The Onset

The city was a cacophony of everyday life as Ethan Cole stepped outside his apartment. The sky was clear and bright, a stark contrast to the grimy streets below. Ethan adjusted his coat and squinted against the sunlight, heading towards his office job. His footsteps echoed in the hollow space between the buildings, where the decay of the urban landscape was evident. The once-bustling city now felt like a forgotten relic, its charm worn thin by neglect.

Ethan passed by cracked sidewalks and crumbling facades, the evidence of years of decay and disregard. He muttered to himself, his voice a mix of frustration and resignation, "This place has gone to shit." His words seemed to merge with the background hum of the city, a small voice against the overwhelming sense of decline.

By the time Ethan returned home that evening, the sky had begun to darken. The sun was setting, but an unusual tinge to the sky caught his attention. He shrugged it off, attributing it to the changing weather. Inside his apartment, he flipped on the TV and settled into his worn-out chair, the comforting noise of the news a temporary distraction from his thoughts.

As he drifted off to sleep, the images on the screen were filled with reports of an unusual phenomenon. The news anchors spoke with a hint of alarm about the darkening sky spreading across America and the ground beginning to shake, forming small fissures. They referred to it as an "unnamed phenomenon," but offered little explanation.

Ethan woke abruptly in the middle of the night, his room illuminated by the eerie glow filtering through his window. He rubbed his eyes and stumbled outside, drawn by a growing sense of unease. The sky had transformed into a vast, dark expanse with faint hints of purple streaking through the clouds. It was as if the day had been swallowed by an immense, inky void.

The streets were eerily quiet, the usual hum of activity replaced by an unsettling stillness. Ethan glanced around and noticed the townspeople moving with a somber demeanor. Heads were hung low, faces etched with a mixture of confusion and dread.

He looked back up at the sky, the darkness overwhelming and alien. The small, violet tinge against the deepening blackness seemed almost unnatural. Ethan's anxiety grew as he took in the desolation of his surroundings.

In a mix of frustration and bewilderment, he muttered aloud, "What the fuck is going on?"

The darkened sky seemed to press down on him, and the strange, unsettling calm of the city was a stark contrast to the growing panic he felt inside. Ethan stood there, grappling with the weight of the unknown, as the world around him seemed to teeter on the brink of something far more ominous than he could have ever imagined.