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Today was bound to be weird...

Ren wasn’t some kind of a divination expert, he wouldn’t pretend to be one either. But he was aware of his surroundings and could sometimes immediately tell when there’s something wrong.

Today was one of those days.

Ren woke up this morning and was immediately assaulted by a creeping dread sinking in his chest, which was weird because he was pretty sure that he didn’t have a nightmare; he didn’t even dream anything last night. He went to bed exhausted from his daily activities.

Another two months have passed since he broke through the late stage of bone forging, and just yesterday, he officially stepped at the peak. He’s a hair’s breadth away from entering the Marrow Cleansing Realm; he just wasn’t rushing it because it would ruin his perfect breakthrough streak.

He trains just as hard as always. He never missed a day challenging himself in the dungeons. He even started exploring stage 33 recently.

Because of how packed his schedule was, Ren almost immediately falls asleep the moment his back hits the bed. And he also doesn’t dream often. So naturally, it felt weird that he would have this feeling of dread upon waking up.

Instead of going down to do his usual morning routine, Ren glanced out of the window and saw the dark and gloomy clouds above.

There was a permeating but faint sense of crisis in the air, something that only those who are paying close attention would notice.

It was weird because this kind of atmosphere wasn’t here yesterday. If it was, he would know; Ren wasn’t one to miss the signs with how vigilant he was.

This means that this appeared overnight, and there were no forecasts about this. Hell, even the weather app on his phone didn’t predict the appearance of rainclouds today.

Ren closed the curtains and made his way down to start his daily routine. As he was going down the stairs, a passing thought flashed past his mind, and all of a sudden, his eyes widened.

"Oh no! Was it today!? Shit!"

All traces of drowsiness were gone the moment he suspected something.

Ren practically ran across his house in a hurry, grabbing stuff and making sure he had everything he prepared for the specific moment he had in mind. He tossed them all in his inventory just in case.

He did a brief check to see if he had forgotten something, and fortunately, he got everything in there.

It was only when he got this confirmation did he start to relax. He moved on and went through his daily routine.

A rainstorm began in the middle of his practice. It brought wet cold and thunderous sounds above, but it didn’t stop Ren’s routine. He continued cycling through his moves, getting his chakra flowing, and warming up his entire body.

Even though he had been completely soaked by rain, Ren pushed through. He didn’t mind. In fact, he quite liked it. The rain felt nice and refreshing. It cooled him down nicely, and it saved a few credits on his water bill.

Besides, it’s been a while since he bathed in rain. It feels nostalgic to him.

Once he was done with his daily routine, Ren went inside and dried himself off. He then made himself some food and changed into a set of dry clothes. He was watching some shows as he ate, but also double-checking if he really had everything that he needed.

He decided that, well, since he had a lot of space in his inventory anyway, he might as well bring some extra stuff. Things that would make his life just a bit easier for what’s about to come.

The rainstorm was still going strong outside. The sounds of thunder and lightning were happening more often as he noticed.

Once he was done eating, he relaxed on the couch. He let some random movie play in the background as he waited.

Usually, he wouldn’t be this idle. He would’ve been in a bus headed to the plaza right now if this were any normal day, but it’s not. Ren’s pretty sure of that.

Something’s coming. Something was about to happen. And Ren was 90% sure that it’s going to happen today. The signs were right there; the timeline fits despite the recent changes, and he was prepared.

There’s nothing else for him to do other than wait.

And oh, today was definitely bound to be weird.

Not just for Ren, but for every Bone Forging and Marrow Cleansing martial artist in the world who’s not older than 18.

Of course, the rest of the world will react too.

The moment that Ren was waiting for did arrive.

Out of nowhere, a dark and swirling portal swallowed him home. Only him. Not his clothes, not the couch he was in or any of his belongings that weren’t already inside his inventory. Just him.

And just like that, Ren disappeared from home...and so were others.

When he came to, he found himself standing amidst a vast and rather depressing world completely barren of life. Only loneliness and desolation were in here.

He was completely alone, and the world around him pretty much screams at him that he doesn’t belong here.

Looking above, the sky was covered with dense clouds that blot out the sun. It’s hard to say whether it’s night or day in here. He also noticed that he’s inside some kind of a dome that’s made out of hexagons. It’s transparent but a little obvious to anybody who catches a glimpse of them.

Somehow, the area within the dome was illuminated more than the outside, and the further his sight traveled, the darker the world became. It’s only occasionally being lit up by the flashes of lighting and thunder now and then. But even it was so brief that it didn’t reveal anything to him.

’Just as I expected...it did happen. So the timeline was indeed correcting itself somewhat. That’s good. That’s just what I like.’

’Happy 17th birthday to me, I guess.’

**

"So, it did happen?" The Verdant Immortal Matriarch glanced worryingly outside.

The rainstorm was still raging all over the human civilization, but the GMU already received missing people reports and weird sightings.

Azure Radiance Saint sat nearby, clutching a cup of tea. She took a sip and nodded faintly.

"Indeed. It has happened," she confirmed. "Those who are at the Bone Forging and Marrow Cleansing Stage below 18 years of age have been taken without their consent. They will be sent to a trial space where some of them will fail and others will prosper."

"The punishment of the spire had started. It’s a sign that we should hurry too. We’re running out of time."

"We’re already doing our best, you know that." Verdant Martiarch smiled wryly at her. "It’s not like we wanted others to be punished either, but we have no choice. We are being judged collectively. We might be humanity’s representatives, but the spire won’t consider only our results. It judges the race as a whole."

"No need to remind me, I know." Azure Saint rolled her eyes at her. "I’m taking about the other thing. Not us rushing to the frontlines."

"Oh," the Verdant Matriarch blinked. "You should’ve clarified then."

Knock! Knock!

"Come in!" Azure Saint responded.

With her permission, a man wearing black sunglasses and a tuxedo entered the room. The moment he saw both of them, he bowed deeply and began to state his intention.

"Greetings, Martial Gods. I apologize for disturbing you, but a strange incident has been reported."

"If you’re talking about the missing children, don’t bother. We already know. We’re aware of what happened. Soon, we will release the news explaining what exactly caused this." Azure Saint went ahead of the man, who looked startled when she pointed out exactly the reason why he came to them.

"For now, tell the staff to comfort the families and friends of those who went missing," the Verdant Matriarch continued. "Tell them that we, the martial gods, reassure them that their children are safe and will eventually return."

"You can also tell them that we will be releasing a statement through our official channels tomorrow to address this matter. That’s all."

The man bowed, immediately catching the fact that he was being dismissed and told to leave.

He gently closed the door behind him and left the two female martial gods on their own.

"And to think that this is just the beginning," Verdant Matriarch sighed as she sat down on the couch next to Azure Saint. "The world is going to become more and more troublesome from here on out."

"It could be worse," Azure Saint chimed in, sounding unconcerned.

"Hey, don’t say that! What if you jinxed it?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Already did," Azure Saint snorted. "I said that the cult were just a bunch of trash, yet look at what they did. It’s only thanks to the whistleblower that we prevented more accidents."

"Had they been able to continue with their main plan? Trust me, this could’ve been so much worse."

The verdant matriarch couldn’t refute that because inwardly, she knows that it’s the damn truth.

She’s just hoping that the children will be able to return safely from where they are right now.