After Reality Shattered

The mid-afternoon calm in London was shattered, not by a bomb, but by an impossible phenomenon. What began as an ordinary Tuesday afternoon quickly descended into an event that would forever etch itself into the collective memory of millions. Across social media, frantic posts and shaky, time-stamped videos began to surface, each one a testament to the sheer, unbelievable reality of what had just occurred.

For a tenth of the sprawling city, daylight had simply vanished. Imagine the bustling streets, the iconic landmarks bathed in the familiar afternoon sun, suddenly plunged into an inky, absolute black. Not dusk, not twilight, but a profound, total darkness that swallowed everything. People froze in their tracks, screams echoing from the choked void. Traffic lights, streetlights, and electronics flickered erratically, as if protesting the unnatural suppression of light. Birds, disoriented and panicked, scattered from trees, only to disappear into the impenetrable gloom. Colors drained from existence, leaving behind a monochrome landscape. The effects of which lessened as it emanates away from the epicenter.

Then, as abruptly as it began, it ended. A blinding pillar of radiant energy erupted from the heart of the abyss, tearing through the sky and momentarily bathing the entire London skyline in an otherworldly brilliance. In a heartbeat, it was gone, and the afternoon sun returned, as if the terrifying interlude had been nothing but a collective hallucination.

But it was no hallucination. Millions of London residents had witnessed or even personally experienced the darkness, and the later pillar of light that seemed to cut the sky open. News channels, initially scrambling for explanations, were now in a full-blown frenzy. Headlines screamed from every major network:

BBC News: "London Shrouded in Unexplained Darkness: Witness Accounts of Ethereal Light Pillar."

Daily Mail: "Apocalypse Now? Unprecedented Phenomenon Grips Capital. Was it Aliens or Angels?"

CNN: "Global Alarm as UK City Experiences 'Daylight Blackout' and 'Divine Beam'."

The Guardian: Scientists Baffled by London Sky Event: 'Beyond Known Physics'."

The internet, already a hotbed of speculation, completely boiled over. Timely caught footage, from security cameras to smartphone recordings, flooded platforms. Side-by-side comparisons of "before and after" photos went viral, showing the stark contrast between a sunny street and its sudden descent into unnatural darkness.

Conspiracy theorists immediately linked it to secret government experiments, alien visitations, or a prelude to a New World Order. Forums buzzed with intricate, hastily assembled narratives. Religious fanatics saw it as a clear sign of divine intervention, a message from God, or the opening act of the End Times. Preachers across online platforms declared it proof of biblical prophecy, with some even claiming to have seen angelic or demonic figures within the temporary void. Even the most steadfast skeptics were visibly shaken, their usual dismissive tones replaced with stammering shock as they struggled to rationalize something so overtly impossible.

The collective sense of unease, combined with a morbid curiosity, led to an unprecedented surge. London flight bookings, already substantial for the summer season, spiked to an overwhelming number. Not just from curious tourists, but from scientists, journalists, and thrill-seekers from across the globe, all desperate to see the site of the anomaly, to interview witnesses, or simply to feel the lingering strangeness in the air. The city, and indeed the entire UK, found itself caught in a growing global media storm, the implications of which were only just beginning to unfold.

______________________________________________________

The A Association group chat was alive with a rare, focused intensity. While the wider internet spiraled into chaotic speculation, these few elite members were already dissecting the truth—pieces of a puzzle most of the world didn't even know existed. A ping from AluM7 lit the channel: a glowing circuit-board icon pulsing with urgency.

AluM7: "Alert, everyone! I compiled a full visual timeline. Multiple data sources stitched, cross-referenced with StreetLaw's drone feed. Also, I included some additional information I found."

AluM7: "Also, I've deleted the evidence on nearby security camera footage. So, only we know of this scene. XD"

The attached files opened with shaky glimpses: a body and the wizard locked in brief, frantic exchanges of flashes of steel and sorcery. Then came the sudden, stunning descent of total darkness, caught from multiple vantage points. Satellite clips, street-level cams, even a looping drone feed. In the center of it all, Durandal glows like a solar flare in the void.

