The torrential rain poured down, engulfing the entire City-State in an unprecedented downpour.
It was as if the ocean had overturned, the endless abyss overlooked the earth from the sky, as if the world had plunged into The Abyss. Dark clouds hung in the sky like slabs of iron, and the relentless rain washed over the City-State's ancient bell towers, skyscrapers, ramparts, and the rugged coastline. Waves rolled in one after another from the sea as if to form a siege, enclosing the entire City-State from all directions.
Even the least perceptive people could sense something eerie about this abnormal downpour. Citizens scrambled home, bolting doors and windows shut, while the homeless on the streets rushed into the nearest Shelter or relief center. Those with nowhere else to go slipped into sewer entrances or pipeline exchange stations—places where, at the very least, gas lamps and sacred steam provided a semblance of safety on this stormy day.