Ex-soldier Jayce and former fencer Anat are just heading home from the office when the whole world changes. There have been rumors for years that the Casimir effect has been getting stronger, suggesting that zero-point or vacuum energy is becoming more pronounced. It's been widely considered a fringe theory because only those researching it have the specialized instruments needed to confirm it. Meanwhile paranormal researchers have said that the results of their experiments seem to correlate with the fluctuations being reported by physicists. But that paradoxically pushes the scientific results further from mainstream scientific credibility.

Now the laws of physics have undeniably shifted. Zero-point energy can be manipulated through conscious will. But the greater energy in every bit of empty space washes out the voltage differences that computers and other electronics need to function. And it denies fast chemical reactions like explosions the steep energy gradients they need to progress rapidly. Meanwhile, the energy filling every bit of space impedes the movement of subatomic particles, causing even vacuum to become a neutron moderator. Suddenly, most technology no longer functions, and a series of disasters start to occur.

The pair will have to survive the chaos, learn to use their new abilities, and meet other survivors who can aid their journey. However, along with magic has come invasive beings from numerous hells. The diabolic creatures open rifts to hunt earth life and eventually consume the world. And within the hells are enclaves from another world that is in the process of being consumed.

Some of my major influences are Geralt and Yennifer of The Witcher, especially as represented in The Last Wish, and the dynamic between Naomi and Amos in The Expanse. Anat is the MC, while Jayce is the POV character.

[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge]