Creak!
The dawn light was faintly visible, with no clouds for miles.
Underneath the pale red twilight, a black-feathered crow with red eyes spread its wings and swooped down.
Its wings cast shadows as they blocked the sunlight, sweeping over thick city walls and towers, flying through neighborhoods of grey-white buildings, and eventually landing atop a column in a vast square, preening its feathers.
In the center of the square stood a dark red nine-story tower, over a hundred meters tall, its walls engraved with fierce, demonic beast patterns, surrounded by thirty-six thick bronze chains.
By then, the sky had grown gradually brighter.
But the area around the tower was always enveloped in an unwavering layer of dark clouds.
Approaching it, one couldn't help but feel a chill, as if being stared at by countless fierce ghosts, sending shivers down one's spine.
Below the tower, in a low and flat house, an emaciated old man slowly opened his eyes.
