Dust hung motionless inside the church.
The arches leaned. A fracture split the dome, suspended between collapse and survival.Time stalled at the last second before failure.
The air clung to the lungs.Each breath came with resistance, as if another layer had been added inside the chest.From the cracks in the walls came a faint scraping sound—grains of dust brushing against one another—amplified by the stillness.
Jeff stood at the entrance to the side aisle.Lime dust stuck to the soles of his shoes. He did not step forward.
One wrong direction now, and someone would die.He knew that more clearly than anyone. Cold sweat pooled in his palms.
Patch crouched at his feet.A low growl rolled from its throat. Its claws pressed into the stone, refusing to test any surface that no longer returned feedback.
The anomaly withdrew into the wall.
Its shadow clung to the seam where arch and stone met, twitching now and then, leaving scorched marks behind.
Jeff fixed his gaze on the blackened traces and tapped the wall beside him once.
Ayla moved in.
She did not look at the structure as a whole. She crouched, pressed her fingers to the floor for a single second, then pulled back sharply.Cold shot up her knuckles, edged with a burning sting.
"Not here," she said, without hesitation.
She shifted half a step to the right, paused, and tilted her head—listening.
"There," she said, pointing toward a column on the right side of the nave."Twenty seconds. No more."
The moment she spoke, Jeff was already moving.He followed her judgment without a fraction of delay.
Metal scraped outside.
Boots crunched over debris—clean, deliberate sounds that cut through the chaos with unsettling clarity.
Alden crossed the threshold and barked to his team,"Two groups. One on evacuation. One establish a perimeter. No one gets close."
His first glance landed on Jeff.The second on Ayla—his gaze lingering for half a second before shifting away.The third stopped on Emilia, seated against the wall.
Her shoulder was soaked through, blood dark against the pale dust.Sunlight spilled through the裂 in the dome, casting a skewed beam across the stain.
Emilia closed her eyes briefly, breathing shallowly."Shoulder might be fractured," she said. "I can't put weight on it."
Alden signaled.ARC personnel spread out, pulling the mobile injured away.
Emilia tried to stand. Her knee buckled. She dropped back against the wall with a dull thud, breath breaking halfway, sweat beading along her temple.
Someone reached her before Alden did.
Rowan.
His steps were measured but fast, each one landing where it should.He knelt, one hand steadying her shoulder, the other brushing hair aside to check her pupils—efficient, practiced.
"Can you stay upright?" he asked.
His voice was low, calm, edged with something metallic.
He produced a small vial, warmed the liquid between his palms, then pressed it gently against her shoulder."Temporary analgesic. It'll hold long enough to get you out."
Emilia nodded. Some tension left her jaw, as if she had found a point of support.
Rowan looked up, surveying the church.
The wall shuddered.
The shadow forced the arch apart. Echoes collided, sound collapsing in on itself.Space expanded—then snapped inward with a grinding, metallic scream.
"It's forcing the space open!" Ayla shouted. "Brace for impact!"
A cry rang out, warped beyond recognition.
Jeff lunged forward—and stopped.
A hand clamped onto his shoulder.
The weight was immense, like a mountain pressing down.
Elias stood behind him.
The instant Elias made contact, the space seemed to straighten, the viscous pressure thinning for a heartbeat.
"I can freeze its energy flow," Elias said quietly, eyes on the trembling arch."Very briefly."
The vibration pulled back half an inch.The anomaly's shadow was forced flat against the wall, pinned, immobile.
Elias released his grip.
"Now."
One word.
Jeff didn't turn.
He understood.The window was open.
Patch leaned forward. The growl snapped into a sharp bark, slicing through the warped space.
A new black scar tore across the wall—deeper, smoking at the edges.An open wound that refused to heal.
Waiting.
Jeff drew a breath.His chest forced air through resistance like wet sand. His lungs burned.
He clenched his fist.Knuckles whitening. Bone popping softly beneath skin.
He stepped forward.
Ready to meet it head-on—and break it.