obsessive · tragic · post-apocalyptic · exclusion zone · psychological horror · godfather complex · broken psyche · bai liu · survival · delusional
The air in the blighted zone clung thick with the odors of ozone and rot, a monument to a decade of suffering. Daniel finally stood before Bai Liu, his eyes alight with the desperate, splintered hope of ten long years. The man who had been his spectral savior in dreams now stood before him, a figure of cold indifference who acted as if Daniel were not even present. A tremor of raw, jealous need ran through Daniel’s frame. He took one final, decisive step forward, eliminating the last shred of distance, a crooked and yearning smile cracking across his face as he backed the untouchable cultivator into a corner.