The fracture tore wider with a sound unlike anything human.
Not breaking.
Stretching.
Like reality itself was screaming silently as something forced it open from the other side.
The red cracks across the sky deepened instantly, jagged lines spreading above the ruined platform while the stars vanished behind a growing darkness. Wind exploded outward in violent bursts, sharp enough to throw dust and broken stone across the ground.
Sam collapsed fully.
His body arched violently as blue light burst beneath his skin again, brighter this time, unstable and cracking across his arms like lightning trapped inside flesh.
"Sam!"
Eli dropped beside him immediately, grabbing him before his head struck the stone.
Sam's breathing came in broken gasps. His fingers dug painfully into Eli's sleeve as terror twisted across his face.
"It's pulling—"
His voice snapped apart from the pain.
"It's pulling me!"
Another pulse erupted from his body.
The fracture above answered instantly.
The sky split wider.
Then—
something emerged.
Not fully.
Only fingers.
Massive black shapes slowly pushed through the tearing red light high above the platform, long enough to wrap around buildings, impossibly thin at the joints like bones stretched beyond reason.
The Watchmen broke formation immediately.
"MOVE!" one shouted.
The platform exploded into motion.
Some dragged glowing chains from beneath their cloaks while others carved symbols directly into the stone with shaking hands. Blue fire ignited around the ruins in unstable circles, spreading outward in flickering patterns as the air filled with the sharp scent of burning metal.
But even they looked terrified.
Because none of this was preparation.
It was desperation.
Above them, the enormous hand continued forcing itself through the fracture inch by inch, the movement painfully slow—as if reality resisted every second of its existence.
And still—
it kept coming.
Far beyond the storm—
Ethan felt the moment it crossed.
The entire fractured world trembled violently beneath his feet. Floating ruins crashed together in the distance while red lightning ripped across the endless sky.
Inside the darkness imprisoning him, Ethan staggered hard as pressure slammed into him from every direction.
"What's happening?!" he shouted.
Elias looked up slowly.
And the fear on his face this time—
was absolute.
"It touched your world."
Ethan's chest tightened violently.
"No…"
Outside—
their body stopped walking.
Then it turned toward the fracture.
Toward home.
Toward Sam.
The calm force controlling them had finally made a decision.
Inside the prison, Ethan forced himself upward desperately, rage tearing through him as invisible restraints cracked faintly around his arms.
"Don't you touch them!"
For the first time—
the force hesitated.
Only for a second.
But Ethan felt it.
Because beneath the emptiness—
something had started changing.
Emotion.
Not human emotion.
Something colder.
Protectiveness.
Possession.
The voice returned quietly.
"The connection must remain stable."
Ethan froze.
"What connection?"
No answer came.
But Elias suddenly understood.
His expression darkened instantly, his fading light trembling violently around him.
"No…" he whispered.
Then louder—
"No!"
The darkness shook around them as Elias forced himself forward, fragments of blue light breaking from his body like shattered glass scattered through the void.
"You can't use Sam as an anchor!"
The moment the words left him—
everything stopped.
Silence crashed through the fractured world.
Then the pressure arrived.
Overwhelming.
Ethan collapsed to one knee as invisible force crushed downward around them. Elias's form flickered wildly, nearly torn apart completely now.
And beyond the storm—
something moved closer.
Watching.
Listening.
Learning.
Outside—
Sam screamed again.
Blood spilled from his nose as blue light burst violently from his chest in unstable waves.
Eli grabbed him harder, panic finally breaking through his control.
"Sam! Stay awake!"
Sam's eyes struggled to focus.
Then locked upward.
Toward the enormous hand descending slowly from the fracture above.
Its fingers twitched once.
The movement alone shook the entire platform.
Chunks of stone lifted from the ground around them, floating upward toward the sky as gravity bent unnaturally beneath its presence. Eli's stomach dropped violently, his balance nearly disappearing as the world around him tilted wrong for a split second.
Several Watchmen were thrown off their feet instantly.
One disappeared screaming into the darkness overhead.
Another slammed against broken stone hard enough to leave blood behind.
And still—
the hand kept descending.
Slow.
Patient.
Certain.
Like it already knew resistance meant nothing.
Eli rose slowly in front of Sam, breathing hard as the violent wind tore through his clothes. His throat tightened painfully as his eyes stayed fixed on the impossible thing above them while fear and fury twisted together inside his chest.
Then behind him—
Sam whispered weakly:
"…it sees you now."
Eli's breath caught.
Above—
the massive fingers stopped moving.
Then slowly—
they turned.
Toward him.
Far beyond the fracture—
Ethan felt it instantly.
The thing had changed targets.
And for the first time since crossing—
pure terror hit him.
Because he finally understood—
it wasn't trying to enter their world randomly.
It was searching for someone specific.
Eli.
The storm around Ethan exploded violently as red lightning ripped across the fractured sky.
Inside the prison, Ethan screamed as cracks spread across the restraints holding him down.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
And outside—
their body moved.
Fast.
Not walking anymore.
Running straight toward the fracture between worlds.