The sun hung high in the sky and nary a cloud obscured the gorgeous blue that spread out above them. The lightly salty scent of the ocean at the edge of the city reached Duan Qiu’s nose, the oh-so familiar scent making him stop to take a deep breath. He had lived in Stormbeak City all his life, but this scent was one he would never get tired of. It reminded him of the time when he was just a fisherman for the sect, he’d already lost count of the number of days he spent out at sea.

As he was taking in the scent he could only describe as lovely, a soft sound hit his ears and brought forth another nostalgic memory. It was a quiet buzzing, like the rapid flapping of wings. He was reminded of his time as a kid, when he chased dragonflies around one of the various lakes that had slowly formed around the city.

A good memory makes for a good day.

The corners of his lips couldn’t help but curl up as he mused to himself and thought about the past. He felt a bit playful so he turned his head to track the dragonfly that had made its way into the city, if it was close enough then he may just try to catch it like the olden days. But just as he turned his head, he found that the world in front of his eyes had cracked apart, as if his eyes had been split into several hundred parts.

Eh?

In his fractured vision, he indeed saw the dragonfly wings from his youth, but these were larger than a grown man. And what laid at their end was dirty golden hair mixed with purple and brown, it was something far more humanoid than what he expected to see.

Eh?

He uttered one last questioning sound before the fractured world started to blink out, segment after segment of his vision turning dark as his consciousness dimmed. Looking at the movements of that humanoid thing, it should have taken no time at all, less than a second. But the blinking out of the world felt oh-so slow to him, his mind slowly dragged into a mire before it went dark, a strange squelching sound echoing in his ears as the last sound in the darkness.

Even this squelching sound was familiar, and a bit hateful if you asked him. It was the same sound he heard when his childhood bully had squished the big dragonfly he finally managed to catch after chasing it for several minutes.

-

Shao Lui Je was running about in the streets just a short walk away from his house, Huo Shan, the neighbour’s son, playing with him as they explored. Well, at least it was a short walk to the two of them, their legs were so much smaller than even those of his youngest Big Sis so it took them more time to get around. But it was definitely worth it, they were ‘quickly’ making their way over to where his youngest Big Sis was working. He could already see her surprised expression in his mind, a wide grin adorning his face.

She’ll definitely give us sweets! She says that they always have lots left after they finished baking for the day!

Just as he could already see her expression, he could also taste the sweetness of what she would give them. He couldn’t think of any better baker than his youngest Big Sis, everything she made for him was always so sweet that it left him smiling for hours on end.

Je-Je, look! It’s so pretty!

Huo Shan’s shout dragged Shao Je’s attention to one of the alleys that stretched past a bend in the street ahead of them. Mist was rolling out from the alley, but this one was so dark green that it looked as if a forest was rolling towards them. It was so verdant and splendid that they couldn’t help but look at it as it slithered towards them, rising to cover the buildings.

It’s like the morning tide!

They lived in Stormbeak city, the great and seemingly endless ocean was right beyond their city. If there was one thing they were used to then it was mist and fog rolling in over the city and blocking out everything else. But this one was so colourful and pretty that it was unlike anything they had ever seen. But as they ran towards the enchanting mist with all their might, they saw something unexpected.

Eh? Big Sis?

Shao Je’s head couldn’t help but tilt when he saw his youngest Big Sis running through the fog. She held a cloth to her mouth like she did when she had to clean the toilet, running so fast that she had seemingly forgotten to put on her shoes. She saw Shao Je just as the beautiful mist washed over him, wrinkles appearing on her face as she made an expression he didn’t understand. She rushed over quickly picked him up, knocking over Huo Shan in the process.

But she didn’t stop to apologise to the neighbour, she just moved her arm so that the cloth she held in front of her own mouth was put over Shao Je’s. Shao Je’s throat felt clogged the moment she put the cloth over his mouth, a dry cough creeping up from his lungs.

Big Sis, please take it away! And we have to get Sha-Sha, he fell over!

He tried to push away her arm so that he could breathe freely, but his youngest Big Sis had just turned 16 and was a whole ten years older than him, he didn’t think he would be able to push away the arm of someone who was practically an adult. And thanks to that, he felt his throat get stuffier and stuffier, his cough growing worse thanks to the cloth blocking his mouth.

But if there was one stroke of luck in this situation then it was that he was in the arms of his Big Sis. He would always fall asleep easily when his siblings held him, and his eyelids were quickly becoming heavy so it seemed like he hadn’t managed to shed that childish part of him yet. He wanted to remind his Big Sis that Sha-Sha was still lying on the ground because she pushed him, but his head was heavy so he decided to do it later. First… First he would get some rest.

I’m going to sleep a little, Big Sis. But you have to make sure to wake me if we’re going to eat some sweets… I’ll hate you if you leave me out…"

-

It’s not looking good.

Gung Hao Lin sat at the edge of the bed, bent forward as he rested on his cane, and looked out the window. A dark green mist was washing over everything and he could just vaguely make out the silhouettes of people rushing about within it. Some of the mist had seeped in through their shoddy windows, falling to the floor almost like water before it started to rise up again.

He could feel it in the stump that remained of his left leg, this mist was dangerous. No, that probably wasn’t the right thing to think, it would be more correct to say that this mist was the end. He raised his head slightly and looked away from the mist that had made its way in, turning his gaze back outside. Some of the silhouettes he had seen earlier were gone, even though they weren’t running fast enough to escape his sight in such a short time. Had they fallen? Had they found some place to hide?