And then, the climax: a single blinding pillar of light piercing the heaven. The nearby footage bathe in pure white, as the afternoon brilliance snapped back into place like a flipped switch. The scene of the boy wielding Durandal collapsed, the numerous wizards and the back-armored knight sweeping in, seizing the boy, and vanished.

SkyHigh Roller: "Incredible. We weren't just watching history; we are ahead of it."

Diamond_Diva9: "This footage... it's intelligence gold. You realize what this is worth on the open market?"

Palette Princess: "Kaito Tanaka... that name sounds familiar. How did a high schooler possess such power? Was it all Durandal?"

FXUnicorn_Cat: "Energy, defense, tech, religion... everything changes. We're looking at the foundation of a new world. The investment opportunities are... staggering."

John Curator: "The clarity of this footage. To think we of all people would document the primary incident. We're leagues ahead of the public, and probably ahead of most governments too."

Baroness von K: "A boy and a divine sword, against shadowy adversaries, and a mysterious rescuer. This drama is practically made for the opera!"

Bus Drifter on Rent: "What incredible power. I wonder if there's some way we could learn how to access knowledge of it."

G. Hawthorne: "The energy signature from the boy's final attack... it was so clean, so pure, yet incredibly destructive. The rapid onset and cessation of the darkness implies a direct channeling of energy from light. This is completely outside of our already expanded expectations."

______________________________________________________

Dante read their responses, a grim satisfaction settling over him. He was rather exhausted, a consequence of pushing himself too far. He should have allowed the phenomenon to expand and persist longer, perhaps within a smaller radius. He only needed to give it an initial push; as the darkness spread and more people were caught up in it, the easier it became to make it spread further, as the belief in the strangeness of the situation amplified his capabilities to manipulate it. Nevertheless, the desired outcome was achieved. The very briefness of the event was also a highlight of its abnormalities, ensuring it wouldn't be easily dismissed.

He tapped a thoughtful finger against the screen of his tablet, his gaze drifting over the excited, profit-driven chatter of the A Association members. This incident, this undeniable rupture in the fabric of reality, presented a unique opportunity. The Association, in his grand scheme, couldn't remain merely a group of extraordinarily wealthy individuals, dabbling in high finance and exclusive art. To truly survive and thrive in the coming age he created, they would need a mystery and power of their own, something far beyond modern means and conventional influence.

He wanted them to wield magic. Not just observe it, not just profit from its indirect effects, but to truly engage with it. This served as a crucial test for him: could people, without his direct control, truly utilize the intricate magic system he had painstakingly fabricated and woven into the very fabric of existence? Durandal, the ancient blade, had shown him that his creations could indeed grant power to others, even if that power was temporary and at his behest. But what happened when this raw magic was not merely granted, but actively incorporated into an individual by methods he himself would devise?

His thoughts drifted to Laurence, who had been oddly silent in the group chat ever since he announced his enthusiastic search through his family vault for anything supernatural. Dante's lips curled into a faint, knowing smile. Perhaps it was time for Laurence to "coincidentally" come across something truly extraordinary. An old diary, penned by a long-dead ancestor, filled with cryptic notes and observations. And alongside it, a dust-laden book, filled with forgotten tales and, more importantly, a foundational text on the very nature of magic itself.

______________________________________________________

Meanwhile, in a sprawling, overstuffed storage room filled with dusty junks and forgotten heirlooms, Laurence let out a triumphant yell that echoed through several generations of family portraits. He fumbled for his phone, his finger trembling with excitement.

Larry the Lush: "GUYS! YOU CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST FOUND! I mean, seriously, you absolutely cannot believe it. My great-great-great-grandfather... had a secret! And I just found it in a hidden compartment behind a loose panel in the vault's oldest section! It's... it's a journal! And a book! They're ancient! And they're about... well, you'll see! Sending pictures NOW!"