SHADOW || The Catalysts Series, #2

XXX || Andromeda

The tinier creatures fight to the open world from the widening rift, being the firsts to wriggle their way through the opening—a prelude of greater beings that are coming.

The ground is gradually being swallowed by darkness; the walls above caving in.

They have but a matter of minutes—seconds, even.

But as long as they are standing, they have their wits to get out of here. The S-Class may be losing in number and are stuck in this tight situation, but their compatibility with one another is undeniable.

Caelus doesn't need anyone—not even Thanatos' mind hints—to act first. He clears the airway of demons and crumbling debris alike, suspending and securing them an escape route. Simultaneously, Thanatos wipes all the minds of the demons, making them slow and groggy.

Using some of his remaining strength, Caelus makes sure everyone is ready before saying, "I'll give all of us a lift."

He creates a propeller beneath them, a cool thin slice of air separating their feet from the impending doom below. The air forces in on itself and grants them a lift, pushing them into the air.

When the ceiling breaks open, Azrael leaps along with the wind with Caelus on his back, using the force and the raining platform as his base to get to the top. Inessa extends both her arms and morphs them into a strong chain hook, throwing it up and gaining purchase overhead. She pivots herself before launching into the air and trailing after Azrael. With her remaining hand, she turns it into a firm gripper for Thanatos to grab on to while he brings the rear, controlling all the demons temporarily.

Azrael grunts in the effort of defying gravity, but Caelus tries his best to keep everything from their path. He blasts through the remaining wall, putting an airspace around them so the debris doesn't get in their way as make their way to the upper level.

Once through, Azrael lands near perfectly on the metal walkway of a corridor. It creaks, and unhinges on one end. Caelus rolls off Azrael and limps his way toward where they came from just as Inessa and Thanatos shoot past him, pushing a barrier and sealing the demons back.

It isn't strong enough. Below, they threaten to break through as the darkness of the rift grows and expand. They grow more aggressive as they regain their senses after Thanatos' control lifts.

Someone grabs him by his torn shirt collar, yanking him back. Before he can protest, strong arms grab him, breaking his control.

Azrael lifts him once more and says in an defeated tone, "I think this is beyond us, kid. Let's get the hell out of here."

Caelus sends a final pressure below before turning his back against the growing rift. The thin metal platform they are on lurches to the side, and Azrael swears loudly before picking up the pace, carrying Caelus and racing toward the only exit at the very end.

The room gives away, too. It collapses against the chamber they were in, which is now a growing black hole.

"How is it still growing?" Inessa exclaims as they tear through another corridor, weaving their way against the network of tunnels to find an exit opening to the outside. "Is that why this place is quarantined?"

"I wonder," Thanatos ponders slowly, "How it remained dormant and undiscovered until... now."

"Until now that we're here," Azrael echoes.

"A rift like that would not resort to a mere lockdown," Thanatos voices contemplatively, his voice calm despite the chaos around them, answering Inessa's earlier question. "But it may as well be a part of the reason, at least. There is more obviously the strangeness of the entirety of this sector—with the giant dimensional tear across the sky and the otherworldly atmosphere—that led the citizens of this zone to be evacuated in the first place. But that rift underground, it..."