Novel Full Chapter 427: The Gate that shook the world [1]
Chapter 427: The Gate that shook the world [1]
Contrary to what Seth believed, the stream never started.
—What’s going on? He said that he was going to start a stream an hour ago. Why is nothing happening?
—Did he forget…?
—I don’t think he forgot. I tried to @ him a couple of times, but I’ve yet to receive a response. I think there’s something wrong with the stream. Maybe some technical problems?
—How strange? Where did he say he would host the stream?
—Not sure, he hasn’t said.
—Did he not? I thought he did.
—I’m pretty sure he didn’t. Even Jamie isn’t answering. I suppose they must’ve encountered technical problems.
Everyone had been waiting for some time for the stream to start. When they realized that nothing was streaming despite waiting for so long, everyone started to wonder if there were some issues on Seth’s side.
—Ah, I was looking forward to it.
—…This bastard did this intentionally to promote his game.
—Yeah, he’s obviously doing it on purpose.
With the delay came the hate.
None of them went easy on Seth, insulting him in every way possible.
Severed Star Guild.
“…Hey.”
Zoey looked at Kyle.
“Hey…”
She called him a couple of times, only getting his attention after a few seconds as he pulled the earphones out of his ears.
“What is it?”
“Did something happen to Seth?”
“Seth…?” Kyle blinked slowly before his face turned weird as he looked at Zoey.
“Why are you asking me about him again? What’s—”
“Here.”
Zoey promptly cut him off, showing him her phone. On the screen, a series of comments appeared.
They were all the hate comments Seth was receiving.
Kyle’s brows rose at the sight.
“What the hell did he do this time?”
He didn’t even look shocked. He just naturally accepted the situation, immediately putting the blame on Seth.
And…
“It’s a long story, but if I have to summarize it, he liked one of the comments that made it seem like he was the one responsible for the Night of Terror. Now, all the viewers are hounding him for an answer as he said he was going to host a stream, but never showed up.”
“…Oh.”
Kyle took a slow sip of the coffee beside him, his brows knitting together as he turned the cup in his hand. The label read “Kyle Special.”
“How strange,” he muttered under his breath. “It feels… weaker than usual.”
“….”
“Ah? Sorry…? You were saying?”
Feeling the look Zoey was giving him, Kyle looked back up to her. Then, as if his mind finally processed her words, his brows furrowed tightly once more.
“Wait, how do you know all of thi—”
Flick! Flick! Flick!
Suddenly, the lights of the Containment Department turned off.
Not just the office.
Every single piece of electronics was turned off.
“Ah?”
“What’s going on?”
“A power outage?”
Everyone within the Department stood up, looking up in confusion. But soon, everyone realized that something was wrong as none of their phones or devices were working.
“What’s going on?”
Very quickly, everyone realized that the situation wasn’t simple.
Kyle and Zoey exchanged glances while turning their attention towards the Section Chief’s office as he walked out a moment later, his expression extremely serious. Unlike them, he seemed to have a subtle idea of what was going on as his gaze was directed towards a certain direction.
He didn’t say anything, but the grimness in his expression displayed just how serious the situation was.
And not a moment later—
“Everyone, get ready.”
The Section Chief’s heavy voice rolled through the room, sinking into every corner.
“…I don’t know what’s going on, but I need you all to get ready.”
He brought his hand to his shirt, clenching it tightly.
“This might very well be our last day.”
*
The blackout didn’t just affect the Severed Star Guild.
It affected every household on the island. In just a matter of seconds, five million people lost access to all electricity. The island was plunged into a total blackout.
Thankfully, since it was still daytime, the island wasn’t plunged into complete darkness. Even so, the sudden loss of power brought everything to a halt. Major corporations froze mid-operation, communication lines went dead, and transportation, including most cars, shut down entirely.
“What is happening…?”
“Help!!”
“Someone…! What is going on!?”
Panic began to spread amongst the citizens.
Nobody knew or understood what was going on, but it wasn’t until ’it’ happened that true panic began to spread.
RUMBLE!
The island…
It shook!
“Haaaaak!”
“Hyeeek!”
Screams filled the streets, echoing off buildings as people stumbled and fell in their panic. It didn’t matter whether it was Zone 1 or Zone 9; every corner of the island was swallowed by the same rising chaos, a wave of fear spreading through all the Zones without exception.
“Everyone, please calm down!”
“Calm down!”
The police and the Guilds immediately executed emergency procedures, trying their best to quell the chaos that had spread through every corner of the island.
“There’s no need to panic!”
“Please calm down! We will try our best to keep you all safe!”
Despite saying this, none of them truly believed their own words. They exchanged uneasy looks, fear and confusion plain on their faces, while a heavy sense of dread settled over their hearts.
But just as the fear was starting to consume the minds of every single person—
Flick! Flick! Flick!
The lights started to return.
BEEP! BEEP!
The cars began beeping in a steady, unnatural sequence, one after another. Street lamps flickered to life, casting harsh light across the chaos. Phones all around started ringing nonstop, their overlapping tones forming a dissonant chorus that filled the air.
“It’s back! The electricity is back!”
“My phone is back!”
“Yes! It’s back!”
Even the island started to settle down.
For just a moment, calm started to return to the island, the members of the bureau and the Guilds taking the moment to take a deep breath.
But that sense of calm merely lasted a minute.
It didn’t take long for the top executives of the Guilds to realize something.
—Gone! They’re completely gone!
“Huh? What are you talking about? Speak calmly! I can’t understand you very well.”
—The anomalies that we’ve contained! All of them…! They are gone!
The same sort of call occurred within each Guild.
At the moment the blackout struck, every contained anomaly vanished without a trace; gone so completely it was as if they had never existed at all. These weren’t minor cases either; anomalies of every rank, from the lowest to the most dangerous, disappeared.
The realization hit like a tidal wave, plunging the entire island into immediate crisis.
“Call the Bureau!”
“Immediately inform the Bureau! Place this as a nationwide emergency!”
“Quick! Quick!”
All the Guilds rushed to report their findings to the Bureau, each one sending urgent messages, calls, and incomplete data as fast as they could. For the first time in a long while, the Guilds set aside their rivalries and began working together, forced into cooperation by the sheer scale of the crisis unfolding around them.
“Yes! Yes…! Gone! They’re completely gone! We don’t know what is happening!”
“Please send help. Send—”
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
A loud rumbling echoed once more, the entire island shaking as a result.
Screams echoed throughout the entire island as panic settled once again.
When it all settled down, all eyes fell in a certain direction.
Nobody understood why, but everyone had turned toward the exact same direction, as if drawn by an instinct none of them could explain.
When the authorities finally reached the origin point of the chaos, they found it to be located at a certain abandoned factory.
The moment they investigated the matter, they found a gate.
An Anomalous-Type Gate.
That day,
Malovia Island was evacuated.
The world turned its attention to the Gate.
And soon, a value was revealed.
[SS]
The world shook.