The Wastelands' bone gate towered under a fractured sky, its violet Aether runes pulsing like a living pulse, casting eerie shadows across the cracked earth. Kael stood his ground, shard-pistol trembling in his bloodied grip, the Warden's star-shard heavy in his other hand, its hum merging with his chest shard's relentless beat. Blood dripped from his shoulder, chest, and fresh arm wound, pain searing with every breath, but his shard's fire kept him upright, eyes locked on the two shadow entities. The smaller shadow lay crumpled, its Aether cloak dim, but the massive one, its rune-covered body gleaming, advanced, its violet eyes blazing with alien hunger. Rhea fought nearby, her shock-knife sparking, blood dripping from her thigh and shoulder, her implants flickering. Mira crouched behind a boulder, cyber-lenses scanning the gate, her hands empty but mind racing. Toren fired his shard-rifle, his scarred face grim, blasts sparking against the massive shadow's runes. The hunter stood at Kael's side, their black armor scuffed, star-shard glowing, violet eyes flicking between the shadow and the gate. The air was thick with dust and the sharp tang of Aether, the gate's hum shaking the ground like a waking god.
The massive shadow's voice roared, a low rumble that cut the air. "Spark-bearer, the cycle claims you." Its Aether-blade, long as a spear, slashed, violet energy crackling. Kael dove, the blade scorching the earth, and fired his pistol, the Aether-shot grazing the shadow's runes, sparking but not slowing it. His shard surged, a vision hitting: a void of stars, the shadow kneeling, a woman's voice whispering, *The cycle consumes.* He gasped, pain grounding him, the star-shard burning in his hand.
"Keep moving!" the hunter shouted, their star-shard flaring, Aether-blade clashing with the shadow's, violet sparks blinding. Their armor sparked under the shadow's strength, but they held, their voice strained. "Varn, the gate's pulling your shard. Shut it down!"
Rhea's knife slashed an enforcer creeping from the cavern's rubble, her implants jamming their comms. "Kael, do it before we're all shadow food!" Her leg buckled, blood pooling, but she grinned, reckless.
Mira's voice was urgent, her lenses catching the gate's light. "The star-shard's amplifying the gate's resonance. Use it with your shard, Kael, to disrupt the Aether flow. But it'll push you past your limit."
Kael's chest burned, his shard syncing with the gate's hum. "Past my limit? Already there." He sprinted for the gate, pain screaming, the star-shard's weight tugging his arm. Protocol drones buzzed overhead, their Aether-blasts scorching the ground, Lira's voice barking orders from the shadows.
Toren fired, his rifle's blasts forcing the massive shadow back, but its Aether-blade slashed, grazing his arm, drawing blood. "Kid, hurry!" he roared, rolling to cover, his scarred grin fading.
The hunter parried another of the shadow's slashes, their star-shard dimming under the strain. "Varn, now!" they yelled, dodging a blast that cracked their armor, violet eyes fierce but human.
Kael reached the gate, its bone surface warm and pulsing, runes writhing like veins. His shard screamed, another vision hitting: *the gate open, the void's heart pulsing, the woman's voice: The spark breaks.* He slammed the star-shard against the bone, its energy merging with his shard's kinetic surge, cracking the runes. The gate roared, Aether recoiling, violet light flooding the Wastelands, and the massive shadow staggered, its runes dimming.
The smaller shadow stirred, its violet eyes flaring, and lunged, Aether-claws slashing at Kael's back. The hunter tackled it, their blade sinking into its cloak, sparking, but the shadow's claws grazed the hunter's side, drawing a grunt of pain. Kael's shard burned, pain blinding, but he channeled another kinetic wave, shoving the smaller shadow into the gate's base, cracking bone.
Mira shouted, "It's working! The gate's destabilizing!" Her lenses tracked the Aether surge, her voice shaking. "But the void's signal is spiking. Something else is coming!"
The massive shadow recovered, its Aether-blade slashing at Toren, who dove, his rifle sparking out. Rhea's knife flashed, jamming the shadow's movements, but its blade grazed her chest, blood spraying. She cursed, collapsing, her implants flickering. Kael roared, firing his pistol, the Aether-shot clipping the shadow's arm, sparking runes.
Lira emerged from the rubble, her cybernetic jaw glinting, Aether-blade raised. "Varn, the shard!" she snarled, charging. Toren tackled her, their blades clashing, sparks flying, but more enforcers poured in, their shard-weapons glowing.
Kael's vision overwhelmed him: *the void's heart, a shadow rising, the woman's voice: The spark fights.* He slammed the star-shard into the gate again, its energy surging through his shard, cracking the bone further. The gate's hum faltered, the void's crack flickering, but the massive shadow's voice roared, "You cannot stop the cycle!" Its Aether-blade slashed, grazing Kael's chest, searing flesh. He stumbled, blood soaking the dust, the star-shard slipping from his hand.
The hunter grabbed it, their star-shard flaring, and slammed it into the gate, their voice urgent. "Varn, your shard! Together!" Kael nodded, pain blinding, and pressed his chest against the gate, his shard's energy merging with the hunter's. The runes shattered, Aether exploding, and the gate's crack collapsed, the void's hum fading. The massive shadow roared, its form dissolving into violet dust, its runes fading.
The smaller shadow lunged, but the hunter's blade struck true, its body crumbling. The Wastelands shook, the gate's bone arch cracking, violet light dimming. Lira's enforcers faltered, their weapons sparking out, and she retreated, her jaw glinting as she vanished into the dust.
Kael collapsed, blood pooling, his shard's hum weak but steady. Rhea dragged herself up, her grin faint, blood dripping. "Nice work, Varn. Didn't die."
Mira rushed to Kael, her hands checking his wounds. "The gate's down, but the cycle's signal is still out there. The void's heart is waking."
Toren stood, arm bleeding, his rifle slung. "We need to move. Protocol's not done, and that hunter's too cozy for my liking."
The hunter knelt beside Kael, their star-shard dim, their violet eyes softening. "I'm called Sylas," they said, voice low. "Ex-Protocol, like I said. The cycle's not done, Varn. Your shard's the breaker, but the next gate's already rising."
Kael's shard pulsed, a vision lingering: *a new gate, a void of stars, the woman's voice: The cycle waits.* He stood, pain screaming, and met Sylas's eyes. "Where?"
Sylas pointed west, where a faint violet glow pulsed under the fractured sky. "Sector nine. But something's moving faster than us."
The Wastelands trembled, a new Aether surge roaring from the west, deeper, older, its hum shaking Kael's bones. A shadow loomed in the glow, not the massive shadow's form but something vast, its violet eyes endless, its voice a whisper in Kael's mind: *Spark-bearer, the cycle ends with you.*