The room was cold.
Kalai stood frozen, eyes locked on the black screen. Just moments ago, he thought he saw something on the TV
a flicker of a black mask, a red line across cold eyes.
The lights went out.
The silence was unnatural.
Something felt deeply, horribly wrong.
Outside, Tokyo was no longer Tokyo.
The skyline bent unnaturally.
Street signs melted like wax.
The air felt thick, and it wasn't just fear-
it was like the world had cracked, and something darker had replaced it.
Kalai had stepped out of his house - but everything felt wrong.
The buildings around him leaned at impossible angles, streetlights flickered in unnatural patterns, and the sky...
It was like a shattered mirror painted black.
Then came the sound
Thud... thud... thud...
He turned - a soldier.
Black armored suit, black mask, glowing red eyes.
A sleek alien-like gun in hand, walking straight toward him.
Kalai started to run.
The soldier lifted his weapon.
Suddenly-
BANG!
The soldier jolted back.
A single bullet hit clean.
Kalai spun around.
Shanthan.
Standing a few feet away, holding a pistol, breathing heavy.
"Kalai!" he shouted. "Move!"
Kalai rushed to him. "Where did you get that? What's happening?!"
"No time," Shanthan said. "They took Orin and Hinako."
Kalai's heart sank.
"Took them?"
"Those black-masked soldiers - they just grabbed them and vanished."
"What?!"
"No time. Come on!"
They both rushed to a nearby black bus, its door was open.
Shanthan jumped into the driver's seat, pulled the door shut, and pressed the ignition.
Click. Nothing.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Kalai looked around nervously. The world outside was shifting, colors dimming, like the night was swallowing the city.
Finally-
on the third try, the bus rumbled to life.
Shanthan sighed with relief and started driving. Kalaidasan sat beside him, confused and silent.
"...Do you think this is a dream?" Kalai asked.
Shanthan didn't answer.
The city passed them in shattered glimpses. Roads twisted. Shops vanished. It was like reality itself was melting.
Then, a voice from the back of the bus.
"Did you guys... get caught too?"
Both of them froze.
Shanthan immediately reached for his pistol and pointed it toward the back.
Kalai whispered, "Who was that?"
Shanthan opened the partition slowly, eyes focused.
"Stay behind me, Kalai," he said, stepping toward the sound.
End of Chapter 2
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