Shuu, Caelis, and Rin stepped out of the Survivor Guild's headquarters without looking back.
The heavy doors shut behind them with a dull thud, and the moment they crossed the threshold, the atmosphere outside felt noticeably off. The air felt dense, almost suffocating, as if something unseen was pressing down on the entire area.
The street itself was not empty. A few people were still walking around, some talking in hushed voices, others staring at the sky or their system windows with uneasy expressions. Shuu had barely taken a few steps forward when the space in front of him distorted.
It started as a faint ripple, like heat rising from asphalt, but within seconds it intensified. The air warped violently, spreading outward in jagged lines that resembled cracks forming across a fragile surface. It felt less like a visual glitch and more like reality itself was being forced out of alignment.
Then the system window appeared again.
[Warning: System recalibration in progress.]
