Frost Street.
Two disheveled figures stood at the door of their home, their faces full of hesitation.
This house, which once belonged to them, was now occupied by someone who had died and returned to life... or perhaps a "thing." The mass grave had been contaminated by the Gray Realm last night, so the one inside was most likely a disaster disguised as Evan Stone.
"What should we do now..." Grace Stone swallowed.
"What else can we do?" Richard Stone took a deep breath. "We go in, quickly grab everything of value, then run! Run to District 5 or 6, as far away as possible from here!"
"But it's still inside. What if we wake it up?"
"It's already gone."
Richard Stone looked at the muddy footprints at the door and spoke with certainty.
Upon hearing this, Grace Stone finally relaxed. She opened the door with a key, and the two rushed inside.
"Just take the coins and valuables! Don't take anything heavy!"
"I'll go to the bedroom, you go to the living room!"
"Hurry up! We don't know when it might come back!"
The two of them hurriedly pulled out two burlap sacks and began packing.
The man opened a drawer and stuffed all the money into his pockets. Just as he was about to leave, he glanced at the axe by the bedside—a weapon for self-defense. After a brief hesitation, he shoved it into the sack as well.
Their family wasn't wealthy, and there weren't many valuable items, but precisely because of this, they couldn't bear to leave behind what little they had worked so hard to earn.
Grace Stone shoved three cotton and linen garments into the bag, double-checking to make sure nothing was left behind, and hurried to the living room.
The two of them slung the sacks over their shoulders, ready to leave. Then, Grace Stone suddenly spoke:
"What about Maxe? What do we do if he comes back?"
"We'll go to District 2 first! Once we get him, we'll bring him with us!" Richard Stone answered decisively.
"He'll definitely look for his brother..."
"His brother is dead."
As Richard Stone spoke, he prepared to open the door. Just then, the sound of a key turning in the lock made both of them freeze in place!
The door slowly creaked open, and a young man walked in.
Evan Stone paused when he saw the two of them carrying sacks and, puzzled, asked:
"Dad, Mom, where are you going?"
Richard Stone and Grace Stone looked as though they had seen a ghost, their faces as white as paper.
At the same time, a fast horse galloped by outside, and the voices of the authorities echoed above the street:
"Suspected high-risk disaster detected! Full lockdown of District 3! No one is allowed to enter or exit!!"
"Be alert for any suspicious signs, such as roads or buildings that appear out of nowhere, strange mysterious creatures, or humans behaving abnormally!!"
"If you notice anything unusual, report it to the authorities immediately..."
The voice of the authorities faded,
and the atmosphere in the small house descended into a strange, eerie silence.
"We..."
Hearing the voices from outside, both of them began trembling. They looked at the young man in front of them, who, in their dazed state, had transformed into a monstrous figure from hell with fangs!
Evan Stone's gaze fell on the two large burlap sacks, and recalling what the authorities had just said, he spoke reassuringly:
"Don't worry too much. The disaster or whatever doesn't seem to be around here. The streets look fine, right?"
Richard Stone: …
Grace Stone: …
Evan Stone also felt helpless.
At first, he hadn't thought much of the news about a "world-ending" disaster invading, but seeing the audience expectation value soar, he immediately realized something was wrong...
Tom Vale had been beaten all afternoon, and it only barely raised the expectation value by a few points. Yet, the moment the authorities made an announcement, the expectation value shot up to the sixties!
From what Evan Stone had gathered so far, this meant that they must have found something very exciting.
Unfortunately, that excitement... might be him.
Earlier, Dr. Green had also mentioned the Gray Realm convergence and the disasters. And since Evan Stone had crossed over last night, with the original owner's memories gone... all these clues put together pointed to the fact that this disaster wasn't anyone else but himself.
Evan Stone guessed that what the authorities were looking for was probably the "audience" in his head.
He also wondered whether he should just turn himself in to the authorities, let them figure out how to deal with the audience in his head. But judging by their attitude toward disasters, the likelihood of them just killing him along with whatever was inside his body seemed much higher.
For now, he figured it would be best to lay low, observe the situation, and wait.
Seeing that both of them were still tense, looking more nervous than ever, Evan Stone sighed and reached out to take the sack from Grace Stone.
"Mom, where are you going to run to at this point?"
"Both District 2 and District 3 are locked down. We can't get out. Are we supposed to sleep on the streets?"
Hearing the first part of the sentence, Grace Stone was stunned. After hearing the rest, she finally snapped back to her senses and awkwardly laughed, "Right... you're right."
"Dad, you should let go of that worry... What if we run, what will happen to Maxe?"
Richard Stone swallowed, his gaze fixed on Evan Stone, desperately searching for any sign of abnormality or malice on his face... but he failed.
Evan Stone's every movement seemed just like the "Evan Stone" in his memories.
But deep in his heart, Richard Stone knew...
