?"I'll take your word for it! I’m grateful you’d give advice to total strangers like us—and besides, we won't know the truth until we wait those five minutes, right?"

  ?From the backseat, Ten reined Teru in, her voice trembling but piercing through the air. Her words felt as sharp as a steel beam driven through the chassis, shattering the barrier of the glass windows.

  ?"We appreciate your understanding... my siblings."

  ?"Siblings?" Teru muttered, looking dazed once more.

  ?"It’s a term of endearment. Wake up, will you? You’ve had a bit to drink, haven't you?" Phoebe said, rubbing his shoulder from behind.

  ?"What was that drink called again? I feel like I’ve wandered into another world."

  ?"Don’t make it sound like they drugged you. Give him a pinch, Letty."

  ?"You got it!"

  ?"Less than three minutes remaining."

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  ?The blonde woman pointed into the distance. Nothing was visible yet, but a faint sound began to stir—a low hum, like charged plasma falling through the forest and crawling toward them.

  ?The star-filled sky gradually bled into a thin, mauve canopy. Then, a streak of yellow light, as if splitting the heavens in two, surged toward them with a searing roar.

  ?A thundercloud? It was impossible to tell.

  ?"It is time."

  ?At that exact moment, a mass of light slammed into the thicket a hundred meters ahead, the ground splitting open with terrifying speed.

  ?"Wh—what!?"

  ?The father had been steadying his iPad camera, but the shockwave jolted the entire car, causing the device to slip from his grip.

  ?"I’ve never seen lightning like that," he gasped.

  ?"As you may suspect," the woman said calmly, "that was no lightning."

  ?"I’ve seen things like that on the internet, but I never thought... I have no clue how you could have predicted this."

  ?"Daddy, what was that ball of light?"

  ?"Letty, we were right not to go further. That was either a meteorite or a massive plasma discharge. It’s no ordinary lightning. It seems these ladies know exactly what’s going on—we’d better trust them and follow their lead if we want to stay safe."

  ?"Indeed. I am glad to have your trust. Allow us to guide you. Do you two agree as well?"

  ?"Y-yes..."

  ?Phoebe and Ten, their throats tight with fear, could only nod in silence.

  ?"Then, let us depart."

  ?It seemed that even for beings from beyond, this gesture was universally understood as "Yes."