’t matter.

A faint smile curled the edge of Nidhogg’s lips.

Crash!
A second force yanked suddenly from Nidhogg’s position!

[%…&*——?!]
The [Eye]’s harsh, chaotic voice screeched in confusion.

Just as Nidhogg launched his all-out assault, his flames creating a riotous cover,
Unknown to the [Eye], a second, invisible hook had slipped into its eyelid.

[Timebrand Soul Hunter—Shuttle]!
A spear that strikes across cause and effect—certain to hit!

[Special Ammo—Poseidon’s Harpoon]!
A fishing line, barely seen in the air, flashed with faint light through the blaze.

Shi He lay prone on a rooftop, face expressionless, sniper’s aim deathly calm—able to still even time itself.

His handsome face lifted slightly, and through fire and the apocalyptic gaze of the [Eye], he met Nidhogg’s eyes.

His lips pressed to the comm: “I’m here.”

Around his neck hung a narrow red collar, set with a jewel burning crimson as fire.

[25% absolute single-stat boost armor—special skill: Holy Fire Ring]

Back when Sizhiyan had taken Liang Qingshuang’s skirt and sold its gems for eleven sets of armor, the finest—unique—piece was the [25% absolute single-stat boost], sold for a hundred thousand points.

Nidhogg had sprawled in a convenience store, eyes wide, buying it immediately. “Hey! The best one, I’ll take it. You define the stats? Okay, let me fiddle with it.”

It had nothing to do with fire skills or bonuses—he’d bought it for Shi He from the start.

Now, that very collar glowed blue with [Range] bonuses around Shi He’s slender throat.

This time was not a standoff in a freezing world, nor the sacrificial mound, nor the pain of ignorant burdens.
This time, they stood together. They accompanied each other.

I’m at your side.

Go ahead without fear; if you turn around, I’ll be waiting.

And so, Nidhogg howled into the scorching wind.

“Dead-eye, don’t you get the wrong idea…”
Nidhogg enunciated every word, blood and battle-joy tangled in his voice:
“—You’re the prey!”

Crash!!

[————!!]

This time, drawn on by two threads of flame, the [Eye] howled in frenzy and madness, finally, inch by inch, it began to move.

The enormous, world-darkening [Eye] plummeted like a falling star—straight for them.

It was yanked from the sky by force!

Boom!!

The [Eye of the Main God], high above for seven years and always watching, crashed down upon the earth.

The world heaved and shook.

The sky fell in an apocalypse—uprooting grass, flattening homes, crushing mountain and forest.

The shockwave flung Nidhogg through the air, tumbling for kilometers, shattering trees, bashing to earth. He rolled dozens of times and spat blood.

“Cough!…” Nidhogg felt scattered, unsure how many bones were broken. He struggled to rise, only to collapse again.

The [Eye] was furious.

The very land quaked.

[Maniac! Maniac! What of it? What does it change? Die! Die die die!!]

A series of furious, unrecognizable explosions came from the [Eye].

[So what if I’ve fallen!? Worm! You’re doomed! What difference does it make? Think I’ll be weaker? You think I’ll give you time to recover? Worm, you’re always a worm, always will be! Die!]

Rays of white light trained on the unmoving Nidhogg.

——

Lying in the rubble, blood-soaked and rasping, Nidhogg suddenly smiled.

Buzz!
A flash of blue—and he vanished.

The [Eye] blinked, confused.

Suddenly, across the hills, shrill and determined voices rang out.

“Long-range support group, on my mark!”
“Skeleton Ferryman Guards, ready!”
“Gatling gunners, take aim!”

“Three, two, one—volley!!”

Boom!

In a single instant, a storm of spells, bullets, spells, and machine-gun rounds poured forth without restraint!

This was the players’ attack.
The [Eye] had been pulled down—now within their range.

How many bullets? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? No one could count. Each bullet seemed so feeble on a battleground of this scale—and yet, so numerous, they formed a brilliant spear of light, storming at the unstoppable white globe.

Crack!

A flurry of explosions.

Yet somehow, they actually shattered the white orb!

The remaining force stabbed into the [Eye], catching the pupil off-guard, jolting it and causing a spurt of blood.

It wasn’t much damage, perhaps, but it left the [Eye] stunned.
Its attack order dissipated without achieving anything. For the moment, it just stared in confusion.

This was what Nidhogg and Shi He’s ultimate risk had been for—to pull the [Eye] down to earth at all costs.

Behind the rolling hills, over two hundred thousand farm players stood in formation, grouped by their different buffs—a sea of heads filling every hillside.

During a world shift, space itself became unstable. The streets were already empty. The [Eye], adjusting to the new world, would be distracted a moment—while thick fog churned across the world and Sizhiyan’s decoy projections cloaked the field.

And beneath all this cover, they’d actually deceived the [Eye].

Ranged players in the rear line raised their weapons high, faces alight with excitement.

“We did it! It worked! Hitting the orb before it formed matters!” Lin Qiushui punched the air.

They had actually attacked the Main God’s Eye!
The orb shattered! It bled!

Sah Tong, musket in hand, stood at the front of the ranged division, trembling after firing.

See that, Commander Nie, my brothers and sisters, acquaintances and strangers alike—see that?
We can hurt it! It isn’t unbeatable!!

Whoosh!

Sizhiyan thrust the farm’s banner high, the vine badge streaming in the wind.

“Come,” he said, standing at the front, bearing the standard, shrouded in white mist, his black coat flaring.

“No one else in this world will speak for us.
Only ourselves—and the guns in our hands.”