Blue flames tore through the sky ripping through the clouds like something forcing its way into this world.
They crashed into the ground nearby.
The impact didn't explode outward it sank inward, like the world resisted it.
The ground didn't just shake it resisted, like something unnatural had forced its way into it.
The shockwave hit the ground several people lost their footing, collapsing onto the stone as screams broke out.
Golden blades began to rain down from above thin, sharp, and glowing with a yellow-gold sheen as they pierced through the air.
They didn't fall randomly. Some people stopped mid-run as if the blades had already chosen them.
They targeted. Each strike came with precision, cutting through the crowd as if guided by intent. Limbs were severed instantly arms, legs, even heads torn apart in flashes of light.
The college boy didn't even finish turning.
A golden blade dropped through him cleanly—splitting his body before the expression on his face could change.
For a moment, he was still standing.
Then he fell apart.
Bodies collapsed in pieces before the victims could even understand what had happened.
No one understood what hit them only that they were already too late.
Blood sprayed across the stone ground, mixing with screams that broke into chaos.
At the same time, streaks of blue flames crashed down among them. Unlike the blades, the flames didn't cut they consumed.
The fire didn't spread. It erased everything it touched.
The child who was crying earlier stopped.
A golden blade pinned him to the ground.
His mother didn't scream. Her hand stopped an inch away. Not because she chose to stop but because something inside her already knew… she was too late.
Anyone caught in them didn't even have time to scream properly. Their bodies burned from the inside out, collapsing lifeless at the very spot they stood, as if their existence had been erased in an instant.
The BSA officers reacted instantly. No hesitation. No panic. Only execution.
"Formation Three—defensive priority!"
Helmith's voice cut through the chaos.
Several officers moved instantly.
Several raised strange weapons and fired at the flames, while others lifted their hands toward the sky.
"Suppress the descent!"
A volley of shots tore upward.
The rounds didn't explode. They struck the falling blue flames directly and for a moment—the flames distorted.
Their descent slowed.
Shifted. Like something was interfering with their path.
The crowd froze in shock for a fraction of a second just enough to realize what was happening.
"No… what is this?!"
"Run—RUN!"
Panic exploded.
People scattered blindly, their fear taking control as survival instinct kicked in. Some stumbled, some fell, some didn't even get the chance to move before another golden blade tore through them.
"No! Everyone—this way! Come toward us!" one of the officers shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos with urgency.
Desperation overrode doubt. The civilians turned and rushed toward the BSA officers, driven purely by the instinct to survive.
"Move! Move!"
They ran, pushing past each other, some dragging others along, all of them trying to reach the only place that looked even remotely safe.
As soon as they gathered close—The officers raised their hands in unison.
"Grave Barriers!"
The dome didn't form gradually it snapped into existence.
Dark energy surged outward from their palms.
It spread rapidly, forming a dense, curved barrier around them like a dome forged from shadow itself. The golden blades struck against it and shattered into fragments of light. The blue flames slammed into the surface and dispersed, unable to penetrate.
"Hold the line! Suppression units—keep firing!"
Helmith didn't look back.
"Keep them off the barrier!"
More shots followed—precise, controlled.
Each impact didn't destroy the flames but bent them. Redirected them just enough to keep the pressure from collapsing inward all at once.
One officer adjusted his stance mid-fire, tracking a descending streak.
Another fired twice in quick succession—
forcing a flame to veer off course before it could strike the dome directly.
This wasn't random fire. It was control.
For a moment—Inside the barrier—
There was silence.
Heavy breathing. Trembling bodies. People collapsing to their knees. Alive But barely.
Outside the barrier The massacre continued.
The falling flames struck the barrier and scattered harmlessly.
The air vibrated violently when the fire hit the dome, sending ripples across the dark surface like waves across glass.
one of the officers dropped to a knee, coughing violently as dark blood spilled between his fingers.
Another gritted his teeth, his arm trembling as faint burn marks spread across his sleeve—like the barrier itself was eating through him from the inside.
Not all of them faltered.
Two remained completely still, their expressions unchanged, their hands steady as the barrier held firm around them.
The difference was clear.
This wasn't a shared burden. It was a test of who could endure it.
"We can't hold this for long."
The next impact hit harder. The barrier rippled violently.
One of the weaker officers cried out, his arm snapping back as if something had struck him directly through the shield.
Another collapsed completely, his breathing breaking as blood pooled beneath him.
The dome held—but not evenly.
"If the barrier falls, we abandon formation." Helmith shouted. "…We save who we can."
For a moment it looked like they had been saved. But then a horrifying sound rose from across the sky. A roar thundered above them.
The roar didn't come from one direction. It came from everywhere at once.
Not the cry of a monster. Something beyond that—
High above them, something enormous shifted in the darkness above the clouds not flying. Not falling.
Just… existing. No one could tell how far away it was or if distance even applied to it. Like it had always been there and the sky had only just revealed it.
Large enough to swallow even the faint red glow of the sky.
It didn't block the sky. The sky bent around it. Like the world refused to place it anywhere— so it existed… without a position.
The screaming stopped—not because it ended,but because no one left could scream.
And for the first time everyone understood the same thing. Whatever this world was something was already inside it.
One of the BSA agents slowly looked up… then lowered his weapon.
"...We were never supposed to be here."
✦ End Chapter 5 — BSA I ✦