The wind shifted again.
Not the usual, subtle breeze that
rippled through the Trial Realm's fractured terrain. This was wrong — a sudden hush,
as if the very air were bracing itself.
The Vault of Broken Stars trembled.
Runes across the high walls of the
throne chamber dimmed, flickered, then surged bright — a system flare Ashland
had never seen before.
He rose from his meditative stance
instantly.
The system's voice followed a
heartbeat later.
[SYSTEM ALERT – DOMAIN ASSAULT
DETECTED]
External Court: Unregistered
Identity: Masked
Alignment: Fragment Consumption
Intent: Total Dissolution of Local
Authority
Incoming Summons: Six
Court Rank: ???
Realm Stability: Falling
Defensive protocol activated.
Ascension Trials temporarily
suspended.
Prepare for Court-to-Court Conflict.
Ash clenched his fist as violet light
flared across his skin — his Court's sigil reacting automatically. Iriis was
already at his side, helmet on, blade drawn. Xeravon emerged from the Vault's
eastern wing, a low, bone-deep growl vibrating through the floor.
A moment later, Caien entered —
slower, still recovering, but with clear purpose in his gait. His armor had
been repaired, though traces of the corrupted chains still marred the edges.
Behind him, Elya followed, her staff braced in both hands.
She wasn't a fighter yet.
But she wouldn't run again.
"They're here," Ash said.
Iriis nodded. "Not just operatives
this time. An entire enemy Court."
Caien's jaw tightened. "They want to
make a statement."
"Then let's answer it."
The sky tore open just past the ridge
overlooking the Vault's front approach — a shimmering rift of darkness laced
with inverted runes. Where Ash's Gates opened like breathing light, this one bled.
It hissed as it unfurled, spilling corrupted mist onto the cracked ground.
And through it… came their answer.
Six figures stepped out in perfect
formation.
Not summons.
Bonds.
Each one wore half-mask bindings
etched with the same symbol: a reversed spiral inside a cracked sun — the mark
of the Echobinder Faction.
Their leader stood at the center —
tall, draped in ritual-wrapped robes made of broken summons stitched together
like patchwork. He didn't speak.
He simply raised a hand.
And then the world broke.
Ash's Realm trembled as the enemy's
domain flared, trying to overwrite his.
Chunks of the Vault's edges began to
decay, as if the stone no longer remembered what it was supposed to be. Binding
runes shrieked as they twisted into hostile logic, trying to unmake every part
of his Court's structure.
Iriis stepped forward and drove her
blade into the ground.
"We can't hold them off in pieces,"
she said. "This is a full overwrite attempt. A purge."
Ash nodded once.
"Then we do the opposite."
"We push back."
He stepped to the front of his Court,
raised his hand, and activated his Authority.
[COURT ORDER: SUMMON DEPLOYMENT – FULL
FORCE]
Court of Broken Stars: Mobilize
• Iriis – Frontline Engagement
• Xeravon – Midline Intercept &
Area Disruption
• Caien – Flank & Redirect
• Elya – Support / Ritual Lock
Active Skill: Echo Pulse – Stage I
Creates an echo of previous memory
across battlefield. Allies empowered based on last victory.
Engagement begins.
The two Courts collided.
Iriis met the first enemy summon
head-on — a corrupted mirror-beast with blades for limbs and no eyes. Her sword
struck in fluid arcs, cutting faster than vision, teleporting from shadow to
shadow, creating blurs of impact like strokes of calligraphy across the
battlefield.
Xeravon tore through the center of the
field, his roar disrupting enemy formations. His howl nullified their sigils,
staggering them, giving Ash the window to anchor the field with Starbound Ward.
Ash didn't fight with blades.
He fought with decisions.
Every second, he redirected power
through the Court's bond. Issued mental commands. Adapted.
"Iriis, bait the firebound."
"Caien, shift to flank and turn them
into her path."
"Xeravon—cripple the summoner in the
back. Now."
Each order was obeyed instantly.
Because they trusted him.
Because they weren't tools.
They were his Court.
The enemy pushed hard.
They unleashed a corrupted Guardian —
a giant brute forged from four devoured summons, fused into one. It lumbered
toward the Vault walls, hurling bolts of void-stitched energy that warped
reality around them.
Elya's voice rang out across the
battlefield, casting a sealing ward.
"Ash, now!"
Ash summoned every ounce of authority
the Throne had granted him.
[ABILITY UNLOCKED –
Memory Collapse
]
• Collapse corrupted Constructs by
forcibly flooding them with original summon templates.
• Targets will destabilize if their
origins are too fractured to resist.
Cooldown: 2 uses per Realm Phase.
He extended his hand.
"You were never meant to exist."
"So I'll help you remember what you
were."
A flash of violet light.
The giant shrieked — not in rage, but
in confusion.
Its form unraveled — one summon
falling away, then another — until only fragmented ash remained.
One enemy Court member stumbled back,
exposed.
Iriis struck him down in a single
flash of silver-blue fire.
The enemy faltered.
Their domain began to crack.
Ash's Realm roared in answer — the Vault
pulsing with memory resonance, reasserting itself, rejecting corruption,
pushing back the overwrite.
The leader of the enemy Court watched
from the center of the field.
Still silent.
He raised a hand.
A command rune appeared in the air
above him.
And the surviving summons around him self-detonated.
Ash's eyes widened.
"Everyone—scatter!"
The blasts tore through the terrain,
breaking into jagged shards of ruptured memory. The Vault itself withstood the
worst of it — thanks to Elya's last-minute warding sigil — but the field was
scorched.
When the smoke cleared…
The enemy was gone.
Their Gate had vanished.
Only one thing remained.
A message burned into the earth at the
center of the battlefield.
Etched in corrupted glyphs:
"Let this be your invitation."
"The First Fang waits beyond the
Chains."
Ash stared at it.
A warning.
No — a challenge.
[SYSTEM UPDATE – COURT STATUS:
RECOGNIZED]
The Court of Broken Stars has survived
a hostile overwrite attempt.
Your Realm has proven resilient
against external interference.
New Title Gained: The Unbroken Court
Realm Anchor Stability: +12%
Influence: Now expands passively
across adjacent Trial Zones.
Next Objective: Investigate "The
Chains"
Estimated Distance: 3 zones west
Estimated Opposition: Severe
Prepare your Court for war.
Ash turned back toward his companions.
All five stood now, ready.
Not whole.
Not unscarred.
But stronger than ever.
"So," Ash said quietly, "they want us
off the board."
"Let's make them regret not finishing
the job."