The void temple's core chamber pulsed with violet light, its Aether crystals humming like a living heart. Kael stood on the cracked platform, shard-pistol trembling in his bloodied hand, the Red Veil shard scorching his chest. Its rhythm synced with his own shard, a relentless pulse that shook his core. Rhea gripped her shock-knife, thigh bleeding but eyes fierce, her implants flickering under the strain. Mira crouched near the core shard, a massive crystal etched with writhing runes, her analyzer sparking as it fought to process the chaos. The air was thick with static and the bitter tang of scorched bone, the void's weight pressing on their lungs.
Beneath the platform, a figure stirred in a pool of liquid Aether, their violet eyes glowing through the haze. Their form was humanoid but wrong, limbs too long, skin shimmering like crystal. The core shard above them flared, its runes shifting, and the chamber shook, fragments of bone and crystal drifting upward. Kael's shard burned, a vision slamming him: a star-field splitting, the figure rising, a woman's voice whispering, *The cycle wakes.* He staggered, pain lancing through his wounded shoulder, and steadied himself against the platform.
The hunter stood at the chamber's arch, their black armor glinting, star-shard glowing like a captured sun. Their violet eyes locked onto Kael, their voice cold and resonant. "The cycle begins. The shards are its fuel. Step aside, Varn, or burn."
Kael's jaw clenched, blood dripping from his arm. "Not big on burning either. Who's your friend down there?"
The hunter's armor shifted, as if tensing. "The Herald. First of the cycle's chosen. You've woken them, and now the gate will open."
Rhea snorted, knife sparking. "Sounds like a party I wasn't invited to. Back off, or I carve you a new face."
Mira's analyzer beeped, its screen flashing warnings. "Kael, the core shard's channeling the Herald's Aether. It's powering the temple. If we don't stop it, this place will tear itself apart."
Kael glanced at the Herald, their violet eyes now fixed on him, unblinking. The Red Veil shard in his jacket pulsed harder, tugging toward the core. "Stop it how?" he growled, keeping his pistol on the hunter. "This thing's a pre-Fall nuke."
Mira's voice was urgent, her cyber-lenses glinting. "The shards. They're keys. We can disrupt the core's resonance, but it means using both shards. Risky."
The hunter stepped forward, their star-shard flaring, Aether coiling into a blade. "You delay the inevitable. The Herald rises. The cycle claims all."
Kael fired, the Aether-shot streaking toward the hunter. Their blade deflected it, sparks scattering across the chamber, but the void trembled, crystals cracking along the walls. Rhea lunged, her shock-knife slashing at the hunter's armor, sparking against its runes. They spun, Aether-blade grazing her arm, drawing blood. She cursed, rolling back, her implants flaring to jam their movements.
The Herald's eyes glowed brighter, Aether rippling around them. The platform shuddered, a low hum rising, like a machine waking. Kael's shard screamed, another vision hitting: *the Herald stepping from Aether, the core shard splitting reality, the woman's voice: You hold the spark.* He dropped to one knee, gasping, the Red Veil shard burning through his jacket.
"Kael!" Rhea yelled, dodging another of the hunter's slashes. Her knife sparked, but her leg buckled, blood pooling. "Do something!"
Mira scrambled to the core shard, pressing the original shard against its surface. Its runes flared, violet light flooding the chamber, and the Herald's form twitched, Aether surging. "Kael, give me the Red Veil shard!" she shouted, her analyzer sparking wildly.
Kael yanked the shard from his jacket, its heat searing his palm. He stumbled to Mira, pain blurring his vision, and slammed it into the core. The chamber roared, Aether crystals shattering, their fragments swirling like a storm. The Herald's eyes widened, their mouth opening in a silent scream, violet energy crackling from their form.
The hunter's voice cut through. "Fools! You'll break the cycle!" They charged, Aether-blade aimed at Kael's chest. He parried with his shard-blade, sparks blinding him, but their strength was crushing, pre-Fall tech amplifying every blow. His wounded arm buckled, the blade slipping, and the hunter's Aether slashed his side, searing flesh.
Rhea tackled the hunter, her shock-knife sinking into their armor's joint. Sparks flew, but they backhanded her, sending her crashing into a crystal wall. She slumped, blood dripping, her implants flickering. Kael roared, channeling kinetic energy, slamming the hunter back. The effort left him gasping, blood soaking his shirt.
Mira's analyzer screamed, its readings off the charts. "The shards are disrupting the core! It's working, but the Herald's fighting back!"
The Herald rose, Aether coiling around them, their violet eyes burning. Their voice was a low hum, words sharp and alien. "The cycle cannot be stopped. The spark is ours." They raised a hand, Aether surging, and the platform cracked, violet light spilling upward.
Kael's shard pulsed, the Red Veil shard merging with the core's energy. His vision overwhelmed him: *the Herald at the gate, reality fracturing, the woman's voice: You are the key.* He grabbed Mira, pulling her back as the core shard flared, its runes twisting. The chamber shook, bone walls splintering, the void's violet light fracturing into stars.
"Run!" Kael shouted, dragging Mira toward the arch. Rhea hauled herself up, limping, her knife still sparking. The hunter stood, their star-shard glowing, but they hesitated, eyes flicking to the Herald. The core's hum grew deafening, Aether surging like a tidal wave.
Kael's shard burned, the woman's voice clear: *Break the cycle.* He spun, firing his pistol at the core shard, its Aether-shot cracking its surface. The chamber erupted, violet light blinding, and the Herald roared, their form dissolving into Aether. The hunter lunged, their blade slashing, but the void collapsed, pulling them back.
Kael, Rhea, and Mira stumbled through the arch, the temple's core imploding behind them. The void warped, spitting them into a wasteland under a fractured sky, the temple's ruins smoking around them. Kael's shard pulsed, the Red Veil shard gone, its energy spent. Mira's shard-case was empty, the original shard lost to the core.
They collapsed in the dust, blood and pain anchoring them. Rhea's grin was weak, her voice hoarse. "That was fun. Let's not do it again."
Mira's analyzer was fried, its screen cracked. "The cycle's disrupted," she said, her voice shaking. "But the Herald's not gone. And the hunter's still out there."
Kael's shard hummed, a vision lingering: *a new temple, a star-shard pulsing, the woman's voice: The cycle waits.* He stood, blood dripping, and froze. A figure approached through the dust, tall and scarred, a shard-rifle slung across their back. Toren.
"Took you long enough," Toren said, his voice rough but alive. Before Kael could respond, a violet pulse flared in the distance, the hunter's star-shard glowing, moving fast.