The sky above Skyvault Citadel twisted like a writhing serpent.
Red lightning streaked across the heavens, tearing holes through the clouds as spatial rifts opened one after another. The once-pristine air shimmered with heat and static energy, distorting the skyline. Alarms blared throughout the citadel, and players scrambled to prepare defenses.
[System Notification: Skyvault Citadel is now under World Event Instance Lockdown]
Escape Prohibited. All attendees are locked into combat engagement. Duration: Unknown.
Hikaru's breath hitched as he scanned the perimeter.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of Rift portals blinked into existence, all pulsing with crimson energy. From them poured creatures unlike any the game had previously rendered—chimeric abominations made of corrupted game code and fleshy appendages that defied form.
[??? – Rift Entity – Level ???]
Status: Unreadable. Weakness: Unknown. Resistance: Absolute]
Brant cursed under his breath. "Great. Now we're locked in with actual nightmares."
"Eyes up!" Kaela shouted. "They're coming through!"
The Citadel's anti-air turrets sprang to life, spraying energy rounds across the sky, but the corrupted beasts tanked the damage like water.
With a crash that shook the floating fortress, one of the creatures slammed into the central tower. Alarms shrieked louder.
[Alert: Core Pillar Integrity Down to 81%]
[City Defenses Compromised – Mobilize Defensive Formations]
Sigrun barked orders. "All Vanguards to the northern wall! Mages, reinforce the core shield! Everyone else—buy us time!"
Players leapt into action.
Rendshade watched, unmoved, as chaos erupted around him. "Do you see now, Heartguard? This is the beginning. The Ascension Cycle must purge the weak."
Hikaru stepped in front of him, sword drawn. "If you're not going to fight, stay out of our way."
A slow grin crept across Rendshade's face. "Oh, I'll fight. But not for your side."
[Warning: Player Rendshade has triggered Class Skill – "Veilwalker's Revelation"]
[Stealth Protocol Overridden. Alignment Shift: Hostile]
And with that, Rendshade vanished.
The Heartguard found themselves stationed on the south platform, one of the last positions keeping Rift entities from breaching the lower sanctum. Kaela launched spell after spell, her mana burning like wildfire. Illya coordinated defense grids, locking corrupted creatures into stasis for a few critical seconds.
Brant wielded a battle hammer nearly twice his size, swinging with brutal arcs that shattered limbs and bone-code alike.
But the monsters just kept coming.
"They don't die!" Brant shouted. "I just smashed three skulls and one's still trying to crawl!"
Illya's HUD flashed red. "They're respawning through the rift! We need to close the gates!"
Hikaru narrowed his eyes at the largest tear pulsing near the Citadel's heart.
"If we close the anchor gate," he said, voice calm in the storm, "we stop the flood."
Kaela wiped blood from her cheek. "That gate's near the central spire. Dozens of them are clustering around it."
"Then we make a path."
The Heartguard pushed forward, carving a trail through the horde. Dozens of other players joined in their wake, inspired by their momentum. Fireballs soared overhead. Arrows rained down. Shockwaves from spell impacts split the ground.
A corrupted behemoth charged, covered in armor formed from shattered HUD fragments.
[Abyss-Touched Juggernaut – Level ??? – Rift Construct]
Illya triggered a system override.
[Activated: Tactical Override – "Zone Disruptor: Echo Field"]
Time around the creature fractured—enough for Brant and Hikaru to slam into its side with synchronized strikes, launching it off the platform in a blaze of light.
They didn't stop.
Through fire and smoke, they reached the spire base.
[Target Acquired: Rift Anchor Core]
[Destabilization Sequence Possible – Initiate?]
"Yes," Hikaru growled.
Kaela joined him, slamming her staff down.
[Channeling Begins – Warning: Channel Disruption Imminent]
Time to Completion: 45 Seconds]
Monsters began converging.
Brant stood tall, shield raised. "You cast. I'll hold."
He didn't wait for backup. He rushed forward alone, slamming into the next wave like a mad bull. His war cry echoed through the spire as the rest of the players formed a defensive circle around the ritual.
Illya poured energy into the spire's stabilizer, weaving protection runes in midair.
"Just a little longer…"
Seconds stretched like minutes.
A shriek echoed from above as a new entity descended—a skeletal dragon, its wings fractured like shattered data and its mouth dripping corrupted fire.
Hikaru's eyes widened.
[World Boss Encounter – Rift Lord Nyr'Vakros]
[Combat Lock Imminent – No Escape Permitted]
But the cast completed.
[Rift Anchor Core: SEVERED]
[Collapse Sequence Initiated]
A pulse of white light erupted from the spire, washing over the battlefield. The rift shrieked, imploding with such force that it ripped several entities back into the void.
Even Nyr'Vakros let out a roar of agony before vanishing into the distortion.
Silence fell.
Only the sound of flickering fire and collapsing stone remained.
[World Event Update: Ascension Cycle – Stage 1 Cleared]
[Player Contribution: High Tier – Additional Rewards Pending]
[World Stability: 23%]
Hikaru collapsed to one knee, panting.
The chamber was in ruins. Dozens of players had fallen. The survivors were bloodied, burned, and exhausted. Yet they lived.
Kaela limped toward him, healing herself with shaking fingers. "We… we made it."
Illya helped Brant to his feet. "Barely."
And then, as if summoned by fate itself, a new prompt appeared:
[Private Message from: SYSTEM_ROOT]
"You are not ready. Yet you will be chosen."
[System Update Pending – Chapter Two of Ascension Cycle Unlocks in 72 Hours]
Hikaru's heart pounded as he read the final line:
"Welcome to the Fractured Tier."