Danny stood at the crumbling edge of the once peaceful coastline, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned bone white. His eyes—bloodshot, desperate—stared at the darkened horizon where the sky itself seemed to fracture like shattered glass.
A violent wind howled, whipping his coat around his legs, and a single tear escaped the corner of his eye, tracing a cold path down his dirt-streaked face.
Claire stood behind him, one trembling hand pressed against her swollen belly, the other reaching out instinctively, her voice barely a whisper above the chaos.
"Danny… it's starting, isn't it?"
His chest tightened painfully. A hollow pit formed in his stomach as the undeniable weight of destiny pressed down on his shoulders. He had fought so hard, bled for freedom, but now…
It all felt like grains of sand slipping through his trembling fingers.
Could he really protect them?
Could he really stand against the ancient force that even gods feared to name?
Or was this… truly the end?
The world before him cracked like an ancient porcelain vase held together only by forgotten prayers. The ocean churned violently, black waves crashing against the shore like the fists of a wrathful titan.
And above it all, the sky hung heavy, bleeding streaks of crimson like the last heartbeat of a dying god.
Time itself seemed to tremble on the edge of oblivion.
Then—just as the air grew impossibly still—a single fracture split open across the sky, and through it, a golden eye larger than the sun slowly opened, gazing down upon the world with cold, ancient hunger.
A voice echoed in Danny's mind, chilling his blood.
"Thirty days have passed, Danny Wong… And now, the true Collector arrives."
🎬 [End of Chapter 25 – Fate Has Run Out]