49

When Julian arrived at the small village near Azura Bay, he realized the place was the site of an unexpected tragedy. He was captivated by an old building in one corner of the village, where a strange silence enveloped him. As he slowly opened the door and stepped inside, he was met with a horrifying scene.

Inside one of the rooms, people were lying apart from each other, their faces contorted in pain, breathing heavily. The sound of labored breathing and occasional coughing filled the room. They all seemed to be suffering from a serious respiratory illness.

Carefully, Julian approached a man to see how he was doing. The man struggled to focus his eyes, his words interrupted by coughs. Despite the difficulty, he managed to utter "virus" and "difficulty breathing." They were suffering from a serious viral respiratory illness. It was likely caused by a new virus and didn't seem to be limited to that area. People were calling it 'Azura Respiratory Syndrome, ARS'.

Realizing he could do no