The battlefield was silent except for the hum of cooling metal and the faint, broken rhythm of a dying heartbeat.
The Scourged camp—once a patchwork sanctuary of welded ships and forgotten dreams—lay in ruin. Fractured hulls floated weightless, ash drifting like gray snow.
Ryu knelt beside Zha'Kor, his hands trembling as he tried to ignite small healing flames along the massive being's body. "Come on, big guy. Stay with me. You're not done yet."
Zha'Kor's breathing came in ragged pulls. "Fire… won't help… flameborn…" he rasped, blood turning to shimmering light at the edges of his wounds.
Vaelyra clung to her father's shoulder, her sobs breaking through the static stillness. "Please don't go, papa…"
Rha'vess and the remaining Scourged and Choir circled them in heavy silence—some kneeling, others watching with wide, hollow eyes.
That was when Luto and Onyx arrived through the drifting haze, their steps echoing faintly against the hollow deck.
"Ryu," Luto called out, voice steady but grim.
Ryu turned, his eyes blazing. "He's fading fast! I'm taking him down to Saelara before it's too late!"
"No," Luto said immediately.
Ryu blinked, anger flashing. "What do you mean no? She's the only one who can—"
"He won't survive re-entry," Luto cut in. "Rha'vess told us—the Scourged can't withstand the orbital heat. Their bodies fracture under the friction."
Ryu froze. His flames dimmed. He looked down at Zha'Kor—skin cracking, steam hissing faintly from the wounds that should've been healing. "So what then?"
Luto's eyes flicked across the wreckage, scanning. His mind moved faster than his words. "We don't move him through the heat."
He pointed upward, toward the drifting remains of ships caught in the belt's lazy rotation. "We build a portal here. A stable one—anchored with the debris and reinforced through spatial binding."
Onyx crossed his arms, brow raised. "You're going to build a portal out of scrap metal?"
Luto smirked faintly. "I've built worse out of less."
Even through his panic, Ryu's lips twitched into a grin. "So you're saying we're doing this the classic way."
"Exactly," Luto replied. "I just need power and precision." He looked to each brother in turn. "Ryu, I'll need you to start moving debris—intact panels, energy cores, anything with a stable composition. We'll use them as frame anchors."
Ryu nodded, fire flaring around his fists as he leapt into motion, dragging chunks of wreckage from the field.
Luto then turned to Onyx. "And you—I'll need your void energy to keep Zha'Kor alive until I can open the gate. Your resonance is closer to his. If you can stabilize the energy around his chest cavity, it'll buy us time."
Onyx knelt beside the fallen Scourged leader, Varkal'Zir glowing faintly as he placed one palm over Zha'Kor's stump. "I can hold him together. But not for long."
"Good," Luto said, already kneeling to begin inscribing geometric glyphs into the scorched plating beneath them. Blue light traced across his fingertips as he spoke aloud—half to himself, half to the brothers. "We'll make a short-range bridge straight to the planet's surface. Gravity-fed descent, one-way transport."
Ryu hovered nearby, panting as he dropped another slab of ship metal beside him. "One-way?"
Luto smirked. "Let's just say I'm confident we won't need a round trip."
Ryu exhaled, grinning despite the tension. "You've really lost it this time, genius."
Onyx's voice rumbled quietly, steady beneath the chaos. "He's been lost since birth."
The brothers fell into rhythm—the unspoken sync they'd always shared. Ryu hauled debris and energy cores into orbiting positions while Onyx channeled controlled streams of void energy through his fingertips, sealing cracks in Zha'Kor's body as light bled from the wounds. Luto's glyphs expanded across the wreckage, their lines intertwining into something alive, humming with dimensional resonance.
For a moment, amid the ruin and silence, there was motion again.
Purpose.
Luto straightened, sweat beading his forehead, and looked to Onyx and Ryu. "Alright," he said, voice firm. "On my mark, we stabilize the gate and push him through. This has to work."
Ryu's flames flared brighter. "It will."
Onyx nodded, his expression unreadable. "It has to."
And as Luto's hands rose, threads of light spiraling between them, the debris around them began to glow—pieces of lost ships aligning like constellations, forming the first shimmer of a makeshift portal, born from desperation, genius, and brotherhood.
The Scourged watched in silence, their dying world flickering to life once more.
⸻
The Open in Space
The hum of the forming gate deepened, resonating through the ruins like the heartbeat of a dying star. Luto stood at the center of the glowing web, sweat dripping from his brow as tendrils of light wrapped around fragments of ship hulls and twisted them into orbit.
