In the world of Orion 17, dawn broke not with sunlight, but with energy.
The pale glow of twin moons faded into a sky of indigo streaked with aurora-like veins of crimson. Floating citadels hung motionless above continent-spanning spires, and through them surged the ever-pulsing streams of cosmic energy, known here as "Aether." This world, parallel to Earth in more ways than one, was both beautiful and unforgiving.
And in its heart stood the Aegis Corps.
Orion 17 was a mirror of Earth, down to continents and oceans, cities and roads. But where Earth had physics, Orion had potential. Aether had rewritten the rules long ago. People here could draw from the energy that danced in the skies and seeped through the stones. Some lifted mountains. Others healed with a whisper. And a few… destroyed with a glance.
The Aegis Corps were the protectors. Warriors forged not just in battle, but in principle. In a world teeming with power, they were the blade that cut chaos and the shield that endured its strike.
Among them stood the 10th Division, known simply as Valiant.
Fort Veridion, their base, carved from the obsidian cliffs of the Dreadwall Reach a volatile region rife with spatial instability and anomalous incursions. Here, reality was thin. Creatures born from rips in spacetime called "Anomalies" poured through the veil. It was Valiant's duty to contain, destroy, or repel these threats.
Their motto: Ascend.
Each of the ten Aegis Divisions held unique duties. Some safeguarded cities. Others scouted the stars. But Division 10 was different, they were first response and last defense. The spearhead in every emergency. The flame in the dark.
And atop this elite stood their commander.
Commander Kaien Thorne, known across Orion 17 as the Crimson Apex, was considered the greatest warrior alive, save for the Supreme Commander himself. With eyes that could track anomalies across light-years and a blade that tore through dimensions, Thorne's presence alone turned tides. He'd risen from nothing, shaped by combat and catastrophe, until he stood above all but one.
Inside Fort Veridion's War Room, holographic projections flickered across the air, anomalies blooming in red across the map. The room buzzed with voices, strategy, and purpose.
Echo, Lieutenant of Unit Valiant and Thorne's second-in-command, stood at the table, her arms crossed as data scrolled over her iris implants.
"We've got another breach vector near the Hollow Crescent," she said. "Pattern matches the ones from the Siege of Skarn."
Thorne nodded once, the movement subtle but commanding.
"Deploy Valiant," he said. "And prepare the Null Harnesses. I want this sealed before it grows teeth."
Outside, the alarms began to sound, a deep harmonic resonance that echoed across the cliffs.
And somewhere, far from this world, on a different Earth, Leon Caelum Rivera awoke in his apartment, late for work.
He had no idea that the next train he boarded would be his last on Earth.
Nor that across a mirror of stars, a world was already preparing for his arrival.