The train doors slid shut behind me as I made my way toward the escalator. The station was eerily quiet. No one stood near the ticket counter. The guard post was empty. Even the usual hum of late commuters was gone.
I slowed slightly.
Had no one gotten off at the same station as me? Someone must have.
A faint frown crept onto my face. I could feel it in my bones; something was wrong.
I hurried past the ticket counter and stepped onto the ascending escalator. The entire station felt abandoned.
As if… As if—
My eyes widened in realization. The only reason a station would be this empty was if there had been a mass evacuation. Because of an anomaly. Right on cue, the ground trembled. I grabbed the railing as the escalator rattled beneath my feet. Another thought hit me just as quickly. Whatever was happening… it was on the surface.
A cold chill slid down my spine. If the station collapsed, I would be buried underground with it.
I hurried up the remaining stairs toward the exit. The moment I neared the surface, the noise hit me. Distant helicopter blades chopping through the air, a thud of something heavy, and screams.
My steps slowed. I glanced carefully through the gate.
Shit.
The curse echoed silently in my head. I knew my luck was bad. But this? This was ridiculous.
Just a few meters to my right, the sky itself had cracked open. A jagged fracture stretched through the darkness above the street, its interior an endless pitch-black void that swallowed the light around it. No one knew what existed beyond those cracks.
And hanging beneath it—
Something massive. At first glance, it looked like an octopus. But it was far worse. The creature floated in the air, easily five stories tall. Thick, translucent tentacles extended from its body, each lined with circular structures that pulsed faintly with a dim, eerie glow. Between those thicker limbs drifted countless thinner tendrils, long, delicate strands that shimmered red as they spread through the air like drifting threads.
Its body resembled that of a jellyfish. A massive, dome-like shape hovered beneath the crack in the sky, completely transparent. Clear enough that I could see its internal organs slowly shifting inside.
And---
People. There were people inside it. Human bodies floated within the dome, suspended like insects trapped in amber. All of their eyes closed looking in deep slumber. Their bodies curled up as they seemed to be floating inside some clear liquid.
My stomach churned. I tore my gaze away before my mind could fully grasp what I had just seen.
As a surgical student, I had witnessed horrors most people could barely imagine. Blood, shattered bones, organs exposed to the open air. I had always believed that nothing could unsettle me anymore. Yet something about this—this quiet, bizarre display made my gut twist in a way it hadn't in quite a long time.
A sharp, panicked meow cut through the chaos. Somewhere nearby, a stray cat was being dragged through the air. One of the red, glowing tendrils had wrapped around it, pulling it upward. The moment it reached the creature, the tendril slid into the underside of the dome. A second later, the cat appeared inside the creature's translucent body.
I forced myself to breathe.
Slow.
Steady.
I couldn't stay out in the open. But staying near the station wasn't an option either. If the underground tunnels collapsed, this entire entrance would come down with them.
My eyes scanned the street quickly, searching. Across the road, I spotted a familiar storefront.
The skincare shop I usually visit. If I could reach it, I might be able to hide there for a while. Maybe I could call emergency services from there or wait until help comes. At the very least, it would give me walls, and a few more options than standing under at the station that felt too exposed and uncertain.
But the glowing red tendrils were everywhere. They drifted lazily through the air, searching.
Dammit.
My jaw tightened.
I was far too close to that thing. My thoughts raced between staying where I was… or making a run for it.
Neither option looked promising
Before I could decide, a sharp mechanical sound tore through the air. Then the alarms began. A deep, pulsing siren echoed across the city. Low at first, then rising until it filled every corner of the night. Red emergency lights flickered on along the buildings, reflecting off glass windows and empty storefronts.
The anomaly alarm.
Somewhere in the distance, a voice barked through a loudspeaker, ordering civilians to evacuate the area.
I would love to evacuate too, I thought dryly
Instead, I had to stay where I was, pressed against the cold metal of the station gate. Hiding, crouching in a corner.
The creature above shifted. Its massive dome pulsed again, the red glow inside brightening for a moment. The thinner tendrils spread outward, drifting across the street as if tasting the air. One of them slid along the pavement not far from me as if searching for prey. I held my breath.
Then—
For some odd reason, the creature instantly froze. Every tendril stopped moving at the exact same moment, hanging motionless in the air like suspended threads. A strange silence spread through the street. I frowned and slowly looked up.
At first, I saw nothing. Just the cracked sky. Then a faint streak of pale light moved through the darkness above the fracture. It grew brighter as it descended until the glow became so intense that I had to shut my eyes.
When I looked up again, a lone figure stood suspended in the sky. White and silver caught the dim glow of the city below. A long cloak drifted behind him in the night wind, its edges moving slowly like smoke. Even from this distance, the shape of the mask was unmistakable.
My gaze locked onto him before I even realized it had moved. A faint pressure settled in my chest. I frowned slightly, shifting my weight. Still, my eyes refused to move away from the figure in the sky as a strange warmth spread briefly through my chest before disappearing just as quickly. I blinked in confusion. It was probably adrenaline.
He raised one hand. The motion was simple. Almost casual. But the effect was immediate. A thin line of pale light formed in the air before him, sharp and precise, like a blade carved out of nothing.
Tt shot forward and struck the nearest tentacle. For a split second, it looked as if the light had sliced clean through it. But the creature's body rippled strangely, almost gelatinous, the surface bending inward before snapping back. The blade of light distorted against it and rebounded, dissolving into faint sparks before fading completely. Yet the creature barely seemed affected.
The creature reacted. Its massive body pulsed violently; every single one of its tendrils snapped toward him like striking whips. My gaze dropped back to the street.
This was my chance.
While the creature's attention remained fixed on him, it might be the only opportunity I would get.
If I were going to make it to the shop, it had to be now.