The city erupted into chaos.
Sirens wailed across every district, their overlapping howls creating a dissonant symphony of panic that bounced off skyscrapers and echoed through narrow alleys.
The emergency broadcast system crackled to life on every screen and speaker and phone, the calm, measured voice of a civil defense announcer reciting evacuation protocols that had been drilled into the population for years but had never felt real until this moment.
"Attention, all citizens. A Class-S rift event has been detected above the central metropolitan area. This is not a drill. Proceed to your nearest designated shelter immediately. Do not attempt to engage. Do not attempt to observe. Repeat, this is not a drill."
In the streets below, the orderly evacuation protocols dissolved almost instantly into raw human desperation. Cars jammed the roads, their horns blaring in futile protest as traffic ground to a complete halt.
