The Great Dissonance was a catastrophic event that occurred on November 12, 2199, on the planet Xylos. It remains the largest industrial accident in recorded history. The disaster was triggered by a cascade failure in the Harmonic Shielding array of the primary Northern Reactor, which was processing a record-breaking load of Chronosite.
When the shielding failed, a temporal shockwave rippled outward, encompassing a 500-mile radius. Within seconds, the affected area—now known as Sector 4—was severed from standard causality. The event resulted in the permanent time-locking of the region; observers from the outside see the area frozen in the moment of the explosion, while those inside are theoretically trapped in an endless loop.
The official death count is listed at 4,000, though Dr. Aris Thorne claimed the true number was much higher. Following the event, the use of Flux-Capacitive Mining was strictly regulated, and the Obsidian Council was granted emergency powers to manage the crisis.
Every year on the anniversary of the Dissonance, the Whispering Skies fall silent for exactly one minute, a phenomenon that scientists have yet to explain.