The atmosphere shifted first.
Not the sound. Not the movement of bodies across broken asphalt.
The weight of the air itself changed.
It pressed inward slowly, subtly wrong, like a lung that had forgotten how to expand. The moment Felicity went limp in Victor's arms something fundamental collapsed with her. It was not visible, not dramatic, but every person standing in that ruined street felt it with the immediate certainty of a bone slipping out of place.
The edge dulled.
The invisible reinforcement they had grown used to vanished like a floor pulled out from under their feet.
Tommy staggered first.
Not a dramatic stumble. Just a half step misjudged. A knee bending farther than it should have. He caught himself against a broken concrete slab and stared down at his own legs as if they had betrayed him.
"Why do I feel…" He inhaled sharply and the breath refused to fill properly. "…heavy?"
