A violent gust of wind swept across the city.
Gaia and the young boy instinctively raised their arms, shielding their faces as the force threatened to throw them back.
Dust and loose leaves spiraled upward, windows rattled, and the trees bent under the sudden pressure.
Then... nothing.
Stillness, a deep silence, and a suffocating pause.
Both Gaia and the boy turned slowly, their eyes wide.
It's here.
They thought it simultaneously.
Across the city, Airi skidded to a stop, eyes narrowing.
Astros did the same just behind her. They looked at one another, then toward a new direction. Something had breached the city perimeter.
"It's in the city," Astros said.
Airi grit her teeth.
"For fucking sake..."
They both sprinted again.
Soon they arrived at a wide boulevard where panic had begun to spread. Civilians clustered near a shop, murmuring anxiously.
A lone city guard stood at the entrance, arms outstretched, yelling at someone standing in front of the shop.
