Cataclysm: Undead Dragons and Zero Empire

"Have the symptoms returned?"

Dr. Agnes, the attending physician at this private clinic, drew back the curtains in the ward and handed a glass of warm water to the patient in bed.

"Yes, it's still that same dream, just like always."

Howard looked haggard. He dreamed again of the burning dragon bones in the sea of ​​stars. The black and red color lingered in his mind, but the monitoring instruments surrounding him could not detect anything abnormal. His brainwaves were no different from those of an ordinary person when he was dreaming.

Having nightmares is a very common thing, and even if it's the same dream all the time, it doesn't usually require hospitalization. But recently, those kinds of dreams have become more and more frequent.

Sometimes he would also experience visual hallucinations, where the world before his eyes would become distorted, houses and streets would be disrupted, making it impossible for him to take a step. These strange phenomena tormented him to the point of almost having a nervous breakdown.

"How's the situation at the front?" Howard hadn't heard any news from the outside world for a long time since he checked into the clinic.

The doctor glanced out the window where no one was passing by. "It's not a good sign. The day before yesterday, I treated a veteran who had retired from the front lines, just like you... He had radiation sickness."

The ward fell silent for a moment. Even though the land beneath their feet had not yet been touched by the war, the flame of hope seemed to be growing weaker and weaker, making it hard to imagine the future.

Dr. Agnes turned on the television in the ward, and the sound of the entertainment channel eased the silence; in such times, it might be humanity's last solace.

"Doctor, let's switch to the news channel," Howard said to Agnes after watching a green leaf fall from the window and land on the ground.

The doctor was surprised by Howard's request, as the latter seemed to have war trauma and never asked about current events or watched news channels at the clinic. He would immediately turn off the TV if entertainment programs were interrupted.

In this age of advanced information dissemination, only by turning a blind eye and deaf ear like Howard can one refuse to passively receive information.

"Actually, there's not much to see in the news these days; the reports are all the same." Agnes didn't want to upset Howard, the veteran's fragile nerves, but at his insistence, she switched to the news channel anyway.

"Welcome to our breaking news report."

"Recently, the incidence of 'Dragon Dream Syndrome' has been rising rapidly. Experts say this phenomenon reflects the public's mental stress and urge broadcasters to produce more diverse and higher-quality entertainment programs for viewers. The following is a detailed report from our company reporter..."

The channel was filled with trivial news, including a large number of GG products launched by the company. News about the current state of the war was placed at the end. Just as Dr. Agnes said, it was all about victory, with occasional snippets of setbacks. There was nothing new or real.

Howard watched the long-awaited news report with a blank expression, then felt his headache getting worse.

When will this war finally end?

Howard got out of bed and stretched his muscles. Even though he had been in the hospital for a long time, he had not neglected his exercise. Perhaps he subconsciously believed that he could protect himself with his own strength.

He stared at the replaying news on television for a long time, then said to Dr. Agnes, who was returning from her rounds in the other wards, "Discharge me, doctor."

"But your symptoms haven't improved..." Dr. Agnes couldn't stop her client's request and could only try her best to persuade her.

"Doctor," Howard smiled with relief, "your medical skills are excellent, and the clinic's equipment and services are top-notch. Every penny spent here is well worth it. I'm more comfortable here than ever before."

He pointed to a television report about dragon dream syndrome, "However, I'm sure you and I have the same conclusion: this disease is not a problem that current science can solve."

Dr. Agnes expressed her approval with silence; she knew Howard had made up his mind to reintegrate into society. She only asked at the end, "Are you planning to join the 'Death Party'? To go to 'The Tree of Life'?"

Howard shook his head. "No, I want to live."

The television news then switched to war reports, "and then go do what needs to be done."

Agnes nodded silently, picked up Howard's follow-up medical records, and prepared to arrange his discharge.

"Be careful!"

Howard suddenly shouted, and seeing Agnes's puzzled expression, a strong sense of crisis overwhelmed him like a tsunami.

The next second, he knew where this sense of crisis came from. It was too quiet, as if all the sounds outside the window had disappeared, as if he were in a vacuum.

Howard felt a momentary numbness in the soles of his feet, like a slight electric shock, and then the whole world trembled violently, as if a giant had lifted up the carpet of the earth and shaken off the dust.

The intense tinnitus and dizziness made it difficult for him to stand. The floor turned into waves, and he felt as if he were standing on the crest of a tide, watching the potted plants fall and the soil and roots separate in mid-air. The entire floor-to-ceiling glass window, which had been shining in the sunlight, shattered and turned into fine dust.

The earth seemed to be venting its anger at humanity. The reference points shifted constantly in my eyes, completely erratic. The television screen went out, dust rained down from the ceiling, the walls cracked like lightning bolts, light bulbs exploded, and sparks flew everywhere.

Howard saw the overturned equipment crashing into the bewildered doctor. Despite the weightlessness and disorientation of falling from a great height, he lunged at Agnes, who was not far away, and pushed the equipment in another direction.

"Earthquake! Get outside!" Howard yelled. They weren't in a high-rise building, so they still had a chance to retreat to an open area, and they prayed that a fissure in the ground wouldn't tear them apart and swallow them up.

Time seemed to slow to a cruel degree at that moment. The strong smell of earth and the burning odor of short-circuited wires dominated their sense of smell. Despite being very close, Howard and Agnes couldn't tell whether they were running or crawling as they left the clinic on the deck-like, swaying ground.

They are clearly not in an earthquake zone. If a high-intensity earthquake can occur here, one can imagine how devastating the tearing of the rock strata deep within the earth must be.

"Ugh, ah..." Howard fell into a hallucination again, clutching his head and howling in pain. He collapsed to the ground and was then helped up by Agnes.

Along with the earthquake came not only the released mechanical waves, but also some inexplicable things, which were tormenting him.

The horizon undulated in his eyes, and the houses were no longer swaying in the earthquake, but rather superimposed and recombined, with windows resembling turning pages of a book and spinning gears.

The green belts, streetlights, street surfaces, and houses that were originally on a flat plane began to intersect, like a piece of paper being crumpled into a ball and then crumpled. Some of the ground appeared in the sky, floating upside down along with the fragmented buildings, while some remained obediently at his feet.

This reaction was more intense than ever before. Howard looked at Agnes's terrified face and saw his own eyes glowing red in the reflection of her pupils, and his body engulfed in a cold, dark red, illusory flame.

"I see it..." Howard groaned, flames shooting from his mouth as if the words he was about to say were burning fiercely.

"The Dragon of Death!"

He uttered his last words and instantly fell into a coma. The flames suddenly went out, just like the experience of every Dragon Dream Syndrome patient in the world at this moment.