The cliffside groaned under the clash of worlds.
Seraphine steadied her footing, boots digging into stone that hadn't existed a minute ago. Jagged black rock jutted upward where once had been marble courtyards. On the horizon, neon skyscrapers flickered beside shadowed forests. Rivers bled into desert canyons, glowing blue against red dust. The Infinite Realms stretched endlessly, chaotic, alive.
And already dangerous.
Below, warbands moved like hunting dogs loosed from chains. Some bore banners she recognized — rival guilds, old enemies — others carried crests from Realms she had never stepped into. Gunfire rattled in the distance, mingling with the roar of magic. Smoke already rose in curling plumes.
The first blood of the Infinite Realms was being drawn.
"We can't stay here." Valeria's voice cut through the wind, steady and commanding. She stood tall at the cliff's edge, silver hair whipping around her helm. "We're exposed. Every archer in range will mark us the moment they spot three outliers without backup."
Noctis smirked, crouching low on the stone. "Let them try." She twirled a dagger idly, the blade catching aurora light that still lingered faintly in the sky. "I've been itching for a fight since the announcement."
"Which is exactly why we need discipline." Valeria shot her a glance. "If we waste ourselves now, we'll gain nothing. Territory is all that matters."
Seraphine stood a step behind them both, hand resting on the hilt of her sword. The tension pressed against her chest like a shield too heavy to carry. They had fought together for years, but never like this. Never with the weight of an entire Realm balanced on the edge of a blade.
Her eyes swept the chaos below. Guilds were already clashing over fractured structures that looked like fortresses half-born from broken worlds. One group dug in around a neon tower fused with an ancient keep, while another spread across a ruined marketplace torn between desert sand and cobblestone streets.
"Valeria's right," Seraphine said quietly.
Both turned to her.
She tightened her grip on the sword, voice firming. "This isn't about hunting. Not yet. If our Realm loses its foothold here, everything we know is gone. Every city, every home. We have to claim something first."
Valeria's expression softened a fraction, approval flickering in her eyes.
Noctis groaned. "Fine, fine. Strategy first, fun later. But if we're playing territory, we'd better move now before the vultures take everything worth holding."
A scream echoed from below, cut short by steel. The war had already started.
Seraphine looked out again, scanning the battlefield. Her gaze caught on a structure near the center of the broken landscape — a citadel, half-shattered but still towering above the chaos. Black stone walls rose high, fused with glowing circuitry veins, pulsing faintly like a heart. It stood at the intersection of three clashing biomes — desert, forest, and neon city.
Her chest tightened. That's it.
She pointed. "There."
Both followed her finger.
Valeria studied it a long moment. "High ground. Multiple approaches. If we can secure it, it becomes a fortress."
Noctis licked her lips, grin returning. "And every guild in sight will want it too. Sounds fun."
Seraphine nodded once. "Then we move."
The descent was brutal.
The cliffside crumbled with every step, stone breaking into fragments that tumbled into the chaos below. Arrows whistled past in the distance, stray spells lighting the air like falling stars. The sound of clashing metal grew louder, every strike echoing across fractured terrain.
They moved quickly, shadows among shadows. Noctis darted ahead, blades ready, slipping into crevices and scouting paths. Valeria covered their flank, shield raised, aura shimmering faintly to deflect stray bolts. Seraphine led in the middle, sword steady, eyes locked on the citadel ahead.
Twice they crossed paths with smaller bands. Once, three raiders from a cyber-Realm guild spotted them — faces hidden by neon masks, rifles glowing with digital light. They raised their guns, but before they could fire, Noctis was among them. Daggers flashed, precise, merciless. By the time Seraphine caught up, only pixel fragments scattered in the air.
Noctis sheathed her blades with a shrug. "Too slow."
Valeria frowned but said nothing.
The second time, a squad of armored knights from a medieval Realm clashed with a pack of cyber-beasts — half-wolf, half-machine. The knights fought hard, shields braced, but were being overwhelmed. Seraphine hesitated, sword half-drawn.
Valeria caught her look. "Don't."
"They need help."
"They're not our guild. Their survival isn't ours."
The words cut deep, but Seraphine forced herself to nod. The rules had changed. Mercy here could cost their entire Realm.
They pressed on.
By the time they reached the citadel's base, the battle had already begun.
Dozens of players clashed across the cracked courtyard, neon signs flickering above stone walls. Explosions rattled the ground, dust choking the air. Corpses dissolved into light only to reappear at respawn points miles away, stripped of gear.
The citadel's gates loomed high, iron fused with circuitry, sealed tight. Whoever wanted control would have to fight for it.
Valeria raised her shield, eyes scanning. "We'll never break through the front. Too many guilds already bleeding for it."
Noctis grinned, pointing toward the rubble on the eastern side. "There. Wall's half-collapsed. I can slip through."
"Too risky," Valeria countered. "If you're cut off—"
"I won't be cut off."
Seraphine's gaze shifted between them, then up at the towering walls. The citadel pulsed faintly, alive, like it was watching. Something about it felt more than just terrain. A prize. A throne.
She drew her sword, steel singing in the chaos. "We go together. If we split now, we die alone."
Noctis rolled her eyes but fell in line. Valeria gave a curt nod.
They pushed toward the eastern rubble.
The fight that followed was chaos.
A rival guild — ten strong — had already tried to breach the collapsed wall. They turned as Seraphine's trio closed in, weapons raised.
Noctis vanished in a blink, shadows wrapping around her form. She reappeared behind one, blade slicing clean across his throat. Another swung at her, but Valeria intercepted, shield shattering the blow before her sword pierced his chest.
Seraphine charged through the center. Her blade met steel, sparks scattering in the dust. She shoved one back, swung wide, and cut another down. Each strike felt heavier than usual, not just game mechanics but the weight of survival.
She fought like it mattered. Because it did.
Minutes blurred. Shouts turned to screams, screams to silence.
When the dust cleared, the rival guild lay broken, bodies dissolving into light.
Only three remained standing.
Breathing hard, Seraphine steadied her sword. Blood — digital but vivid — dripped down the blade. Her armor was cracked, her vision pulsed faintly from lost health. But they were alive.
And the rubble lay open ahead.
Valeria pressed a hand to her chest, aura glowing faintly as she murmured a spell. Healing light washed over them, sealing cracks, easing wounds. "We can't linger. More will come."
Noctis wiped her daggers clean on a dissolving corpse. "Then let's claim our throne before they do."
Seraphine turned back to the citadel.
The rubble stretched upward like broken teeth. Beyond it, faint light glowed from within, pulsing with the rhythm of a heartbeat.
She tightened her grip.
"Let's end this."
Together, they climbed.