They were survivors just like him and the unconscious woman beside him.
But what sent a shiver down his spine was the fact that they were being pursued by the same dragon that had hunted them earlier.
It was as if the dragon was herding them, driving them toward the bridge, toward this side.
Korig's mind raced with questions.
Was this a mere coincidence, or was the dragon intentionally leading people to this side, to the new area that had been designated by the mysterious system?
The implications were unsettling, suggesting that they were not alone in being manipulated by unseen forces.
As Korig watched in a mixture of awe and horror, the survivors' desperate flight came to a gruesome end.
One of them, unable to outrun the dragon's fury, was caught in the creature's monstrous claws and torn apart.
The screams of the doomed soul and the deafening roar of the dragon echoed through the desolate city, sending a chill down Korig's spine.
Only three of the survivors remained, their faces etched with panic and despair.
With no other options, they attempted to make the same treacherous jump that Korig and the woman had undertaken earlier.
But fate was not on their side.
They didn't even reach halfway across the gap before gravity claimed them, and they plummeted into the churning sea below.
Just as they disappeared beneath the dark waters, an even more terrifying sight unfolded.
A colossal serpent emerged from the depths, its monstrous form coiled around the helpless survivors.
In a horrifying instant, the serpent devoured them whole, their desperate cries silenced by the creature's insatiable hunger.
The serpent hissed in the direction of the dragon, a menacing challenge that sent a shiver down Korig's spine.
The dragon retaliated, spewing a torrent of fire toward the serpent before veering away from the confrontation.
The serpent, seemingly undeterred by the flames, submerged back into the sea, leaving behind a trail of ominous ripples.
Korig watched the entire sequence of events, his trembling hands gripping the edge of his vantage point.
These were creatures that belonged in the realms of fantasy and myth, beings that were never meant to exist in the world as he knew it.
Their presence shattered the boundaries of his understanding, and the terror of their existence gripped him like a vice.
As the echoes of the dragon's roar and the serpent's hiss faded into the distance, Korig couldn't help but wonder about the true nature of this world.
It was a place where the rules of reality had been rewritten, where mythical monsters were a horrifying reality, and where the line between fantasy and nightmare had blurred beyond recognition.
...
As Korig continued to watch this nightmarish cycle repeat itself, his initial shock transformed into a growing sense of unease and suspicion.
It had happened repeatedly now, six times in just two short hours.
Survivors, much like himself, were being relentlessly herded by the formidable dragon toward the ominous bridge, only to meet horrific fates on either side.
What struck him most profoundly was the sense of inevitability that hung like a heavy shroud over each encounter.
It was as if this world operated not on the laws of reality but on the merciless mechanics of a video game, where players were presented with a preordained storyline and were forced to tread a prescribed path, no matter how gruesome or dire the consequences.
Korig couldn't shake the eerie feeling that everything was meticulously designed, that there was an insidious intelligence at work, orchestrating this cruel game of survival.
The survivors had no choice but to follow the path laid out for them, like pawns in a twisted and deadly chess match.
The chilling realization settled in that they were not in control of their own destinies.
In this world where reality itself seemed to bend to some unseen force, there was no room for free will or independent action.
They were prisoners of a malevolent game master, compelled to navigate a treacherous landscape where death lurked around every corner, and the rules were stacked against them.
As Korig pondered these unsettling thoughts, he couldn't help but wonder about the nature of the system that had brought him here.
Who or what was behind this grand design?
What malevolent purpose did it serve to lead survivors to their doom in such a calculated manner?
These questions swirled relentlessly in his mind, but the answers remained frustratingly elusive.
With each passing moment, the sense of foreboding grew stronger.
It was abundantly clear that their journey in this world would be fraught with challenges and dangers that transcended the bounds of their wildest imaginings.
Korig knew, with a heavy heart, that he had to find a way to break free from the cruel constraints of this seemingly unending game.
And yet, the odds seemed stacked impossibly high.
The dragon, a relentless harbinger of death, continued its grim role as an instrument of destruction.
The survivors, innocent and helpless, faced the same grim fate time and time again.
The cycle played out with horrifying precision.
Korig witnessed the dragon's devastating assaults with a growing sense of despair.
Its enormous claws snatched survivors from their futile attempts to escape, and its powerful jaws tore through flesh and bone with chilling efficiency.
The survivors' desperate screams, their pitiful pleas for mercy, were mercilessly drowned out by the deafening roar of the dragon as it reveled in its gruesome feast.
It was a scene of unspeakable horror, one that etched itself into Korig's memory with brutal clarity.
Each time the dragon struck, it was a visceral reminder of the malevolent forces that governed this world, forces that seemed to delight in the suffering of those caught in their merciless grasp.
But the horrors didn't end there.
Some survivors, driven to the brink of desperation, attempted to make a desperate leap across the treacherous gap between the broken bridges, hoping against hope to reach the other side.
The sea below beckoned, its dark and unforgiving depths a cruel twist of fate.
As they soared through the air, their faces etched with a mix of determination and terror, it became painfully clear that their chances of survival were slim at best.
The yawning chasm seemed impossible to bridge, and the survivors plummeted helplessly toward the churning waters below.
And then, just as they began their descent, a new horror emerged from the depths of the sea.
The colossal serpent, a creature of myth and legend, rose from the dark waters in a serpentine dance of death.
Its jaws gaped wide, a gaping maw that seemed to defy the laws of nature.
With a speed that defied comprehension, the serpent closed its monstrous jaws around the falling survivors, swallowing them whole in a single gulp.
Their terrified screams were abruptly silenced as they vanished into the gaping abyss of the serpent's belly.
The scene played out with a chilling regularity, a gruesome spectacle that sent shivers down Korig's spine.
Such monstrous creatures, the stuff of ancient myths and legends, were only supposed to exist in the realm of fantasy.
And yet, here they were, manifesting in their world with terrifying and deadly consequences.
It was a realization that shook Korig to his core.
This was no ordinary world; it was a realm governed by rules and entities that transcended the boundaries of reason and reality.
It was a place where the line between life and death was thin and uncertain, and where the very fabric of existence seemed to bend to the will of some malevolent game master.
With each passing moment, Korig's sense of dread deepened.
The survivors, himself included, were trapped in a nightmarish game where the rules were set and the outcome uncertain.
Their struggle for survival had taken on a chilling new dimension, and the true nature of this world remained a baffling enigma.
But as he watched the dragon soar away, its monstrous silhouette disappearing into the distant horizon, Korig could only reflect on the grim reality that they were ensnared in a nightmarish game.
A game where the rules were fixed, and the consequences dire.
The true nature of this world remained a baffling mystery, and the only certainty was that their journey would be fraught with peril and uncertainty.
...