The world changed in less than an hour.
At first, people thought the emerald fracture stretching across the sky was another relic phenomenon. Neo-Virelia had survived countless anomalies over the years, and most citizens had learned to ignore strange lights and unexplained energy spikes.
This time, they were wrong.
The fracture continued to grow.
Every minute.
Every second.
Until it no longer looked like a crack in the sky.
It looked like a wound.
A massive scar of emerald light stretched from horizon to horizon, bathing the entire city in an unnatural glow. Buildings reflected its radiance. Rivers shimmered green. Even the rain seemed infected by it.
And then the first shard fell.
A crystal fragment no larger than a human hand tore through the clouds and crashed into an abandoned transit platform on the eastern side of the city.
The impact wasn't large.
There was no explosion.
No shockwave.
No fire.
For several moments, nothing happened.
Then the platform disappeared.
Not destroyed.
Not vaporized.
Gone.
As though reality itself had simply forgotten it existed.
Inside the Sky Archive, emergency reports flooded every screen.
Xyren stood surrounded by data streams, processing information faster than any human mind could.
His expression grew darker with every update.
"Impact confirmed."
Another screen lit up.
"Second impact confirmed."
Then another.
And another.
Within minutes, dozens of crystal fragments were falling across the continent.
None of them behaved the same way.
Some corrupted technology.
Some distorted gravity.
Others seemed to alter memory itself.
The Gate wasn't merely opening.
It was bleeding into reality.
Kael watched the reports in silence.
Stormfang rested against his shoulder, but the sword had become restless since Nyvrix's broadcast.
Tiny arcs of lightning crawled along the blade without command.
Almost as if the weapon sensed something approaching.
Something dangerous.
Elaris noticed it too.
"Stormfang reacting?"
Kael nodded.
"It's never done this before."
Neither of them liked what that meant.
Another alarm erupted.
This one different.
Louder.
Urgent.
A citywide transmission appeared across every screen.
EVACUATION ORDER.
SECTOR NINE COLLAPSE IMMINENT.
The room went silent.
Sector Nine was one of the largest districts in Neo-Virelia.
Millions lived there.
The projection shifted.
Satellite images appeared.
Everyone stared.
The district wasn't under attack.
It wasn't burning.
It wasn't exploding.
It was folding.
Entire sections of the city were bending inward as if space itself had become unstable. Streets twisted into impossible angles. Towers stretched unnaturally toward the sky before collapsing into geometric fragments.
Reality was breaking.
"What causes that?" Elaris whispered.
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
Bloomfall did.
Or at least—
she recognized it.
The color drained from her face.
For the first time since they had met her, genuine fear appeared in her eyes.
Not fear for herself.
Fear for everyone.
"No..."
The word escaped before she could stop it.
Kael immediately turned toward her.
"You've seen this before."
It wasn't a question.
Bloomfall remained silent.
Which was answer enough.
Outside the Archive, the storm intensified.
Thousands of emerald particles drifted through the air like glowing snow.
Beautiful.
Until they touched something.
A drone passing through the particles instantly lost power and crashed.
An entire communications tower flickered before vanishing from every sensor.
Even the city's AI network began reporting inconsistencies.
Objects appearing where they shouldn't.
Buildings existing in multiple locations simultaneously.
Citizens remembering events that never happened.
The Shardstorm wasn't destroying the city.
It was rewriting it.
Deep beneath the Sky Archive, ancient machinery began to awaken.
Massive structures hidden below Neo-Virelia hummed with renewed power.
Seals that had remained dormant for centuries started moving.
Slowly.
Relentlessly.
Responding to the Gate.
Xyren noticed immediately.
His holographic displays expanded across the chamber.
Ancient schematics filled the air.
His expression hardened.
"This is bad."
Elaris crossed her arms.
"Define bad."
Xyren looked at her.
Then at the growing fracture overhead.
Then at the endless alerts appearing across his screens.
"The Gate isn't opening anymore."
Silence.
Kael frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Xyren swallowed.
A surprisingly human gesture.
"It means..."
His voice lowered.
"...it's already open."
The room froze.
Before anyone could respond, the entire Archive shook violently.
The lights died.
Emergency systems failed.
Every screen went black.
For one terrifying second—
there was nothing.
No sound.
No light.
No movement.
Then a single emerald pulse rolled through the city.
Every window shattered.
Every alarm activated.
Every communication channel exploded with panic.
And far above Neo-Virelia—
something moved behind the fracture.
Larger than before.
Closer than before.
Watching.
Kael felt Stormfang vibrate.
Elaris felt the runes on her arm ignite.
Bloomfall closed her eyes.
And Xyren looked genuinely afraid.
Because whatever existed beyond the Gate—
was no longer waiting.
It was coming.