The world cracked open before dawn.
It started with a sound no human instinct could ignore—a deep, alien rumble that split the heavens like a fucking nightmare. The earth shook violently, lights flickered, and alarms buzzed across the private island like it were the end of days. Three miles north of the estate, in the jungle cloaked with electromagnetic shielding, reality tore open—a swirling dimensional rift crackled with violet light and an ungodly roar.
And from it… they came.
Beasts.
Jagged, sinewy abominations with violet-glowing veins and bone-like armor. The first wave was chaos. Dozens of them burst from the rift—fast, crawling creatures the size of wolves, mindless and feral.
Inside the Ashworth estate's underground command center, panic erupted.
"Unidentified lifeforms emerging from anomaly!" a soldier shouted. "Engaging with drone swarm now!"
Miniature drone pods fired out from hidden hangars, each one armed with micro-missiles. The night lit up in sharp bursts of orange as the drones tore through the first wave of beasts. Their corpses burned and melted into foul-smelling sludge.
"They're going down!" one of the operators shouted.
Maggi Ren, already up and half-armored, didn't say a word. Red-haired, ice-eyed, and stacked like a damn goddess of war, she stood in silence beside Eleanor Reyes, Jane Blackwood's assistant. Both women had been pulled from their rooms by the emergency team just ten minutes ago.
But then… the rift pulsed again.
And another wave emerged.
These were bigger. Meaner. Armored like walking tanks.
Missiles struck them directly—armor-piercing, high-explosive warheads. They walked through the fire like it was wind. One of them crushed a fallen drone underfoot like it was plastic.
"Second wave. They're not going down!" the soldier yelled.
"Switch payloads! Hit'em harder!" Maggi barked.
Drones adjusted, fired again. Some of the beasts dropped—barely—but it took concentrated fire. Too much fire. The cost was mounting.
Then, as the second wave fell… the jungle stilled.
People sighed. Some even laughed nervously.
"Fucking hell. That might be it…"
Five minutes later, the rift flared brighter.
Wings cut through the sky.
The third wave.
Flying monsters, sleek and agile, with deadly precision. They dodged incoming fire, took out drones midair, and moved like they'd been born to hunt tech. The defense line collapsed almost instantly.
"Holy shit, they're going for our optics!"
"They're not dumb," Maggi muttered, eyes narrowing.
The screens began to cut out. One by one. Until only one drone feed remained.
It caught the final horror: larger winged beasts circling downward. Eyes intelligent. Coordinated movements.
"Fourth wave," Eleanor whispered. Maggi didn't react. She just narrowed her eyes and turned to Eleanor. "Wake them. Now."
Eleanor moved fast, activating the in-estate alarm.
Nothing.
"Soundproof mode's on," she said quickly. "They won't hear anything."
Maggi didn't waste a second. "Then we knock."
They ran. Down the main corridor, emergency lights flickered as tremors grew worse.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Maggi pounded on the master bedroom door. "Ryan! Jane! Emergency protocol—wake the fuck up!"
Inside the luxury suite, soundproofed to military-grade standards, the world was still silent. Ryan Ashworth stirred slowly in bed, groggy. Jane Blackwood sat up beside him, frowning.
"Did you hear something?" she asked, confused.
Then the banging started again—louder. Urgent.
Ryan groaned, dragging himself out of bed, still half-asleep. When he opened the door, Eleanor nearly collapsed into his arms, blood trailing down her forearm, eyes wide.
"What the hell—?"
She cut him off.
"Dimensional rift. Three miles out. It's real, Ryan. Just like the novels—except this time, it's fucking real. The first wave was dumb animals. The fourth wave's different. Smarter. Flying. Cameras are getting taken out. Drones gone. They're headed this way—and we don't have time."
Ryan's mind sharpened in an instant.
"Get dressed," he snapped. "Now."
Jane was already on her feet, tossing on her coat, and grabbing the firearm from the drawer. Maggi stepped into the doorway as Ryan threw a shirt over his chest, slipping the silver pendant his mother had given him around his neck.
"We're not going to the armory," Maggi said briskly. "We head for the bunkers."
Eleanor winced, wrapping gauze around her cut. "The tunnel connects directly to the emergency runway on the south side. If we haul ass, we can get to the plane."
"The beasts are all heading toward the villa," Maggi added. "Runway's clear—for now."
They moved.
Down the hall, through the west corridor. Holographic lights flickered overhead. Cracks formed in the marble floor. Outside the armored windows, flashes of violet lit the treetops like fire dancing through the canopy.
Ryan took the lead as they reached the secured entrance. A steel vault-like door slid open, revealing a high-speed underground tunnel wide enough for tactical vehicles—built for escape, not luxury.
The moment they stepped inside, the ground shuddered again.
Something enormous landed above them.
The ceiling groaned. Dust rained down. The structure cracked like dry bone.
Ryan turned sharply. "Go, go, GO—!"
Maggi pulled Eleanor ahead. Jane turned—
—and the roof collapsed.
A shadow slammed through the top of the villa—something massive. A fourth-wave beast, larger than any they'd seen before, landed directly on top of the estate.
Support beams snapped like toothpicks. Stone, marble, glass—everything gave way.
The ceiling came crashing down.
Maggi was the first to react. She shoved Eleanor forward.
"GO—!"
But they didn't make it.
The falling steel and rubble crushed the hallway like a tin can.
In those final moments, there was no screaming. Only thoughts.
Eleanor's last breath hitched in her throat. I never even got to fall in love. I never even got married…
Maggi didn't flinch. She wrapped herself around Eleanor, shielding her with her body, even as dust and concrete swallowed them both.
Jane's fingers found Ryan's, holding tight in the dark. Her mind whispered a bitter smile.
So this is how it ends… Not on the battlefield, but beneath the weight of everything we built.
Ryan reached for her, his thoughts cold.
This can't be it. After everything… we die like this?
And then—
Silence.
The sky outside burned violet.
The beasts advanced.
And the empire… fell.