The Emberwing soared high above the calm skies. But ahead, dark clouds swirled like a giant mouth waiting to swallow them.
Kael gripped the controls. "We're heading into the Shattered Belt."
Lightning danced through the clouds. Wind howled louder the closer they got. Rain began to beat the wings like fists.
Lira checked the energy scanner. "We're close. The signal is strong."
The moment they crossed the storm wall, everything changed.
BOOM! A bolt of lightning cracked beside them.
The ship shook violently. Alarms blared.
Kael yelled, "Hold on!"
Wind tore at the wings. Turbulence threw them sideways. The world outside turned grey and wild. They were flying blind.
But Kael stayed calm. His hands steady on the wheel.
The compass Mira gave him floated in the air, spinning wildly… then stopped. It pointed down.
"Below us!" Kael shouted.
Lira checked the scanner. "A reading! Massive energy—beneath the clouds!"
They dove lower, punching through lightning and mist. Below the clouds, a hidden island appeared—torn rocks, broken towers, and a giant crashed skyship.
They landed roughly, bouncing across the wet stone. The engines hissed. The storm didn't let up.
They stepped outside, soaked instantly.
"This must be the Skygrave," Lira whispered. "An old warship graveyard."
They moved cautiously through the wreckage. Broken wings, rusted cannons, shattered glass… and then—
A strange hum.
The sound led them to the heart of a sunken warship. Inside, half-buried in cables and metal, was the third Skycore—green and glowing, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Kael reached out slowly.
Just as his hand touched it—
"You shouldn't be here."
A voice echoed behind them.
Kael spun around.
There stood a man in black armor, soaked by rain, his face hidden under a hood.
But Kael recognized the voice.
"...Ryen?"
The man lowered his hood.
Kael's breath caught. "You're alive."
Ryen's eyes were cold. "I was. Until I saw what the cores can do."
He raised a weapon—one that glowed with the same power as the cores.
"Leave it," Ryen warned. "Or I'll take it from your bones."