After the bustling fleet of cargo ships departed, the dock area under the cover of nightfall seemed quieter than ever—all large loading and unloading equipment had ceased operation, and unrelated personnel had already evacuated the operation zone, leaving only the omnipresent gas lamps lined along both sides of the road, keeping vigil over the city.
From the southern slope of the dock, descending a long flight of stairs, the coast covered with fine sand lies ahead. On sunny days, this place is always filled with resting townspeople.
But now, there is only a dead silence on the beach, a pitch-black sea under the night sky, the briny and chill sea breeze blowing from the direction of the boundless dark, seemingly mixed with suspicious sobbing, while broken waves strike the distant rocks of the coast, occasionally frothing up in unpredictable bursts, illuminated by the cold brilliance of the Creation of the World into a corpse-like pale hue.
