"So what’s the plan?" Neto asked, his voice low as he glanced nervously at the chanting figures drifting closer. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"We stop him," Tyler said pointed at the running old man.

Tyler didn’t hesitate. His eyes were fixed on the old man who kept running in uneven loops through the streets, the only one who didn’t preach, the only one who seemed afraid.

Before Kaeya or Neto could react, Tyler stepped out from their hiding place and moved straight into the street. The moment his foot touched the open road, several preaching old men turned toward him at once, their hollow eyes locking onto his figure.

"The mortal disaster is coming..."

They began to shuffle forward, voices overlapping into a maddening chorus.

Tyler ignored them. He planted himself directly in front of the running old man just as the figure rushed toward him. Tyler extended his hand, palm open, intent on stopping the old man by force.

The old man collided with him.

For a split second, Tyler felt resistance, like pressing against a solid body. He smirked instinctively, confident in his overwhelming strength.

Then his smile vanished.

His boots scraped loudly against stone as his body slid backward. The pressure against his arm didn’t lessen; instead, it felt as though something far heavier than the old man was pushing him. His feet left faint grooves in the stone road as he was forced back step by step.

"What the hell...?" Tyler muttered.

He released the old man just before the figure reached the end of the street and stumbled back. The running old man didn’t fall or slow down. He simply continued on, vanishing around a corner as if nothing had happened.

Tyler’s heart pounded. He pulled up his status screen immediately, eyes scanning for anything out of place.

---

Name: Tyler White / Richard

Age: 20

Species: Human

Occupation: Level 10 Farmer

Skills:

DNA Fertilizer

Slash

Eye of the Jungle

Familiar: Serena (A Sexy Cat)

---

MP: 2300 / 2300

Strength: 2300

Stamina: 2300

Vitality: 2300

Speed: 2300

EXP: 100,000+

Points: 0

---

Nothing was wrong.

His strength was intact. His stats hadn’t dropped. There was no debuff, no curse, no hidden condition.

Tyler stared at one line longer than the others.

Strength: 2300

"How am I moving backward?" he asked quietly, more to himself than anyone else.

Kaeya stepped beside him, her expression grave. "That running old man isn’t strong," she said.

Tyler looked at her sharply. "Then what just pushed me?"

"The road did," Kaeya replied.

Tyler blinked. "The road?"

"When you stopped him," she continued, choosing her words carefully, "the stone beneath your feet moved. Not cracked. Not shifted naturally. It pulled itself backward, like moving a sheet of cloth from the ground. You weren’t being pushed by the old man. You were being dragged by the street."

A chill crawled up Tyler’s spine.

"So this place itself..." he murmured, glancing down at the stone pavement.

"I want to see it clearly," Tyler said suddenly. He turned toward Neto. "You stop him next."

Neto stiffened. "Me?"

Tyler gave him a thin smile. "Of course you."

Before Neto could argue, Tyler and Kaeya retreated to the side of the street, pressing themselves against a wall. Neto stood alone in the middle of the stone road, swallowing hard as the chanting voices closed in around him.

"The mortal disaster is coming..." the other old men tried to preach Neto. He also ignored them.

The running old man appeared again, sprinting down the street with wild eyes.

Neto took a deep breath, braced himself, and reached out.

The old man slammed into him.

Neto didn’t stop him.

Instead, his body stuck to the running old man like a fly caught in resin. Neto let out a startled cry as his feet left the ground. His hands clawed at the air as he was dragged forward, his body pressed unnaturally against the old man’s back.

In seconds, both of them vanished around the corner.

Silence followed.

Tyler and Kaeya stared at the empty street, hearts pounding.

"That boy is damn weak," Tyler muttered reflexively, though there was no humor in his voice.

Kaeya didn’t respond at first. Her eyes remained fixed on the stone road, as if she were waiting for it to betray them again.

Moments later, hurried footsteps echoed faintly.

The running old man emerged from the corner once more, sprinting past them with the same frantic expression as before. His breath was ragged, his limbs pumping in a rhythm that never seemed to tire.

This time, he was alone.

Neto was nowhere to be seen.

"He got taken," Kaeya said quietly, her voice heavy.

"Probably to the same place where the townspeople were taken," Tyler replied. His gaze followed the running old man until he disappeared down the street again.

A grim silence settled between them.

"How about we go there too?" Tyler said after a moment. "If there’s a mastermind behind all this, they’re probably at the same place."

Kaeya hesitated. She could feel the danger in that suggestion as clearly as a blade pressed against her throat. Whatever was happening beneath this town was not something meant to be confronted lightly.

Still, she nodded.

"It’s dangerous," she admitted. "But right now, it’s the only choice that makes sense."

Tyler turned toward her. "Jump in front of the running old man next time."

Kaeya shot him a look. "No. That thing is far too creepy. I’ll take the option that doesn’t involve being dragged like prey."

She walked toward one of the preaching old men standing nearby. Its eyes were vacant, its posture slack, as it repeated the same phrase over and over again.

"The mortal disaster is coming..."

Kaeya stopped in front of it, steadying her breath. The old man eyes lit up, and began to preach.

Then, In the span of a few heartbeats, without any warning she suddenly vanished.

Tyler’s eyes widened, though he had expected something like this. He exhaled slowly, forcing his nerves into submission.

"So that works too," he muttered.

" but I’ll take the faster option," Tyler muttered under his breath.

The sound of running returned.

Tyler turned just in time to see the running old man appear behind him again. Tyler stepped backward and placed his hand firmly on the old man’s shoulder.

The effect was immediate.

The old man continued running, legs pumping furiously, but his body didn’t advance even an inch. Instead, the stone beneath Tyler’s feet began to move.

The road shifted and began to move.

The stone surface slid forward like a massive conveyor belt, carrying Tyler and the running old man along with it. The surrounding buildings blurred as the street itself pulled them toward the end.

At the edge of the street, space folded inward.

Tyler and the running old man vanished together.

A moment later, from the same end of the street, an old man emerged again, alone resuming his endless sprint with panicking face.