The evening air was warm, carrying the scent of jasmine from the balcony garden. Amanda leaned against the balcony railing, swirling her drink absentmindedly as she glanced across from her. "Babe, do you ever think about how weird it is that pigeons just... exist? Like, who decided—OH SHIT!"

A deafening CRACK split the sky as a neon-green rift tore open above them, vomiting out what looked like a black, floating starfish creature with a singular eyeball. They pulsed with unnatural energy, colors shifting violently as they let out a distorted BWOOONG that rattled Amanda’s teeth. A deep, distorted voice comes from that abomination of a specimen. "Ahahahahahaha! We meet again, Amanda Carter, my latest creation. The promised time... will arrive once more..."

The sky flickered—black, red, black again—before splitting open like a broken screen. Amanda’s drink phased through her hand, hitting the balcony tiles (which don't even exist at this point) with a shatter. "YOU again—!" Her voice cut off as the concrete beneath them warped, snapping sideways like a glitched texture. Gravity yanked them forward—no, sideways—and suddenly they weren’t falling down but out, the building stretching away in jagged polygons.

Then—THUD.

They hit something solid—a rooftop, maybe? A street? Amanda groaned, vision swimming as she pushed herself up onto her elbows. The air tasted like static and burnt ozone. The potted fern she landed next to suddenly seemed like the best weapon in existence. And floating in front of her? More of those freaky starfish things, led by that Watching Eye looming behind them. What a nice day!