"Hold those steady!" he barked, his voice echoing through the chamber of floating debris. "These alloys are unstable—if they shift, we'll have a supernova instead of a bridge."
Ryu steadied one of the glowing frames with fiery palms, gritting his teeth. "You're sure this'll hold?"
"Of course," Luto said without looking up. "I'm using my backup plan."
Onyx frowned. "You have a backup plan?"
"I do now."
The brothers exchanged a glance, both equally uneasy.
As Luto began weaving strands of cosmic energy through the metallic lattice, Ryu felt a tug on his arm. Vaelyra stood beside him, her small hands trembling as she looked from her father's unconscious form to the swirling gate behind them.
"Is he going to be okay?" she asked softly, her voice nearly lost in the hum of energy.
Ryu knelt, his usual grin replaced by something gentler. "Yeah. He's tough. You saw him take those hits, right?"
Vaelyra sniffled. "But he's never looked this tired before."
Ryu hesitated, his throat tightening. He reached out and brushed the back of his fingers against her hair, the faint glow of his flames reflecting in her wide eyes. "Then we'll just make sure he gets to rest. You've done your part, kid. Now it's our turn."
"Alright—listen carefully!" Luto shouted over the hum of gathering power. "We're not just saving your commander. We're taking everyone through."
The Scourged froze.
Rha'vess blinked. "Everyone?"
Luto didn't even look up from his work. "Yes, everyone. You're all getting off this orbital deathtrap before something else explodes."
One of the older Scourged stammered, disbelief cracking through his voice. "We… we haven't left the Belt in sixty years."
"Yeah," Luto said dryly, "and your vacation's long overdue."
The camp erupted in murmurs—fear, hope, confusion. Even the hardened Choir soldiers looked uncertain, their eyes flicking between the brothers and the swirling formation of light and metal beginning to stabilize overhead.
Ryu crouched with Vaelyra as she clutched her father's shoulder. "Hey," he said softly, "your dad's about to get a ticket home. You too, alright?"
Vaelyra's eyes widened. "Home…?"
Ryu smiled. "Yeah. Not the Belt. Not this graveyard. A real sky, real wind. You'll see it soon."
Her lips trembled as she tried to smile back. "Will he wake up there?"
Ryu hesitated, then brushed her hair aside. "He will."
"Now, normally," Luto said, "I'd use Nulvyr to slice open a stable fold. But seeing as that last explosion might've destabilized its conduit…"
Both Ryu and Onyx froze mid-motion.
Ryu frowned. "Wait—what explosion?"
Luto blinked innocently. "The one I redirected."
Luto's expression twisted. "That was YOUR fault, jackass?!"
Onyx slowly turned, eyebrow raised. "Redirected where, exactly?"
Luto snapped his fingers. "See, that's the fun part—"
Ryu groaned. "Oh, this is gonna be bad."
"One," Luto began, counting on his fingers, "it ruptured safely inside the dimensional pocket—meaning it's just floating in a void bubble somewhere, harmless. Probably."
"Probably?" Onyx muttered.
"Two," Luto continued, "it reached the coordinates I may or may not have used… for the Riven Dimension."
Ryu's eyes widened. "You sent an explosion to the Riven Dimension?"
"Or what's left of it," Luto corrected. "Semantics."
Onyx exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And the third option?"
Luto grinned. "It's gone. Vanished into nothing. Which, frankly, would be the ideal outcome—but let's not get our hopes up."
Ryu groaned, looking at Onyx. "You sure we're related to him?"
Onyx shrugged. "At this point, I've stopped questioning the family tree. But to be fair, you were the one holding a bomb big enough to vaporize a small planet."
Ryu snapped his head toward him, offended. "That was Aurelian's fault!"
Luto smirked without missing a beat. "Thankyou. Finally, someone said it."
Ryu pointed at him immediately. "That wasn't a compliment!"
Luto just grinned wider. "Still taking it as one."
He clapped his hands, refocusing. "Anyway—this kind of short-range gate works best with strong memory anchoring. Luckily, I have a vivid image of our base that lovely field Saelara was standing in. So—good news, we're covered."
He inhaled deeply and raised both hands. The metal shards pulsed brighter, aligning in concentric rings. Sparks of gold, violet, and deep blue twisted together as the air shimmered, space itself bending inward until a tear of pure light formed before them.
