The shaking grew more and more violent.
By the end, it could no longer even be called an earthquake. It was more like being stuffed into a bartender's shaker and thoroughly mixed until smeared across the entire space.
The same scene played out elsewhere, even in the Warm Winter Sea.
The forest, which had just welcomed back the Gramophone and was gradually recovering and regenerating, broke apart on the spot and even flew into the air, along with several ships moored nearby, which nearly fell apart.
Then there was Steam Island, where much the same thing happened. It was far sturdier, however, and its overall structure remained intact, but the tremendous upward force still launched it into the sky, tossing it up and down. Seawater showed signs of flooding in at multiple points, and the interior was in chaos too.
Even Moon Island, high in the sky, was not spared. A hurricane descended, buffeting the island relentlessly. All sorts of amusement rides broke and toppled, while the Madmen leaped and scrambled about, causing quite a few players honing their mental resolve there to take nasty falls and even suffer considerable injuries.
Lada left the great rift almost instantly and appeared on the Surface of Moon Island. No one noticed how she had arrived, and blue streams of data flowed continuously through her right eye.
"It's here, sooner than expected. There might not be enough time."
She murmured to herself, though it was unclear whom she was speaking to. She looked down at the seawater churning up and down, as though it were being tossed out of a gigantic basin, caught, and then tossed upward again. The sea level grew higher and higher in the process.
Some things in the sea were even flung out. Long-Legged Sardines and other sea fish