The crack didn't spread fast.
That was the first thing that felt wrong.
It should have shattered.
It should have broken outward, violent and loud, something they could react to, something they could interrupt.
Instead, it widened slowly.
Deliberately.
Like whatever was behind it wasn't forcing its way through
It was choosing how to enter.
No one spoke.
Not because they didn't have questions.
Because none of the questions mattered anymore.
The girl's fingers curled slightly into her sleeves. "That's… not normal."
Victor didn't respond.
He had already shifted his stance again, subtly placing himself between the others and the wall, not in panic but in preparation.
Dante didn't move at all.
His eyes were locked on the crack.
Not watching.
Reading.
Feeling.
Camille's voice came through, lower than before. "Energy concentration is spiking. It's not distributed anymore."
"I know," Dante said.
A pause.
"It pulled everything back."
