Thick, dark smoke stained the vibrant colors of the morning sky. Machinery whirring and men shouting. The air smelled of burned tires, gasoline, and an odd mixture of freshly brewed coffee.

There isn't much to see on the construction site except piles of boulders, sacks of cement and sand, a dangerous stack of metal cables, and men with bodies covered in grime and sweat and faces smudged with soot.

Protestors gathered at a safe distance away from the site. Raising cardboards above their heads and yelling words that only the nearby people could decipher. Although the condemned project was still ongoing, these protestors never lost hope.

The project was from a private industrial company trying their best to create something innovative—something that could be a breakthrough for the Philippines. Other than that, the project remained confidential. All the construction companies that collaborated with them knew that they paid a huge amount of money—five times more than their minimum. That's why they accepted the project despite the risks and the extreme backlash. No one knew how they passed the government's protocol since the location is a protected area of forested mountains, but as most people assumed, they paid their way to get what they wanted.

In the distance, they saw vehicles arriving. The crowds' angry shouts grew louder than the machines. They were screaming profane languages, and some were even throwing rocks and eggs at the vehicle. They were aggressively spraying water from their bottles as if they were exorcising some demons.

Moments later, policemen arrived and tried their best to neutralize the chaos. That was the time a man decided to step out of one of the four vehicles. He was wearing a gas mask, and his hands were covered with surgical gloves. He was wearing a neon green necktie that didn't match his dark blue suit.

He fueled the crowds' rage by waving his hand at them as if he embraced them as his supporters. A few individuals started stepping out of their vehicles. All of them were anxious, except for the man in blue. He spread his arms proudly, and the sound of the whirring machines seemed to diminish.

One of his companions handed him a megaphone and thanked the construction workers first for respecting his presence, temporarily halting their work before introducing himself.

"Welcome," he greeted. "I am Oscar Quilat, and soon this site will be my legacy. In a few months, the OQ Mining Industry will be the biggest mining industry and coal-fired power plant here in the Philippines. Soon, we will be keeping up with the world's progress as well as providing less expensive electricity to the whole country."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Everybody seemed to be stuck in a trance after he said those words. Quilat was expecting roaring applause from both his companions and workers after he gave his remarks, but his audience remained silent. He shrugged off the small amount of embarrassment he felt for a split second and gestured to his associates.

"It's quite unsafe to stay here for a long time. Either the fumes or the raining rocks from the crowd might kill you."

His small group laughed. It sounded bitter and nervous at the same time.

"Lilia─"

A woman, silently standing behind the group, stepped forward. Her hair was naturally jet black and curly, and her eyes seemed to be shifting colors from hazel to gold. She was scrawny, but in such a way that her skin remained healthy-looking. "Yes, sir?"

"Tell the driver to take us back to... Wait, where is your mask?"

She smiled nervously and coughed, even if she was breathing thick and dangerous smoke just fine earlier. "Sorry."

Quilat dismissively waves his hand and says, "Just tell the driver to bring us back to the hotel."

His associates rushed back to their respective vehicles, while Oscar took a glance back at the site. It was barely recognizable. The once vibrant mountain range now lies scarred and desolate. The towering trees had been felled and reduced to lifeless stumps, a silent testament to the relentless advance of industrial destruction. For some reason, a wicked smirk formed on Oscar's face, as if satisfied with the site that lay before him. His gaze now shifts to the furious crowd, pitying them since no amount of protest can halt his multimillion-peso project.

"Mr. Quilat?" Lilia called him.

Without any delay, Oscar hopped in his vehicle.

Just a few minutes after he and his associates left the location, the earth shook violently, sparking panic from the crowd of protestors and the construction workers. Agonizing screams were deafening. There were nauseating noises of flesh piercing against the machines and blood spluttering in different directions. Bodies were scattered on the ground, some intact, but the majority were gruesomely decapitated. Even the ones that stood at a safe distance did not have the time to evacuate themselves. Flying boulders, large logs, and metal propellers resulted in their demise. It looked almost like a battlefield but there were no enemies in sight, and there were no victors either.

As the primary smoke started to evanesce, a sinkhole, almost the size of a football field, grew visible at the center of the chaos. An ominous gray smoke began rising in the middle, emitting fervid steam that can be felt within a mile. The screaming and tormenting wails were abruptly silenced after a thunderous, head-splitting groan of an unknown creature was heard.

The sound was coming from the depths of the newly erupted sinkhole.