Chapter 380: Saga of Passing the Flame (2)

The Special Security Team’s website normally had a clean, light-blue background, but now a symbol resembling a sun had appeared at the top.

He subconsciously moved his mouse over the symbol and discovered the entire webpage’s color was changing.

An inky blackness began to seep in from the edges, quickly rendering the page pitch-black. Only the symbol at the top remained, emitting a bright yellow glow.

When he moved the mouse away from the symbol, the webpage gradually returned to normal.

“What is this?”

“It looks like a link!”

This was something you might see on an anime or gaming website, but for it to appear on a government-backed site immediately told everyone that this was something out of the ordinary.

It instantly captured the attention of every netizen who stumbled upon it.

The webpage changed again. Qi Yunfei clicked on it, and the linked page displayed a title at the top. Each word glowed faintly against the black background.

Over a dozen authoritative websites across the globe were now showing the same title, translated into different languages but with identical meaning.

Combined with the deep, oppressive black background, it was clear to every reader that there was more hidden beneath the title.

But no matter how much people clicked randomly on the title or elsewhere on the page, or mashed their keyboards, no new links would appear.

Some people thought it was a connection issue and spammed the refresh button. Countless F5 keys were abused, but the page reloaded instantly, unchanged.

Some were checking with friends to confirm the change, while others had already figured out the key.

This was no mere article with simple web effects. The Magic Power of the twin brothers was attached to these dozen or so links via the internet. The Red Demoness’s Magic Power, aided by the power of a Wish, had also used the twins as a catalyst to merge with it.

From a network perspective, it was alive!

Qi Yunfei, like everyone else, refreshed the page to no avail and didn’t know what to do.

His cousin beside him stared at the title, growing anxious.

“Dark… est… Hour… what could it be?”

But the moment he finished speaking, a line of text magically appeared on the webpage, emitting the same conspicuous, faint glow against the deep background.

The three of them exchanged a look. They had an idea!

Meanwhile, on the forums, someone had already discovered the secret. They made a post reminding others about the magical text, explaining that the next part would only appear when you read the words aloud.

Soon after, someone else confirmed that reciting it silently in your mind also worked.

“It is unclear how much time has passed, or where we are. In the chronicles of shifting light and shadow, we enter the ancient dark age!”

Line after line of text appeared, conveying the terror and shock the reporters had witnessed when they looked back in time.

“Perhaps it was an age of savagery, or a cataclysm that shattered civilization… Rifts tore open the world, and terror and natural disasters invaded relentlessly. In the cold and darkness, the stench of blood lingered year-round… This was the most tragic time in world history…”

“The world was in constant flux. Plants and animals clung stubbornly to life. With Copper Spears, stones, bone spurs, teeth, and torches, humanity used every means possible to fight, all for the slim hope of survival!”

“Humans were no different from other animals, scattered across the land, barely clinging to life. The rare Magic Awakeners fought back with all their might, but it was often a futile effort. They lived shorter lives than ordinary people…”

The article seemed to possess a magical power, causing the reader’s voice to change in an inexplicable way. The room seemed to grow cold.

Illusory images appeared—horrific beings that couldn’t possibly exist even in nightmares, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, as well as powerful humans, plants, and animals fighting back endlessly.

Darkness and consumption… Blood and fire…

“At some point, darkness became the new reality. The world grew colder and colder. The sun no longer appeared… Amid the gloom and ice, it had been a long time since we had seen any sign of plants, animals, or humans. Even as a mere observer of history, I have fallen into despairing silence.”

Although the voice was Qi Yunfei’s, he didn’t feel like it was his own. He was lost in a cold sense of despair. The fear he felt seemed to be that of the article’s author, and it infected those who heard his voice.

Countless people in front of their computers and phones rubbed their hands together, trying to ward off the chill.

“In a dead-silent valley, footsteps echoed. On the distant plains, the light of a fire was spreading… In that moment, we knew: humanity was not extinct!”

Qi Yunfei’s voice was now unconsciously filled with excitement. After reading the long passage, he had unwittingly fallen in step with its mood.

The image of the Nine Great Sages gathering was conveyed through text alone, yet it still showed the thrilling power of that moment.

“That was the first light before the dawn!”

“The oath of the Dawn has resounded through countless centuries!”

Even after Qi Yunfei stopped reading, a voice seemed to pass through the screen and echo in his ears.

“With my flesh, with my soul, with my Magic Power, I swear: until every last bit of warmth in my life is exhausted, I will fight to the death to spread the Light of Dawn across the world!”

Here, *Darkest Hour* concluded. Though it only told the origin of the Dawn, the “author’s” first-person narration also provided a great deal of supplemental information about it.

The power of words lies in their ability to ignite the imagination. Through this magical passage, the dark ages and the world’s tragic song felt like a personal experience.

The webpage jumped to the next page. People now understood what the Dawn Association was, and they gained a deeper understanding of the terror of the last “Dark Tide.”

There were no unnecessary words of encouragement or advice, nor any criticism of the panic and commotion people had caused in the face of the doomsday news.

It simply stated that even when completely unprepared, with no time to react, and under such terrible conditions, the world had survived a crisis of annihilation.

Now, our world has advance warning of the darkness’s return. Humanity’s technology is advancing daily, and powerful armaments are ready and waiting.

The Guardian factions, spanning vast ages, have also been preparing for this for millennia.

The power of technology, and the mighty, mysterious Magic Power of the Guardians!

A series of subsequent images and videos reminded people of the power of these weapons of slaughter, a power far underestimated in movies and TV shows.

And the flashing, fleeting images of the mysterious Guardians were even more thrilling.

Hundreds, even thousands, of mysterious beings emanated multi-colored auras of Magic Power. A massive, majestic Eye of Dawn spanned the Void; a beautiful and magnificent, magical Ancient Demon named Huamei stood against the sky…

“This time, not only will we survive the apocalypse again, we will take the fight to the darkness and avenge our past shame!”

This was the final sentence of the entire presentation, words that made one involuntarily feel a sense of determination and strength!

Many people think passion is only for the young, but everyone was young once. No one truly lacks that fire in their heart.

When the older generation watches war movies, their emotions still stir. When they watch romantic dramas, they still shed tears.

Everyone who saw this magical presentation, young or old, was filled with passion. The fear remained, but hope was now stronger.

In short, the effect of this shot in the arm was even better than expected, a fact directly reflected in online discussions.

Within a short time, pessimistic sentiment was pushed to the fringes. Everywhere, people were discussing the nature of the Dark Tide and the mysterious Hidden World Guardians.

PS: First chapter for Sunday.