---
Smoke rolled along the shattered streets. Fire climbed ruined towers. Gunfire echoed through hollow windows. The siege dragged on without pause.
Aurora stood at the front line. She held her spear in both hands. Her armor cracked, stained with soot and dried blood. She planted her feet firm on broken stone. Enemy troops rushed through alleys. She pierced one throat, pivoted, and smashed a second soldier's visor with her elbow. Helmets rang. Bodies fell. She breathed hard once, then advanced again.
Hana moved across rubble with fluid steps. Her blade flashed. She cut through armor plates and joints. She moved without waste. Each strike killed. Each movement saved breath. Sparks lit her path as steel met reinforced gear.
Rhea knelt behind a burned-out vehicle. She steadied her rifle on twisted metal. She fired in measured rhythm. One shot per breath. Each round reached a skull or heart. Shells piled at her feet. She monitored angles. She tracked heat signatures. She kept civilians behind cover.
They held without retreat. Nero and Arin vanished toward command. They had one task. The three here had one mission. Hold. Protect. Kill without pause.
Enemy artillery thumped from distant rooftops. A blast shook the plaza. Dust fell like ash. Aura shields cracked under pressure. Aurora lowered stance and braced, spear grounded in stone. Hana covered Rhea as concrete chunks flew.
Rhea shouted over the roar.
"They move heavy units from the south. We face mechanized suits soon."
Aurora nodded.
"Prepare charge sets."
Hana pointed.
"Rhea, lay three lines. Aurora, cover her flank. I clear rooftops."
No hesitation. Aurora covered. Rhea placed charges in precise arcs. Hana sprinted toward a half-standing building and climbed broken stairs. She reached roof level and threw a knife. The blade buried into a sniper throat. She shot the second sniper point blank with a sidearm.
Below, armored exo-suits marched through smoke. Heavy plates. Hydraulic limbs. Mounted rotary guns. Their presence shook ground. They fired without pause. Bullets punched walls and tore chunks from the plaza.
Aurora raised a barrier of raw Ether. Bullets hit, bent, tore edges, but did not break through. Sweat ran down her face. Muscles strained hard.
Rhea finished the third line.
"Detonate on my mark."
Hana joined them again. She slid across concrete and reached cover beside Aurora.
Exo-suits advanced. Slow, confident, relentless. They aimed, barrels spun fast.
Rhea yelled.
"Now."
She triggered charges. Streets erupted. Fire rose in straight lines, controlled and precise. The suits staggered. Plates melted. Joints fused. Two machines toppled and crashed. A third stayed upright, scorched but active. It fired into smoke.
Aurora stepped toward it. She roared without fear. She hurled her spear with full strength. The spear pierced the chest plate, smashed internal core, and pinned the suit to a wall. Sparks burst. Lights faded.
Hana nodded once.
"Good kill."
Aurora pulled the spear free.
"Keep formation."
They regrouped.
More troops advanced. Drones swarmed from above. Rhea lifted her rifle but paused.
"No signal on mapping. These drones suppress scanning. We lose tracking."
Hana cut another soldier.
"We fight blind then."
Aurora pressed hand to ground. Blue lines pulsed across cracked stone. She forced Ether outward. She sensed movement through vibration.
"Seventeen bodies. Southwest staircase. Fast approach."
Rhea reloaded.
"Two snipers east rooftop."
Hana sprinted without pause. She reached stairwell as soldiers reached the top. She stabbed the first throat, kicked a second chest, and cut down the third. Blood sprayed across concrete. Bodies fell. Steps echoed under boots. She pushed down another level and killed again.
Rhea rotated scope and found snipers. She fired twice. Two helmets snapped back. Silence followed.
Aurora turned her head.
"Keep pressure. Nero returns."
Rhea smirked, tired but sure.
"He better bring a god-head trophy."
Hana called from stairwell.
"He brings victory. We bring survival."
They moved again.
---
Far from the plaza, Nero and Arin advanced through industrial blocks. Bodies smoked along roads. Dominion banners burned. Nero walked with calm precision. Arin followed with controlled rage. Their steps cracked pavement.
