The Wastelands' dust swirled around the bone gate, its cracked surface pulsing with violet Aether as the void's star-flecked abyss yawned wider. Kael stood, shard-pistol trembling in his bloodied hand, his chest shard burning with a pulse that rattled his ribs. His wounds bled, shoulder and side screaming, but his eyes locked on the cloaked figure stepping through the gate. Their star-like shard glowed, casting jagged shadows, their violet eyes blazing under a hood etched with Aether runes. Rhea crouched nearby, her shock-knife sparking, thigh and arm bleeding but her grin defiant. Mira leaned against a rock, her cyber-lenses dim, her hands empty without her fried analyzer. Toren held his shard-rifle steady, scars glinting under the gate's light, his gaze flicking between the figure and the hunter. The air was thick with ash and the sharp crackle of Aether, the ground trembling with the void's ancient signal.
The hunter stood where the rune-etched entity had fallen, their black armor scuffed but intact, star-shard glowing faintly. Their violet eyes met Kael's, their voice low and urgent. "The cycle shifts. This one's different." They stepped back, Aether coiling, ready but not attacking. Protocol enforcers' shouts echoed from the collapsing cavern behind, Lira's cybernetic jaw glinting as she rallied her team, their shard-weapons humming.
Kael's shard surged, a vision slamming him: a star-shard splitting the void, the cloaked figure kneeling, a woman's voice whispering, *The cycle binds.* He gasped, pain anchoring him, and raised his pistol. "Who are you?" he growled at the figure, his voice rough with exhaustion.
The figure's hood tilted, their voice a low hum, sharp and alien. "I am the Warden, keeper of the cycle's flame. You bear the spark, but it is not yours to wield." Their star-shard flared, Aether coiling into a spear, its tip crackling with violet sparks.
Rhea spat blood, her knife ready. "Another cycle freak? Get in line, pal."
Mira's voice was tense, her lenses catching the gate's light. "Kael, the Warden's shard is like the hunter's, pre-Fall. It's amplifying the gate's Aether. If we don't stop them, this gate will fully open."
Kael's jaw clenched, his shard syncing with the gate's hum. "Open to what? More of these things?"
"The void's heart," Mira said, her voice shaking. "The cycle's source. It's not just a machine. It's alive."
Toren's rifle shifted, his voice cutting through. "Talk later. Lira's coming, and that Warden's not here for tea."
The Warden raised their spear, Aether surging, and the ground shook, crystals along the gate shattering. Kael fired, the Aether-shot grazing their cloak, sparking runes, but they didn't flinch, their violet eyes fixed on him. The hunter moved, their star-shard flaring, Aether-blade slashing at the Warden. The two clashed, violet energy exploding, sending dust and crystal shards flying.
"Move!" Kael shouted, diving behind a rock as Aether sparks scorched the air. Rhea pulled Mira with her, her knife sparking as she scanned for an exit. Toren fired, his rifle's blasts covering them, but Lira's enforcers burst from the tunnel, their shard-weapons glowing. Lira's blade hummed, her cybernetic jaw glinting as she charged Toren, forcing him back.
Kael's shard burned, another vision hitting: *the Warden at the gate, the void splitting, the woman's voice: The spark fights.* He gritted his teeth, channeling kinetic energy, and unleashed a wave, knocking an enforcer into the gate's base, cracking bone. Pain tore through his side, blood soaking his shirt, but he kept moving, his pistol firing at Lira to draw her off Toren.
The hunter and Warden fought with brutal precision, their Aether-blades clashing in bursts of violet light. The hunter's voice cut through, strained but clear. "Varn, disrupt the gate! Your shard's the key!"
Kael's eyes flicked to the gate, its runes pulsing faster, the void's crack widening. The Warden's star-shard flared, shoving the hunter back, their armor sparking. "The cycle will not break," the Warden said, their spear slashing at Kael. He dove, the Aether grazing his arm, searing flesh, and rolled to his feet, his shard-blade humming.
Rhea lunged, her shock-knife sinking into an enforcer's side, sparks flying as she dropped him. Her leg buckled, blood pooling, but she grinned, jamming Lira's comms with her implants. "Kael, do it! We're running out of time!"
Mira scrambled to the gate, her hands tracing its runes, her lenses analyzing without tech. "Kael, your shard's resonance can destabilize it, like before. But it'll push you to the edge."
Kael's shard screamed, the vision overwhelming: *the gate open, the void's heart pulsing, the woman's voice: The spark chooses.* He sprinted for the gate, pain blinding, and slammed his fist against the bone, his shard's kinetic energy surging. The runes cracked, Aether recoiling, and the gate's hum faltered, the void's crack flickering.
The Warden roared, their star-shard blazing, and hurled their spear at Kael. The hunter tackled him, the spear grazing the hunter's armor, sparking runes. They grunted, shoving Kael toward the gate. "Finish it," they said, their violet eyes fierce but human, not cold.
Kael's shard burned, his body screaming, but he channeled everything, slamming his blade into the gate. The bone shattered, Aether exploding, and the void's crack collapsed, the Warden's form staggering, their violet eyes dimming. The cavern shook, rocks falling, and Lira's enforcers faltered, their weapons sparking out.
The hunter stood, their star-shard dimming, and grabbed Kael's arm. "The cycle's not done. Another gate waits." Before Kael could respond, the ground split, a new Aether surge roaring from below, violet light flooding the Wastelands. The Warden's body dissolved into dust, their star-shard falling, its glow fading.
Rhea dragged Mira back, her knife sparking. "We need to go, now!"
Toren fired at Lira, forcing her to cover, and sprinted to Kael. "Kid, you're a mess. Let's move!"
Kael's vision swam, the woman's voice clear: *The cycle turns.* He grabbed the Warden's fallen star-shard, its weight heavy but cold, and stumbled after the team, the new Aether surge shaking the earth. The hunter followed, their armor battered, their eyes on Kael. "You're the key, Varn. Don't waste it."
As they fled into the Wastelands, the surge's light revealed a massive bone structure rising in the distance, its runes glowing, another gate awakening. A shadow moved within, taller than the Warden, its violet eyes locking onto Kael's shard, its voice a whisper in his mind: Spark-bearer, I come.