So a weird thing happened to me on my way to shelter from an emission

I was running for shelter from an emission and I didn't make it....the emission caught me out in the open and like any good stalker I took out the vodka and gave the Zone one last toast and said " Well it was a good run while it lasted" then I watched the emission hit full force. And I kept watching it till it was over....it didn't kill me. My question is why. Is this a glitch or something that is supposed to happen in the late game? Is Skif turning into a actual Monolith as part of the story?