Skybound Odyssey – Chapter 30: Ghosts Over Aetherion
High above the world, where clouds turned to crystal and the wind whispered of forgotten gods, floated the shattered sky-archipelago of Aetherion—once the Empire's crown jewel, now reduced to drifting ruins and torn spires hanging in thin air.
The third Citadel key lay hidden somewhere among its broken platforms, shielded by unstable gravity and electromagnetic storms. And unlike Leviathan or Vyrae, this one had a guardian no one expected.
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Aboard the Skywing Falcon – Above the Cloudline
Juno grunted, struggling to keep the Falcon level. "This place is impossible. Up is down, down is sideways, and the damn horizon won't stay put!"
Sena watched the instruments. "The gravity matrix is warped. This isn't natural. It's being maintained. Someone's keeping Aetherion in flux."
Ryo stood by the observation deck, golden eyes fixed on the largest floating island—half a city, half a fortress, and all haunted.
Arashi leaned beside him, arms crossed. "This one feels… wrong. Cold. Even fire doesn't want to touch it."
"It's not the Citadel doing that," Ryo murmured. "It's her."
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The Wraith of Aetherion
They landed cautiously on one of the outer platforms—stone bridges crumbled beneath their boots, and gravity tilted with every step. The very air shimmered with arcane distortion.
In the distance, a figure floated above the broken city. A pale girl in a tattered Empire flight suit, her eyes hollow and glowing white, her hair trailing like smoke.
Sena gasped. "That's impossible… She's supposed to be dead."
Lyra's jaw clenched. "That's Riva Kael. One of the original Empire Citadel pilots."
"She died during the failed sync with Aetherion Core."
Arashi narrowed her eyes. "Then what's she doing floating?"
Ryo stepped forward. His voice was quiet. "She didn't die. She became part of it."
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The Battle for the Sky Throne
> "Subject Zero," the wraith called in a cold, echoing voice.
"You brought chaos to Nexus. Desecration to Leviathan. Blasphemy to Vyrae."
She lifted her arm. The air distorted. Metal floated upward. Lightning flickered in reverse.
> "You are not worthy of the sky."
And then—gravity shattered.
Chunks of land flipped upside-down. Winds blew in spiral columns. The Falcon was flung sideways into the clouds. The crew clung to whatever they could.
Ryo flew.
Not fell. Flew—caught in the pulse of Aetherion's heart.
The Throne was high above the city, suspended in a gravity cage of floating glass. Riva floated before it, eyes glowing brighter.
> "To claim Aetherion," she whispered, "you must survive the Fall."
She raised her hand—
And everything dropped.
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The Fall
Ryo plummeted through the broken ruins of Aetherion—dodging collapsing towers, spiraling through reverse-gravity zones, narrowly avoiding getting flattened by debris.
But his focus never left the throne above.
> I've fallen before, he thought. But this time, I fall on my own terms.
He twisted in mid-air, throwing stormlight beneath him. He caught a beam, launched himself up—and again, and again—rising like a lightning bolt in reverse.
Riva screamed. Aetherion's fragments bent inward, trying to stop him.
But then—a voice.
> "Ryo!"
It was Arashi. She rode a molten wyvern born from Vyrae's Titan core, blasting through the chaos.
She threw him something—
A crystal. Leviathan's secondary sync node.
Ryo grabbed it.
Lightning + Flame.
He soared past Riva—straight into the throne.
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Aetherion Throne – Core Override
> "Stormheart Signature Confirmed."
"Third Sync Link Stabilized."
Light exploded. Gravity stilled. The shattered sky islands stopped moving.
Riva shrieked as her body cracked with white light. "I was chosen! I was the sky!"
And she vanished—leaving only silence and a falling feather of silver.
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Later, on the deck of the Falcon
Sena checked her readout. "Three Citadels secured. Three remain."
Lyra nodded. "But whoever's behind this—whoever's sending the Revenants—they're preparing something big."
Ryo opened his hand. The Aetherion key now pulsed with the rhythm of the sky.
He looked ahead, toward the eastern ocean.
> "Next is Solarius."
"And it won't wait for us."
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Far across the world…
A new Citadel began to rise.
Not from beneath the ground.
But from the heart of the sunken ruins of a starship.
> CITADEL FOUR: SOLARIUS – WAKING.
And someone was already inside.
A shadow in a cloak watched as flames burst from the waters.
"Soon, Stormheart. Let's see how well lightning fares against the sun."