Chapter 66

A couple of days before William came to the Federation.

Australia was a hell on Earth, enduring senseless bargains, and preying madness. That was a belief before the Dawn happened, crushing the space above the planet in ridiculous panorama, errors of judgments, and immense streaks of light.

Humanity back then faced no consequences for their actions, if one regarded them as predators. In truth, they couldn't see anyway, for there was no night back then, and they were like frogs in a well. It was as if the heaves refused the sun and moon, changing the night and day, and influencing the world forever.

That was the Dawn that moved further, letting Darks shift the nature of this planet, and all that was alive got much more savage, death, or worse. Australia changed less, yet still significantly so in the long run. Many places soon followed even when people tried to fight back. Australia never did. They never stood a chance against that which had come.

Some believed Australia couldn't change, but it did because it was that sort of place. It was harsh even Corruption and Madness, as the place hid some nasty creatures, animals, and insects, and the whole sizable continent was hostile and vast. Some places around the world were close to that as well, ranging from the Amazon Forest to some places in Africa, and a couple of worthy mentions were even in Asia.

Some places were tame, a lot like paradise in comparison to some places, but nature was generous, if not fickle, honest, and brutal. Not every corner could have something, but some sure could try.

Alas, with humanity at its apex, nature couldn't go far because there was something wild about how humans were wantonly arrogant and willing to become the true masters of this planet. When humans lost their mighty status, it changed everything, including nature itself because it could never run away.

Here in Australia, there were not many differences between what had two legs, four feet, or dozens. Some had none and they could crawl and do that just fine.

Deserts were harsh, and deep jungles in the southern parts of this planet created many natural wonders across countless species and environments. It was about natural selection and a law of a jungle. There were many ways how to look at and take nature for granted. Planets or sheer dominance of life to remain alive was wonderful.

One couldn't see them all, meet the exquisite species with important evolution, science, or historical standpoints. They were long gone, changed, or hiding in small packs, probably Turned or slowly waiting for what had to come to them.

Unfortunately, when Corruption spread for a century, colliding, deforming, and touching what it could, places changed, species lost their ways, and many ecosystems disappeared forever.

In a continent of sand, twisting nature, dryness, and many inconveniences, there was no place or truth for people. It touched everything and everyone the same. Natural selection were Darks, who ruled this place. Not people—if they ever did.

Darks were at the apex and had been that for way too long. Many of them created their cultures and societies, slamming the earth, dividing the territories, and unleashing wars against one another. It was a different world from other continents in many ways. Yet there were some people. Struggling and happy people.

Australia was kind of detached from many points of humanity, similar to how New Zealand was not that far away, yet detached, still alive, and boasting considerable forces because of its good position. New places like the Federation were different.

Australia was in a terrifying position because proximity to Asia ended up separating and killing many lives after the Dawn. People fled, fought to remain alive, and saw the futility of trying. So they aimed for protection in places some considered safe. But Darks never stopped. They kept chasing.

The worst thing was that Darks loved Australia. It wasn't close to home, or it was the closest thing it could be? It was a hard thing to say for sure since Darks went pretty much everywhere, taking the depths of many continents for granted.

Australia was that on a completely different level. Life there was difficult and people were lacking if one saw this huge land as a whole. It was also a stunning place with many sights, great locations, and species to Corrupt. Right. It was perfect for Darks.

People weren't everywhere all at once, since they were scattered in the outskirts, living close to the shores when the Dawn happened. The whole landmass was substantial. Most of it was savage rocky lands with deserts going for thousands of miles. The diversity of species that could survive these climates came next, and adding to it oceans, and various ecosystems and places, it was one kind of space.

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It didn't have to change too much, let alone be worthy of a Terraforming.

So when the Dawn happened, and the years followed it behind, Australia became the first continent to lose its shape completely. It lost its population, settlements, state of efforts, and indication of people became bare. Escaping to the inland was just escaping the inevitable demise, though many were managing it even before the Dawn, and many kept going ever since. Escaping it completely was a much better idea, yet New Zealand was close, or death was even closer.

By the year 2050, there were very few human settlements left, yet many people kept on surviving because it was in their nature and blood. Humans were like cockroaches; they lived even when many thought they died or were out of sight.

There were many places fit for survival, thanks to the massive continent that had large-scale savannas and regions. Some of them were without considerable discrepancies or death. That's what some Darks preferred. They were easy to change to their appropriate homes. Some weren't great for some of them, looking like plains and dunes with little to no life or crevices for darkness. They could create them, sure, but it wasn't always the place or home itself that made Darks happy and satisfied.

