I. Ominous Signs
Jason awoke one morning feeling a vague sense of unease. As he got ready for school, he couldn't shake the sense that something was off. Small things seemed out of place - his parents bickering over minor issues, gloomy weather forecasts taking an urgent tone, his classmates looking more sullen than usual.
At school, the atmosphere was noticeably tense. Students whispered anxiously in the halls about random misfortunes - car accidents, petty crimes, inflammatory social media posts. Teachers seemed distracted and on edge as they tried to start lessons. Jason overheard the principal tell a colleague that local hospitals were reporting a spike in psychotic episodes and violent behavior overnight.
During lunch, Jason noticed several students crying after checking messages on their phones. When he gently asked what was wrong, they said a terrible traffic accident downtown had claimed several lives, including some teens from their school. The news weighed somberly on everyone, compounding the general sense of dread.
As Jason walked home that afternoon, even the air seemed charged with tension, like the stillness before a great storm. Something menacing was brewing just below the surface. He couldn't identify any single cause for the unease, but so many bad omens in conjunction felt significant. Jason resolved to be extra alert to any signs of escalating trouble. His special gifts might be needed very soon if this darkness continued spreading.
II. Omens Multiply
Over the next couple weeks, the vague atmosphere of dread only intensified. Local media reported a wave of violent crimes with no known motives. Wildfires broke out along the highways, disrupting major transit arteries. A cyberattack crippled municipal power grids and emergency response systems.
At school, Jason noticed more fights breaking out and kids isolating themselves obsessively on devices. His own home wasn't spared either - his once friendly parents grew cold and irritable, displaying a cruelty unlike them. When Jason tried gently talking with his dad after an abusive outburst, his father's eyes seemed almost possessed by inner demons.
Each small disaster or disturbing incident felt like part of an unseen pattern, too widespread now to dismiss as coincidence. It was as if dark energy was precipitating into the material realm, infecting the social fabric and collective psyche. People's inherent darkness was boiling over, goaded by amplifying feedback cycles. But the tipping point into full chaos remained just over the horizon for now. However, time was running short to change course.
III. The Point of No Return
Over the next month, things continued deteriorating rapidly as the wave of social toxicity, violence and upheaval swelled. Rioting mobs filled downtown, leaving buildings in flames after clashing for reasons no one could recall. Power outages from cyber terrorism now lasted weeks, devouring emergency services' resources. Police and hospitals were overwhelmed by psychotic breaks and domestic disturbances.
With society fragmenting, conspiracy theories and paranoia infected both digital and civic forums. Neighbor turned against neighbor as fear ruled. Jason desperately attempted acts of heroism both large and small, from rescues to counseling, hoping to mitigate the damage and calm spirits. But his efforts felt like trying to hold back a tsunami with his bare hands. The darkness was now self-sustaining and strengthening.
Soon it became clear even drastic emergency measures could no longer restore balance across so many dimensions. They had passed the point of no return. As civilization slipped into death throes, Jason could only hope to shield pockets of light and reason. And pray that someday, the ashes left behind might nourish new seeds of sanity to sprout in the scorched soil again when the madness finally burned itself out. But today, the darkness closed in without mercy. Light was now in full retreat across every front, barely flickering against the long night falling. Their own humanity had brought them low, but the dawn must come in time if spirit did not wholly die out. Jason clung desperately to that faith.
IV. Until a New Dawn
In the months that followed, Jason helped gather and shelter survivors as society collapsed. He fought hopelessly to hold back the tides of destruction and barbarism overrunning civilization. But social order unraveled faster than anyone could staunch, and the darkness consumed all.
After weeks of apocalyptic horror, the cataclysm seemed to plateau, as if the Drake's energies were finally depleted. Pockets of shell-shocked refugees crawled from the wreckage, seeking fellow survivors. Though night had certainly fallen, glimmers of human spirit yet endured. Holding onto that fragile seed, Jason helped the weary remnants regroup and begin the long journey of rekindling light in the abyss their world had become.
Looking out over the violent tribes and lawless landscapes now dominating outside their walls, it was easy to abandon hope of ever restoring what was lost. But Jason forced himself to nurture the wisp of faith still fluttering inside. It would be a long, painful quest reclaiming their humanity and sanity after indulging the mind's darkest appetites. But step by step, there was a path back into the light's graces if courage did not fail completely.
The Supreme System's gifts had not saved civilization from its own demons this time. But if Jason could keep nourishing the faint embers of grace and redemption still warm within people's hearts through this long night, mayhap when the ashes cooled, they could sow humanity anew. That frail glimmer was all that remained to light the way home.
V. The Long Road Back
For over a decade, Jason helped shepherd the shell-shocked survivors and their young. He worked to reignite civic spirit and empathy in the ravaged tribes, promoting reconciliation and mutual aid. It was a grueling, thankless endeavour rekindling compassion and reason in lands that had nearly extinguished their own souls.
But Jason and the weary elders persisted, resolving through immense patience and understanding to heal the monstrous psychic wounds torn during the great cataclysm one fragile spirit at a time. Wherever possible, they planted the seeds of community and service, reminding people of their shared bonds and inherent goodness.
After long, bitter years, their steadfast moral example turned the tide against the darkness and depravity that had reigned. Gradually, rays of justice, creativity and fellowship pierced the veil again. As generations passed, civilization crawled steadily back from barbarism toward unity.
The road back had been far longer and harder than the fall. But Jason had never stopped believing redemption was possible, however long the night stretched, as long as a single light remained flickering to rekindle hope again. Through that lone light, one weary spirit kept alive when all other fires had gone out, civilization would be reborn from the ashes. And their long redemption could finally begin.