It’s a shame. There were so many more years to look forward to, so many more things to try.

He couldn’t bear to look outside anymore and turned his gaze away, his deep brown eyes that still held traces of youth landing on the person resting on the bed. Beautiful hair that reminded him of chestnuts, skin that brought up memories of his time in the wheat fields, lips like the cherries he ate as a child. Were it not for the massive scars that disfigured her face and the soulless eyes staring blankly ahead then she would be picturesque.

Should I say I’m sorry? I couldn’t uphold the promise in the end, I couldn’t even become anything proper.

Gung Lin smiled softly and warmly, a slight twist of regret at the edge of his lips. Even with the scars and the empty eyes, he still found his wife as beautiful as the day they first met. The light she radiated came from within, it would draw him in no matter how much of her outside changed.

I didn’t think this would be how it ended. I was hoping for more flowers when the time finally came. Adorning everything with your favourite dahlia’s would have been lovely.

His smile almost collapsed as he spoke and looked at her. Oh how he longed to hear her voice now. But she had been in this vegetative state ever since the attack that took his leg and left her scarred like that.

The mist had now risen up to the edge of the bed, a few faint yet sweet scents already tickling his nose. He could feel his throat clog and itch as the scent dug into his head, it took all his energy to suppress the cough that was trying to worm its way out of his throat. He grunted heavily a few times as he resisted, pushing aside his cane as he laid down in the bed next to his wife, looking up at the ceiling in the same way they had once gazed at the night sky together. He took hold of her limp hand and closed his eyes, his lips twitching incessantly as his mind slid back to the past.

In sickness and in health, I won’t leave you even if death do us part. That one… At least that one I got to uphold, dear.

-

Liang Chen’s gaze remained so cold and steely that it bordered on emotionless as he went through the remnants he had dredged up with his poison. There wasn’t much about their lives, just lingering thoughts of anger that remained after their death. The sources of their anger were all different, one from a childhood bully, one from a future where they ate sweets without him, one from promises unfulfilled. But they were all anger nonetheless, they all lingered in the land as a final curse.

Yes, it really was just as he feared. An indiscriminate attack, the attacker had never even gotten close to a good 99% of the people that died here. Most of them didn’t even know that there was an attacker, they only saw a green mist and then their fates were sealed. Those who knew that the end was nigh could only curse the world, while those who didn’t know drew anger from past memories that suddenly popped up in their minds.

Perhaps that was how the human mind dealt with sudden death, it could do nothing but draw on previous experiences to provide the host with at least something resembling understanding. As for why? Perhaps when the unknown end was approaching, the only thing the human mind could rely on for support was a bit of understanding, something to ease the fear of the unknown. Liang Chen didn’t know, he was probably the least qualified person to ever ponder the intricacies of a normal person’s mind.

"Nothing…"

The corners of his mouth twisted slightly, his eyes narrowing as he swept the screaming remnants. There was nothing about the attacker within them. The best clue he got was from the first man, the bug-like wings and the dirty golden hair. The sect leader and his closest aides also had remnants here, but be it the poison or their intense hatred, they were too twisted to see anything properly. It was as if a haze had been cast over everything they saw, leaving everything but their own burning emotions blurry.

In the end, the only thing Liang Chen gained from these remnants was anger. The innocent and the sinful, the hopeful and the despairing, the kind and the cold, everyone died as one, everyone hated as one. In the end, they became the dead and the hateful, and then they reached him with their anger.

"I’m sorry. But eventually… Eventually, that I can promise you."

In time he would act on the anger they had transferred to him, in time he would mete out the justice he felt that these people deserved. But it couldn’t be now, he didn’t have enough clues, all he had was the hair, the wings, and the scent of the poison. But in time… In time he would find the target and put an end to it.

"Until then, take your rest, you’ve felt enough hatred."

His expression softened somewhat as he muttered words the shades would never hear. Their bodies had vanished, their souls had returned to reincarnation, and their hatred had passed on to him, continuing to linger around now would be nothing but torment to what little bits of their souls still clung to the remnants.

He stretched out his arm, his open palm facing the myriad of shades that filled the earth. One by one, they started to melt away into mist, colourful clusters bobbing about as they joined together. To Liang Chen, anger was poison, and poison was just another thing he could control as he please, just another one of the pieces that formed his body.

Colour after colour mixed together into a single whole, wrath after wrath was merged into a single fury. Normally, when you mixed colours like this, you would get either white or black, depending on if you mixed materials or light. But this cloud took on neither of those colours and instead became a vibrant shade of grey, much like the silvery-grey of Liang Chen’s hair.

Once the last bit of mist, the last remnant, merged in with the rest, Liang Chen clenched his hand. The mist hardened and compressed, turning into a single bolt of grey lightning that shot into the sky with a thunderous rumble. A massive burnt mark was left in the city, but the land was already dead so it didn’t matter if he destroyed it a bit more.

The lightning shot into the sky and then spread out, dyeing the gorgeous blue a dull colour as it blocked out the sun with its own light. And when it had spread out to cover several kilometres of the sky, the lightning became liquid that rained down on the land. Grey, purple, green, white, blue, pink, orange, rain in all the colours of the world fell down around Liang Chen. Each drop a soul that screamed, each drop a poison that cursed the heavens, each drop a wrath unfulfilled.