That was the bliss of a hunt, a clash for growth, and life. Diverse lives were great for everything, giving their instincts some worth and goals, while the place itself was just a base. What mattered was who was around.

Could such a place be fit for humans? Not really. There was a point in these places that remained quiet for centuries. Life couldn't cope with it for too long, and if they did, many compromises had to be made.

Yet, in this place, in the outskirts of the Coban Region known for possessing many peculiar Darks, the year 2128 was stable and the land was unchanging from the outer perspective. People might see it as an Australia just fine, while Walkers saw it as something worse than the Zone.

There were many crevices, depths, and valleys that held unnatural secrets and dangerous places that weren't obvious from the rather tame ground of barely Corrupted savannas. Coban Region was one of the many places in Australia that housed numerous dark territories, which made one big paradise for Darks—and stable hunting grounds for Walkers if they were powerful enough.

Darks lived there for more than a century, so the land evolved and many things changed. It was still considerably normal thanks to dust, rocks, and some weeds were in high enough numbers to ascertain this land's history. Corruption hardly spread to every corner, for it might not be worth it, let alone a priority.

There was a little life that lived in this region, struggling all year round. A girl in tattered clothes lingered on top of a cliff, hiding behind a rock, face dull and eyes sharp, and her posture was that of a hunter. Her age was hard to conceive because she was, hungry, alone, and not clean. Tanned and tired, her sharp eyes showed her conviction, unlike the hair tangling over them.

These hills around her, made of yellow sandy rocks, were familiar to her like her feet, or as familiar as a thin crystal the size of a machete inside her right arm, visibly enduring the sunlight and Darks laying low or far around.

She pretended to not exist by clutching her existence and pretending to be a rock. That meant barely breathing and not making any noises. She hugged the wall, hiding, and hoping the catch would be worth something more than a headache. And if some Darks observed her, she had to be quick, decisive, and watchful in any way.

Hiding or escaping were natural choices since prey and the way of a predator was one truth alone to this world. Laws were nowhere, for the power judged everything.

She survived worse than the worst. Many situations spread pain and doubt in her mind, and some sights of large Corruptors or Rowans over one direction could no longer surprise her—if they even ever did. She was in a good spot, surrounded by the taller mountains of her home, assembled by many hundreds of feet tall hills, rocky cliffs, and many hiding spots.

Corruptors could get quite bigger than some giraffes, or elephants of the former world. They might get as big as some smaller skyscraper, stretching in long limbs, and endless sources of Dark Fog and Corruption made up their whole torso. They were like nightmares walking on a tall pair, or two pairs of limbs.

Their Fogs were various, speed slow, and their infamy for packs and Corruption made them distinctive from Primevals, the ones lost in history, or the ones looking for it.

In Australia, Darks lingered like shadows in some high-scale Fogs cluttering hundreds of square miles. Some big ones slept as they walked, yet kept going as they couldn't stop their immense fleshly legs.

As for Rowans, they were dogs. Hyenas and many of such species became Darks in no time due to their nature. Rowans looked like large untameable fortresses walking on four legs, resembling Hellgars, but looking enormous, making their Family of Fengs proud. Their Dark Aspects were ferocious across the board, making their aggression and intent extra dangerous from many other Darks.

It was curious. Australia was a strange place because with humans gone, Darks were like beasts seizing their own land from themselves. It evolved from sheer survival and hunger into something that might not be far from the previous Australia.

Corruption was deep, not going where it didn't have to go, so there were places to escape from it. It was like poison, reaching for living beings, or something organic, yet it was also alive and doing something purposeful.

Many already dangerous species evolved into even nastier images or forms. Snakes, spiders, and so forth, there was some lunacy in this hidden world far away from the rest of the continents. Perhaps it was for the better. The worst should be kept here, killed, and not escaped.

But the girl hunting for food would disagree. It wasn't an unusual sight if one was brave enough. Australia wasn't alone in this view, though it was insane because of one reason alone. It was like a zoo, in a sense. It was detached and big like a large playground surrounded by walls of the ocean, allowing Darks to thrive there without humanity in sight.

Walkers tried to appeal it but failed, so Darks became wild. They become reliant on other things instead of their despicable hunt for humanity. Perhaps it was evolution, a change of status quo, or it should've been like this from the very beginning.

Give Darks a space. Take them for just animals...

That was not possible.