"Alright, everyone!" Luto shouted over the roar of the forming rift. "We don't have much time to pack—" He looked around at the devastated ruins and smirked. "But there's not much to pack anyway."
Rha'vess stepped forward, his voice trembling. "You mean… you can really take us back?"
Luto nodded. "That's the plan."
For a long, fragile moment, the Scourged said nothing. Then one of them—an elderly woman with crystalline veins running through her arms—let out a sob, falling to her knees. Another dropped beside her. Then another. The sound spread through the ranks like a wave of disbelief breaking into joy.
Some wept openly. Others stared, shaking, at the glowing portal taking shape above them.
For the first time in decades, the exiled and mutated children of the Belt could see home—not as a memory, but as light.
"Alright," Luto said, his voice gentler now, though still laced with exhaustion. "Get ready to move. We'll send your commander through first."
Onyx nodded, channeling concentrated void energy to reinforce Zha'Kor's failing body. "He's holding steady."
"Good," Luto said. "Let's give him back his sky."
Rha'Vess and another member of the choir lifted Zha'Kor's massive form together—one of flame, the other of void—while Luto stabilized the frame. With a surge of synchronized energy, they carried the Scourged lord toward the gate.
The portal flared brighter as Zha'Kor passed through, vanishing into a radiant current. The others followed, one by one—the Choir, the survivors, the broken, the hopeful.
As Vaelyra approached, she looked back at Ryu, eyes shimmering. "Are you coming too?"
Ryu smiled, flicking her forehead lightly. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
When the last of the Scourged crossed the threshold, Luto called out over the roaring wind: "Alright, brothers—time to go before this thing collapses!"
Onyx grabbed Ryu's shoulder. "After you."
"Please," Ryu said, grinning. "You first, void boy."
"Both of you," Luto snapped, "move now!"
The three brothers leapt through the rift together—the Architect, the Reforged Blade, and the Crownless Flame—vanishing into the blinding glow as the Belt began to faded behind them.
⸻
On the planet's surface
Saelara shielded her eyes as the sky split open.
A shimmering tear in space descended like a beacon, expanding over the plains. The air howled, rippling with heat and light, before stabilizing into a gateway of gold and violet flame.
From it poured the impossible.
Dozens of figures—Scourged survivors—fell to their knees upon real soil for the first time in sixty years.
And then came the last: Zha'Kor, carried gently by unseen energy, his arm still missing but his heartbeat faint and steady.
Doruun's eyes glowed faintly as he lowered his massive head, a rumbling sound deep in his chest that almost resembled a laugh.
Then—three silhouettes emerged from the fading light, landing on the grass in perfect sync. Ryu. Onyx. Luto.
Luto adjusted his jacket, dusting himself off. "And that, gentlemen," he said with a breathless grin, "is how you relocate a civilization before breakfast."
Ryu groaned, collapsing backward onto the grass. "You're never talking me into one of your again."
Onyx smirked. "He will. Because it works."
Luto only smiled faintly, watching Saelara rush to Zha'Kor's side. "Yeah," he murmured. "It worked."
The portal pulsed one final time, then sealed behind them with a quiet, celestial hum—leaving only the scent of ozone and the echo of light.
For the first time since the Scourged's creation, they were home.
⸻
Beneath a New Sky
The plains were quiet now.
Only the soft hiss of healing energy and the low hum of wind remained.
Saelara knelt beside Zha'Kor's motionless body, deep green script flickering across her arms as she worked. The faint glow reflected in her eyes—focused, unwavering. Ryu hovered close, his hands restless. Onyx stood farther back, arms crossed, while Luto leaned against a broken pillar, silent for once.
"Who exactly are these beings you brought down from orbit?" Saelara finally asked, her voice measured but curious.
Ryu blinked. "You're healing one of them, and you're mad at us for the surprise guests?"
Saelara's glare could've killed a lesser man.
"I'm not mad," she said sharply. "I'm trying to assess the situation before half the valley collapses from stress."
Before Ryu could respond, a muffled cry rose from behind them. One of the Scourged collapsed to the ground—then another, and another. Panic rippled through the survivors.
"Saelara!" Ryu shouted, spinning toward her.
"I know," she said, already scanning their vitals through shimmering sigils. "It's what I feared. Their bodies are readjusting—oxygen shock. They've lived off almost nothing for decades."
Ryu knelt beside Vaelyra as she swayed on her feet, her eyes glassy. "Hey, hey—look at me. Deep breaths, kid. You're fine."
