The group gasped collectively. The parents physically recoiled, several of them grabbing their spouses' arms. It was one thing to walk through a shimmer.
It was an entirely different, terrifying thing to watch a nineteen-year-old boy manually rip a hole in the universe with his bare hand.
They did their absolute best not to let the shock paralyze them, their faces freezing in masks of wide-eyed composure.
"After you," Liam said casually, stepping aside and gesturing to the torn fabric of reality.
Kristopher was the first to move, clearing his throat and stepping through the tear with a practiced nonchalance that he didn't entirely feel. Harper followed, then Matt, and eventually, the parents gathered their courage and stepped through the void, transitioning from the impossible cathedral back to the polished hardwood of the mansion.
