The Wastelands cavern shuddered, its Aether crystals splintering as violet light poured from the cracking bone gate. Kael staggered back, shard-pistol raised, his chest shard pulsing with a raw ache that clawed his ribs. Blood soaked his shirt, his shoulder and side screaming from fresh wounds, but his eyes stayed locked on the gate's void, a star-flecked abyss pulsing with an ancient hum. Rhea limped beside him, her shock-knife flickering, blood dripping from her thigh and arm. Mira clutched a jagged rock for balance, her cyber-lenses dim, her fried analyzer useless. Toren stood firm, shard-rifle aimed at the gate, his scarred face tense under the violet glow. The air was thick with dust and the sharp tang of burning Aether, the cavern's collapse rattling their bones.
The hunter's silhouette lingered where the rune-etched man had fallen, their star-shard glowing like a caged sun. Their violet eyes met Kael's, their voice no longer cold but urgent. "Run." Before Kael could respond, they vanished into the shadows, their Aether trail fading. The gate's hum spiked, a deeper signal roaring from the void, shaking the cavern like a struck bell. Kael's shard burned, a vision slamming him: a new gate opening, a shadow with violet eyes rising, a woman's voice whispering, *The cycle seeks.* He gasped, gripping his chest, pain anchoring him.
"We need to move!" Toren shouted, his rifle sweeping the cavern as Protocol enforcers groaned under fallen rocks, their leader, Lira, pinned but stirring. "This place is coming down!"
Rhea's implants flickered, scanning the collapsing tunnels. "East exit's still open," she said, her voice hoarse. "Leads to the surface. But that signal's following us. It's not just Aether. It's alive."
Kael's shard pulsed, syncing with the void's hum. "Alive? Like the Herald?"
Mira's voice was sharp, despite her exhaustion. "Worse. The cycle's nodes are waking entities, not just machines. The gate's a conduit, and your shard's drawing it. We disrupted one, but this signal's stronger."
Kael's jaw clenched, his pistol trembling. "So I'm a damn beacon. Great. How do we shut it off?"
"We don't," Mira said, her lenses catching the gate's light. "Not without another shard or a core. We need to find the next gate before it finds us."
The cavern shook, a crystal shard crashing beside them, spraying dust. Lira's cybernetic jaw glinted as she freed herself, her Aether-blade humming. "Varn!" she snarled, standing. "You're not slipping away!"
Toren fired, his Aether-blast forcing Lira back, sparking her blade. "Go!" he roared, covering the team as they sprinted for the east tunnel. Kael grabbed Mira's arm, pulling her along, her steps unsteady but determined. Rhea took point, her knife sparking as she cleared debris, her implants guiding them through the collapsing path.
The tunnel was a maze of jagged rock and rusted pipes, its air cold but heavy with Aether's bite. Kael's wounds slowed him, each step jarring his shoulder, but his shard's hum kept him moving, the void's signal a pull he couldn't ignore. His vision flickered: *a shadow in the void, violet eyes blazing, the woman's voice: The spark resists.* He stumbled, catching himself on a pipe, blood dripping.
"Keep up, Varn!" Rhea called, her grin strained but fierce. "Not carrying your ass out."
Toren caught up, his rifle still aimed back. "Lira's pinned, but she'll dig out. Protocol's got drones incoming. We've got minutes."
The tunnel opened to the Wastelands' surface, a barren expanse under a fractured sky, violet veins pulsing faintly. The gate's hum echoed below, the new signal growing louder, a low roar that vibrated the dust. Kael's shard burned, urging him north, where a faint violet glow marked the horizon. The air stung with ash and rust, the Wastelands' silence broken by distant drone buzzes.
Mira scanned the glow, her lenses flickering. "That's the next gate. Sector eight, maybe. It's active, pulling Aether from the void. We're running out of time."
Kael's pistol felt heavy, his body heavier. "Time for what? Another trap?"
"For answers," Mira said, her voice steady despite the chaos. "The cycle's choosing you, Kael. Your shard's not random. It's a key, like the others were."
Toren's scarred face darkened, his rifle lowering slightly. "She's right. The black-site interrogators knew about your shard. Said it was special. Didn't say why."
Kael's eyes narrowed, suspicion flaring. "And you're just mentioning this now?"
"Didn't trust it," Toren said, his grin gone. "Still don't. But you're glowing like a damn shard yourself. Something's up."
Rhea's implants beeped, catching a signal. "Drones, two klicks out. And that void signal's spiking. Whatever's coming, it's fast."
Kael's shard pulsed, a vision hitting: *a gate of bone and crystal, a shadow stepping through, the woman's voice: The cycle claims.* He gritted his teeth, pain sharpening his focus. "North. We hit the gate before they hit us."
They moved across the Wastelands, dust kicking up under their boots, the violet glow growing brighter. Kael's wounds bled, his steps faltering, but Rhea's arm steadied him, her knife ready. Toren took point, his rifle sweeping the dunes, while Mira kept pace, her eyes fixed on the glow. The gate's hum was a physical weight now, pressing their chests, and the void's signal roared, a voice in Kael's head that wasn't the woman's, sharp and alien: *Spark-bearer.*
A shadow flickered ahead, not the hunter's sleek armor but something larger, moving through the dust. Kael raised his pistol, his shard burning. "Heads up!" he shouted, as a massive figure emerged, its body a patchwork of bone and Aether crystals, violet eyes glowing. Its voice was a low hum, words cutting the air. "The cycle demands the key."
Rhea's knife sparked, her grin reckless. "Another one? Getting old, cycle."
Toren fired, his Aether-blast grazing the figure's chest, sparking crystals. It didn't flinch, its hand raising, Aether coiling into a spear. Kael dove, pulling Mira with him, the spear scorching the ground where they'd stood. His shard surged, kinetic energy flooding his hands, and he unleashed a wave, staggering the figure, but it advanced, its violet eyes locked on him.
Mira shouted, "Kael, your shard! It's resonating with the gate! Disrupt it, like before!"
Kael sprinted for the glow, pain screaming, the figure's Aether spear grazing his back, searing flesh. He reached the gate, a smaller bone arch pulsing with runes, its violet light blinding. His shard burned, and he slammed his fist against it, kinetic energy surging, cracking the runes. The gate roared, Aether recoiling, and the figure staggered, its eyes dimming.
The void's signal spiked, a crack splitting the gate, revealing a star-flecked abyss. Kael's vision overwhelmed him: *the figure falling, a new shadow rising, the woman's voice: The cycle breaks.* The cavern's collapse echoed behind, Lira's enforcers closing in, their shard-weapons glowing. The figure lunged, its Aether spear aimed at Kael's heart, but a violet pulse flared, the hunter's star-shard striking it down, their armor glinting in the dust.
The hunter's eyes met Kael's, their voice urgent. "The cycle's shifting. You've opened the path." Before Kael could respond, the gate's crack widened, a new figure stepping through, its form cloaked in Aether, violet eyes blazing, holding a shard that burned like a star.