The book said the world didn't end with an explosion.
It didn't end with screams or sirens.
It ended… quietly.
---
In 2018, the cargo ship Pandora vanished without warning.
No distress call.
No explosion.
No wreckage.
One moment it was crossing the Atlantic, its radar steady and its path clear—
and the next, it was simply gone.
Satellites lost its signal.
Radars showed nothing but empty sea.
The authorities called it an accident.
Some blamed storms.
Others whispered about piracy.
But a few radar technicians reported something strange.
For a brief moment—just seconds before Pandora disappeared—
their screens lit up green, revealing shapes that didn't belong to any known map.
Islands that did not exist.
---
The ship was never found.
Not in 2018.
Not in 2019.
Not even years later, when people stopped caring.
Pandora became a myth.
A ghost ship.
A story told in documentaries and conspiracy forums.
Until 2025.
---
On a fog-heavy morning, radar stations near the coast detected something impossible.
A large vessel…
approaching the harbor…
with no active crew signal.
Its identification code matched an old file.
PANDORA.
The ship docked on its own.
No captain.
No communication.
No explanation.
But it wasn't empty.
---
Witnesses later said the people who walked off the ship looked… wrong.
They moved slowly.
Their eyes lacked focus.
They didn't speak to anyone.
Some smiled at nothing.
Others trembled as if cold, even under the sun.
Medical teams tried to approach.
Then someone screamed.
---
Without warning, one of the passengers lunged forward.
Not in anger.
Not in fear.
But in hunger.
He bit the man standing closest to him.
Others followed.
Not with weapons.
Not with words.
Only teeth.
Only instinct.
---
Panic spread faster than the truth.
Security forces tried to contain it.
Hospitals filled within hours.
News channels cut their broadcasts mid-sentence.
And then it began to rain.
A soft, endless rain.
People thought it was normal at first.
Until those who were bitten…
weren't the only ones changing.
---
The book described it clearly.
> The infection was no longer limited to blood.
Something had entered the air.
The rain carried it.
Those exposed began to feel dizzy.
Memories blurred.
Emotions dulled.
And when they woke again—
They were no longer human.
---
The book never explained what Pandora encountered.
Only that the ship had reached an island hidden beyond normal space—
one surrounded by countless others, visible only through distorted radar signals.
Places where compasses failed.
Where time felt wrong.
Where something ancient watched silently.
And when Pandora returned…
It brought that place with it.
---
The final page of the chapter was underlined in red ink.
> Pandora was never just a ship.
It was a door.
And in 2025… the door was opened.
---
Somewhere in the ruined city, rain continued to fall.
And a boy turned the page.
---
[End of Chapter 2 — The Day Pandora Returned]