He was not Evan Stone.
Evan Stone was dead.
"Why don't you two sit down for a bit? I'll go get you some water from the kitchen." Evan Stone saw their pale faces, pulled out chairs for them, and then turned to walk into the kitchen.
Grace Stone and Richard Stone exchanged a glance, and finally sat down obediently...
While in the kitchen, Evan Stone was thinking about how to ease the atmosphere. He casually said:
"By the way, Mom, that sausage you left for me this morning smelled great. How did you make it?"
"Sausage... sausage?"
Grace Stone looked confused.
Last night, she and Richard Stone had gone to the mass grave, so where could she have left a sausage?
"The one on the chopping board," Evan Stone replied.
The confusion in Grace Stone's eyes deepened. She tried to recall, and then, as though realizing something, her face turned as white as paper!
"When did you leave him a sausage?" Richard Stone asked in a low voice.
"I... I didn't leave it." Grace Stone also whispered, trembling as she replied, "That chopping board... it had a bone saw on it...
But when I was packing up earlier... the knife was gone."
Richard Stone's face instantly changed!
At the same time, in the kitchen, with his back turned to the two of them, Evan Stone slowly continued:
"The sausage smelled great, but it seemed a bit tough... Mom, remember to make it softer tomorrow."
The living room fell into a deathly silence.
Evan Stone poured the water and handed it to them, but he noticed their faces were even paler...
"Are you okay? Not feeling well?" Evan Stone sat across from them, confused.
"...We're fine."
Richard Stone took a deep breath and quietly pulled the sack closer to his feet. His voice was more steady:
"Ev."
"Yeah?"
"Do you remember what happened yesterday?"
"Yesterday?" Evan Stone thought for a moment and shook his head. "I don't remember... why?"
"...It's nothing." Richard Stone took a small sip of water, seemingly making up his mind. He stared into Evan Stone's eyes,
"How do you think... we've treated you?"
"Very well." Evan Stone answered naturally, "If you hadn't taken me in, I would have probably frozen to death by the roadside... My biological parents abandoned me, and you raised me, worked hard to put me through school. Everything I have is because of you."
Everything I have is because of you.
At these words, a flicker of relief flashed in Richard Stone's eyes...
"If one day, Maxe falls ill... and only your heart can save him... would you be willing to save him?"
Evan Stone froze.
At that moment, those words felt strangely familiar.
Fragmented memories from the original owner's mind surged, and Evan Stone's head began to ache again... He suddenly remembered that the original owner had heard similar words last night.
"I... I..." Evan Stone clutched his head, his expression one of pain.
"Maxe is our flesh and blood. To have him, your mother took medicine that destroyed her body... We worked for ten years just to have this one child..."
"A child that truly belongs to us!"
"Now he's ill, we can't just watch him die... The shaman in District 2 said that if we get another heart from someone under 20, it can replace Maxe's failing heart."
"Maxe has called you brother for so many years, and you've been like a son to us. We've never asked you for anything, but this time... we're asking you to save Maxe."
"Tell me... you'll agree, right?"
Richard Stone's body trembled as he looked into Evan Stone's eyes, full of pleading and anticipation.
He looked like a child who had done something wrong, waiting for a delayed forgiveness.
At that moment, the broken memories buried in the torrential rain from last night finally began to come back to Evan Stone. He endured the pain in his head, took a deep breath, and rasped,
"So... it was you who killed him..."
"He?"
"...Does Maxe know?"
"He doesn't know. If he knew the heart he was about to receive was yours... he would never agree. He'd rather die."
Richard Stone snapped out of his internal struggle and guilt. He reached into the sack at his feet and slowly pulled out a sharp axe.
"Ev, you're already dead. You shouldn't be here." Richard Stone's eyes were bloodshot as he gripped the axe, speaking hoarsely,
"Whatever is occupying your body... I will set you free."
A low rumble of thunder flashed across the dim sky.
The sharp axe was raised high...
And it was brought down with force!
Bang—
A warm spray splashed onto Richard Stone's face,
Crimson blood bloomed like flowers on the floor, as Evan Stone's body fell stiffly to the ground with a muffled thud.
The axe embedded into his neck, almost severing his head entirely. His eyes, now vacant, stared into the void, still reflecting the pain and confusion...
He was dead.
No heartbeat, no breath, his body grew cold, like a martyr fallen into a bed of red flowers.
Richard Stone's chest heaved violently, his eyes fixed on the lifeless body, his clothes soaked in sweat...
"Dead... dead?" Grace Stone slumped in the chair, trembling.
"...Dead."
"What about the disaster?"
Richard Stone paused. "...I don't know."
Grace Stone stared blankly at the corpse, suddenly speaking, "Do you think... maybe he wasn't a disaster... but God gave us another chance at redemption?"
"If it is..." Richard Stone bitterly smiled,
"Then we really deserve to go to hell."