Vaelyra tried to speak, but her hearing wavered. The world dulled. Ryu's lips moved—panicked, urgent—but she couldn't make out the words. Everything faded into static and shadow.
Then she fell.
⸻
The next day
The sharp clang of metal echoed through the dawn.
Zha'Kor stirred, blinking against the light streaming through the open walls of a structure he didn't recognize. He tried to move—and froze.
His arm.
It was whole again.
He flexed the fingers slowly, disbelief shaking his chest. I cut this off… I remember the pain…
Then memory surged.
Vaelyra. The blast. The human of flame. His wife's last words before the mutation.
"Vaelyra…" he rasped, stumbling to his feet. His voice was rough, lungs still adjusting to the thicker air. He coughed, steadying himself against the doorway before forcing his way outside.
The sight that greeted him brought him to his knees.
Across the plains, his people—once doomed to drift among the wreckage of the Belt—were walking, breathing, alive. The sun's red twilight painted their crystalline skin in gold. And above them, hovering debris had been reforged into the skeleton of a colossal vessel.
The ship gleamed under dawnlight, sections shifting as invisible hands guided them into place.
And just beyond it—he saw her.
Vaelyra, standing beside Ryu, laughing softly as sparks of flame danced from his fingertips.
"Vaelyra!"
Her head snapped toward the voice. The moment she saw him, her eyes widened—and then she ran.
Zha'Kor fell to one knee as she collided with him, her small arms wrapping around his chest. "You're awake!" she cried, tears mixing with the dust on her face.
He held her tightly, trembling. "I thought I lost you."
Ryu grinned from a few steps away. "You two sure know how to make dramatic reunions look good."
Zha'Kor looked up at him. "Where… are we?"
Ryu smiled faintly. "Look up."
Zha'Kor did—and the breath left his chest.
The Belt hung fractured above them, a massive rift splitting its once-endless loop. Between its broken arcs gleamed open space. Sky.
"The planet…" he whispered.
Vaelyra nodded, smiling through tears. "We're home, Daddy."
Zha'Kor sank to his knees again, overcome. Around them, the Scourged looked up at the open sky for the first time in sixty years.
⸻
A short distance away, Luto stood near the glowing ship frame, sweat streaking his brow. Pieces of hull drifted in synchronized formation, each guided by precise bands of energy.
He looked over his shoulder as Ryu and Onyx approached.
"Good timing," Luto said. "I need an energy boost before I collapse."
Ryu raised an eyebrow. "You building an ark or a fortress?"
"Yes," Luto replied simply, already holding out his hand.
Ryu sighed, placing his pinky and index fingers against Luto's. Flames met electricity, crackling through the framework as the ship's skeleton expanded.
"So why the rush?" Ryu asked.
Luto didn't look up. "Because your 'little morning spar' with Onyx last time nearly got us killed. Aurelian found us once. That means others might too. We're not staying still long enough for a second ambush."
Onyx crossed his arms. "He's right. We move soon."
Saelara approached from the other side of the camp, nodding in agreement. "Your brother may be a madman, but at least he's a practical one."
Vaelyra frowned softly. "You're… leaving?"
Ryu knelt beside her, smiling. "Not forever. You've got your people back. We've got our mission. Just means we'll meet again with better stories."
Zha'Kor stepped forward, still unsteady. "I have no words… to thank you."
Ryu waved him off with a laugh. "Then don't. We're friends now. That's what matters."
Zha'Kor blinked, momentarily stunned. No one had ever called him friend.
Luto interrupted the silence, already re-focusing on his work. "Alright, energy bank," he said to Ryu, "keep that flow steady. If you pass out, Saelara can patch you up."
Ryu groaned. "I hate you."
"Mutual," Luto replied, smirking.
Onyx turned away, shaking his head. "I'll hunt. We'll need food before departure."
"Finally!" Ryu brightened. "Something to punch that isn't metal."
Luto didn't even look up. "You're not going. You're my battery until this ship's done."
Ryu's jaw dropped. "What am I, a portable generator?"
"Yes," Luto said. "A charming, unreliable one."
Saelara chuckled under her breath as Ryu groaned again and flopped onto a nearby crate, muttering something about "tyrannical engineers."
And above them, the unfinished ship continued to take shape—its frame reflecting in the fractured light of the Belt's broken ring.
A new beginning was being forged from the ashes of the old.
The storm had passed.
But the journey was far from over.