The hallway looked like a battlefield.
Concrete dust hung thick in the air, turning the light into a dull haze. Broken desks lay scattered across the floor, some overturned, others splintered beyond recognition. Papers drifted slowly downward, settling over the wreckage like ash after a fire.
Students stood frozen in clusters.
Shaken.
Breathing uneven.
Trying to understand what had just happened.
At the center of it all stood Masszio.
His glasses were cracked, a thin fracture running across the lens. His hand was still slightly raised… and faintly glowing.
"…What just happened?" he thought, staring at his own fingers.
A subtle tremor ran through them.
"…Did I… do that?"
---
Around him, things were getting worse.
A student let out a sharp cry as flames suddenly burst from his palms. He panicked, shaking his hands violently, but the fire only flared higher.
"I— I can't stop it!"
Nearby, another student gasped as their desk lifted into the air—jerking upward with uncontrolled force. It hovered for a moment, unstable—
Then slammed back down.
Hard.
Masszio reacted instinctively, raising his hand toward a falling chair.
It slowed.
Just slightly.
But not enough.
The chair hit the ground with a sharp crack.
His control… wasn't stable.
---
Behind him, Zyren yawned.
"…fine, fine… don't get crushed," he muttered lazily.
He barely lifted his hand.
A faint glow formed—soft, controlled.
As another desk tipped over toward a student, a small construct materialized beneath it. Clean. Precise.
The desk stopped mid-fall.
Gently.
Like it had been placed there.
Zyren didn't even look impressed.
---
The moment didn't last.
A loud crash tore through the hallway.
The wall exploded inward.
---
A Strider forced its way through.
Its body flickered violently, limbs twisting in unnatural directions as if reality itself struggled to contain it.
Students screamed.
Some tried to run.
Most couldn't.
---
Laura moved.
Her reaction was instant.
Her eyes shifted—pupils narrowing into sharp, feline slits. A metallic sheen spread across her hands as claws extended from her fingers, gleaming with a cold, razor edge.
"Stay behind me!"
She lunged forward.
Fast.
Too fast.
The Strider barely reacted before she reached it.
Her arm cut through the air—
And sliced clean through one of its limbs.
The severed piece distorted, glitching as it fell.
---
Masszio's eyes widened.
"…She's fast…"
---
But it wasn't over.
The Strider's body pulsed.
The severed limb twitched—
Then began to regenerate.
The air around them shifted again.
Objects lifted.
Slightly.
Unnaturally.
Then—
Everything slammed down.
Ceiling tiles cracked loose and fell. Desks rattled violently. Students ducked and covered their heads as debris crashed around them.
Panic surged.
---
Masszio stepped forward, forcing his focus.
He raised his hand again.
The Strider jerked upward—lifted into the air by an invisible force.
But it resisted.
Its body glitched violently, distorting against the pressure.
His control wavered.
---
Zyren exhaled softly.
"…annoying."
He extended his hand.
This time, the construct was larger.
Sharper.
A cage-like structure formed instantly around the Strider—locking it in place mid-air.
Stable.
Precise.
---
Laura didn't hesitate.
She leapt.
Her claws flashed once—
Then again—
Cutting through the trapped Strider in rapid succession.
Its body fragmented under the combined force.
And then—
It collapsed.
---
Silence returned.
Brief.
Unsteady.
---
Masszio lowered his hand slightly.
The faint glow around it flickered.
Unstable.
He could feel it now.
The power wasn't fully his.
Not yet.
---
Outside—
The chaos was worse.
---
A large section of the street had collapsed, rubble piled high where buildings had partially given way. Civilians were trapped beneath debris, voices calling out in desperation.
A man stood at the center of it.
Darius Cole.
His body radiated a faint orange glow, heat shimmering subtly around him. With one hand, he lifted a massive chunk of concrete—something that should have required machinery.
"Move!" he shouted. "I got you—go!"
He tossed the debris aside like it weighed nothing.
Another piece fell—
He punched straight through it.
The impact released a burst of heat, shattering the obstruction instantly.
---
From the shadows nearby—
Something moved.
Malik Voss stepped forward, calm despite the chaos.
Dark tendrils spread from beneath his feet, stretching across the ground like living shadows. They rose and curved upward, forming a protective barrier around fleeing civilians.
"Stay behind me," he said, his voice steady. "Don't panic."
The shadows responded instantly—shielding, reinforcing, adapting.
---
From the broken classroom window, Masszio watched.
"…they're not students," he thought.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"But they're strong."
---
Then—
The air shifted again.
Heavier this time.
---
Another Strider emerged.
Larger.
More aggressive.
Its presence warped the space around it, reality bending slightly with each movement.
The ground cracked beneath it.
Windows shattered outward.
---
Darius stepped forward, bracing as debris rained down. Malik's shadows expanded, shielding civilians from the impact.
Inside—
Masszio turned.
"Stay close!"
---
They moved together this time.
Not perfectly.
But intentionally.
---
Masszio raised his hand—
The Strider lifted.
Zyren followed—
Constructs locked it in place.
Layered. Reinforced.
Laura moved last—
Her body cutting through the air with precision.
She struck mid-flight.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
Final.
---
The Strider fell apart before it could recover.
---
Outside, the civilians were already moving.
Darius cleared the remaining debris, guiding them forward. Malik's shadows retracted slowly, maintaining a perimeter until the last person passed through.
Neither of them stayed.
They moved on.
---
Back inside—
The survivors gathered.
Exhausted.
Shaken.
Trying to breathe normally again.
---
Masszio stood apart from them.
His gaze lifted.
The Black Sun still hung in the sky.
Unmoving.
Watching.
"…This isn't over," he thought.
His expression hardened slightly.
"It's only beginning."
---
Beyond the broken city—
Something shifted.
A ripple in the distance.
Subtle.
But deliberate.
---
Masszio noticed.
His eyes narrowed.
Something was watching.
---
Behind him, Zyren stretched lazily.
"…so," he said, glancing at the sky, "this is the new normal?"
---
No one answered.
---
Above them
The Black Sun loomed.
Dominating everything.
Silent.
Unquestionable.
Unavoidable.