They didn't attack immediately.
That was the first problem.
The shapes—those unstable, shifting forms—remained still at the edges of the distorted space.
Watching.
Waiting.
"…Why aren't they moving?" Mira whispered.
Aarav's eyes narrowed.
"…Because they don't need to."
The air pulsed.
Once.
Then again.
And suddenly—
Everything moved.
At once.
The shapes surged forward, their forms twisting as they closed the distance.
"…Incoming!" one of the organization members shouted.
The team reacted instantly.
Energy bursts.
Defensive barriers.
Attacks launched in all directions.
But—
It wasn't enough.
The shapes didn't move like the creatures before.
They didn't follow patterns.
They didn't repeat.
They shifted mid-motion, breaking every predictable path.
Aarav activated his ability.
[ P A T T E R N R E A D I N G A C T I V E ]
For a moment—
Clarity.
Then—
Chaos.
"…No pattern," he muttered.
"…They're unstable!"
One of the team members was hit.
Hard.
Thrown back instantly.
"…Fall back!" someone shouted.
"…No!" the leader snapped.
"Hold position!"
The pressure increased.
More shapes.
More movement.
More distortion.
Mira stepped forward, launching controlled attacks.
"…Left side!" she called out.
Aarav moved instantly, intercepting two incoming forms.
He struck—
But they didn't react normally.
His hit passed through one.
While the other twisted around it.
"…Not physical," he realized.
"…Or not fully."
The screen flickered violently.
[ D A T A C O R R U P T E D ]
[ U N R E A D A B L E ]
"…Great," Aarav muttered.
"That's helpful."
Another wave came.
Faster.
Closer.
More aggressive.
Aarav dodged—
Barely.
A shape passed through him.
Cold.
Sharp.
Not pain—
But something worse.
"…What was that?"
His body felt… off.
For a second.
Then normal again.
"…They're not just attacking physically," Mira said.
"…I noticed."
The team was breaking formation.
Slowly.
Not from weakness—
But from confusion.
"…We can't predict them!" someone shouted.
"…Then don't!" Aarav replied.
They all froze for a split second.
"…What?" Mira asked.
"…Stop trying to understand them," Aarav said.
"…Just react."
"…That's reckless."
"…So is dying."
Another surge.
Aarav moved.
Not using the system.
Not analyzing.
Just—
Acting.
And for a moment—
It worked.
He slipped past one.
Dodged another.
Countered a third.
"…This is better," he murmured.
But then—
The space shifted.
Hard.
Violently.
The ground beneath them distorted.
The buildings around them flickered.
The entire zone—
Changed.
"…It's expanding!" Mira shouted.
The edges pushed outward.
The distortion grew stronger.
More unstable.
"…We're losing control!" one of the team members yelled.
The leader's voice cut through.
"…Regroup!"
But it was too late.
The shapes stopped again.
All at once.
Just like before.
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Unnatural.
Aarav's eyes narrowed.
"…Here it comes."
Mira turned toward him.
"…What?"
Aarav didn't answer.
Because he felt it.
That presence.
Stronger than before.
Closer.
Watching.
The shapes parted.
Slowly.
Making space.
And from the center—
Something began to form.
Not fully visible.
Not stable.
But—
There.
A figure.
Large.
Distorted.
Incomplete.
Aarav exhaled slowly.
"…Yeah."
"This is bad."
Because this—
Wasn't just an anomaly anymore.
It was—
Becoming something.