The celebratory confetti inside the Federal Grand Colosseum had not yet settled. Just then, the klaxons struck.
It wasn’t the intermittent pulse of a civil alert, nor the sharp bark of an arena outer edge breach. It was the low, bone-jarring underground thrum of the Continental Defense Network’s Tier-Zero ground-shaking warning. Across the stadium floor, the lit up displays that had just broadcast Arthur Vance’s victory over the man-made chimera giant statue flickered, sputtered. Then he snapped into jagged crimson tracking data bars.
CRITICAL DISRUPTION: PACIFIC SEISMIC RIFT 01 (THE Giant beast MAW) Size: 9.4 HYPOCENTER AT -11,400 METERS PROJECTED TSUNAMI CREST: 280–320 METERS ESTIMATED TIME TO COASTAL IMPACT: 03:14:00
The roaring crowd of five hundred million spectators fell into immediate, choking silence. On the central podium, Arthur Vance stood with his left boot planted on the fractured silver-steel rib of the fallen giant statue. His charcoal carbon-weave trench coat was spattered with high-pressure fluid and acid-burn bile. But his breathing remained steady, governed by the cold discipline of a trauma surgeon who had seen too many running rooms collapse under artillery fire.
At his side, Grimm didn’t look at the roaring monitors. The black glass dire-wolf, now weighing over six hundred pounds with bone spurs like jagged dark rock jutting along his spine. It lowered his massive head and rested the flat of his muzzle against Arthur’s right knee. A low, sub-bass chuff shook through the dog’s ribs. A quiet, tactile reassurance that whatever disaster was tearing open the…