Nero spoke without turning.
"Command sits in Three Crown Tower."
Arin twirled his blade once.
"I break doors. You kill king."
"They hold Void anchors," Nero replied. "We neutralize without collapse."
Arin grunted.
"You pull anchor. I crush guard."
Nero stopped once. He looked at Arin.
"You follow order."
Arin stared back.
"I follow truth. You burn brighter now. I match flame."
They continued.
Gunships roared overhead. Missiles locked. Nero flicked two fingers. Missiles swerved upward. They burst in air. Fire rained without aim.
Nero raised a barrier around both.
"We reach tower without delay."
Arin grinned.
"I enjoy direct paths."
They moved with speed.
---
Back at the plaza, tanks rolled in next. Rhea swallowed tight.
"Armored division. Two heavy cannons. Infantry support."
Aurora cracked knuckles.
"We disable treads. Rhea, hit engineers. Hana, go for command unit."
Hana grinned with teeth stained from smoke.
"Already moving."
She darted low, tight, silent. Bullets trailed behind her. None reached skin. She cut two soldiers mid-run, rolled under a turret, and planted charges under tank armor.
Aurora lifted a car frame with Ether and hurled it at the second tank. Metal smashed turret. The tank fired off mark and detonated a side building. Rubble fell in waves.
Rhea fired controlled bursts. She shot engineers and officers first. Then she targeted vision ports. She crippled every approach route.
Charges under first tank exploded. The machine lifted, then slammed down. Flames burst from vents. Infantry scattered.
Aurora marched forward and slammed spear into machine core to finish destruction.
Hana regrouped.
"One phase down."
Rhea exhaled hard.
"Ammo half."
Aurora nodded.
"Hold line. Nero closes net soon."
Distant thunder rolled. Walls shook. Something ancient moved far off.
Rhea glanced toward tower line.
"Feels like doom climbs with him."
Aurora corrected her without hesitation.
"Doom follows enemy. Nero brings ending for them, not us."
Hana cracked neck.
"Hold faith. We live."
Another wave approached. Heavier.
Jets screamed overhead. Anti-Ether artillery appeared on nearby rooftops. War sirens peaked. Dominion commanders barked orders. They wanted collapse. They wanted surrender through terror.
They did not receive it.
Aurora roared and struck the ground. Ether burst outward. Rhea switched to burst mode and shot pilots from cockpits. Hana cut through rocket troops before they pulled triggers.
Bodies fell. More arrived.
Hours passed. They fought without rest. Their limbs shook. Breaths burned lungs. Blood ran down armor plates. Yet none stepped back. Not one inch.
---
At the horizon, a beam of blinding white split clouds. The city froze for one heartbeat.
Then shockwaves rattled windows across fifty blocks.
Aurora whispered without breath.
"He did it."
Hana smirked sharp.
"He killed command."
Rhea leaned against cover for one second, then loaded again.
"We hold until he returns. We do not fall now."
Another army wave formed. Heavier than before. The largest so far. Warriors marched in formation. Drones hovered in hundreds. Tanks lined streets. Snipers settled on high beams.
Aurora raised her spear.
"Positions. Final push."
Hana cracked knuckles.
"Cut everything."
Rhea gripped rifle.
"Survive one more storm."
Wind shifted. Smoke parted.
Footsteps echoed.
Nero walked back into the square. Arin walked beside him. Blood trailed behind them. Lights flickered across ruined streets. Enemy soldiers paused in confusion. The sky dimmed. Air thickened. Power pressed on every chest.
Nero lifted his sword with one hand.
"Your throne burned," he said. "Your crown turned black."
A pulse trembled across ground.
Enemy ranks stepped back.
Aurora planted her spear like a flag.
"Hana. Rhea. Ready."
Hana smiled without fear.
"I missed him."
Rhea steadied aim.
"Let us finish this war."
Nero raised his blade high. Ether surged behind him like a rising tide.
"Advance," he said. "Break them."
They moved together.
They did not hesitate.
They did not doubt.
The battle entered its final stage.