The hover bikes roared across the shattered plains, their engines screaming against the scarlet wind that tore through the canyon ridges. Dust plumed in golden sheets as Seraphine's team advanced, every hum of the turbines synced with the pounding of her heart.
The battle before this one had been too easy. The silence that followed victory was not relief — it was a warning. Somewhere beyond that horizon, danger pulsed like a stormcloud waiting to break.
"Lady Seraphine, I'm reading multiple life signals thirty kilometers from your location," Vrenn's voice crackled through the comms. "Could be an ambush."
Seraphine's fingers tightened around the handle of her blade. Of course it is.
"Alright, team," she replied, her tone sharp but calm. "Prepare for a fight. We're still a distance from our destination. Eyes up."
The hover bikes slowed, descending toward a ruined stretch of earth dotted with abandoned buildings and flickering void lanterns. It was there — just ahead — that the chanting began.
Low, guttural voices. Dozens at first. Then hundreds.
From the fog ahead emerged a wall of cultists, dressed in their black cloaks, their masks carved with spirals made them appear menacing. Energy radiated from their bodies, pulsing crimson with every chant.
"Damn zealots," Jirru muttered, cracking his neck. "Always think dying for someone else's dream is a noble cause."
Seraphine's eyes narrowed. "Then let's show them what happens when they mess with us."
She stepped forward, her sword humming with celestial light.
"Celestial Vein: Orbital Bloom."
The air ignited.
From her shoulder, radiant spheres of starlight spiraled outward, each one leaving a comet trail in its wake. They arced like petals in a blooming flower — and the moment they touched the ground, everything within their radius disintegrated.
A wave of white energy ripped through the cultist ranks. Dust, flame, and bodies were hurled into the air. The earth itself cracked beneath her feet.
"Lady Seraphine, I'll provide heavy support!" Jirru's voice thundered through the comms.
He activated his Spirit Vault (a type of dimensional storage big enough to hold weapons like a mech), and with a shimmer of runic light, a towering mech burst into reality — a hulking mass of iron and obsidian plates, glowing with void energy. The mech's arms unfolded, revealing twin Void Repeaters, each barrel spinning with a shrieking metallic whine.
"Let's get messy."
He unleashed a storm of bullets, each shot trailing purple graviton residue. Cultists exploded into motes of ash, their bodies too weak to withstand the pressure.
But even as Seraphine's starlight tore the battlefield apart, something — someone — stood unmoved in the storm.
A single figure remained standing at the far end of the carnage.
Her latest wave of light struck him head-on — and shattered.
The man raised his hand, his skin pale as marble but fractured like a statue after war. The radiant energy dispersed into harmless sparks.
Seraphine's stomach dropped.
"Impossible..."
The stranger slowly lowered his hand, the crimson glow under his cracked flesh pulsing rhythmically like a heartbeat. His voice was gravel—rough, uncaring.
"Lady Seraphine, I presume."
He reached up, removed his bone-white mask, and let it drop to the ground. Beneath it, his orange eyes burned like molten glass.
"Arretel Zahn, " she whispered.
Her sword gleamed as she pointed it at him. "You're supposed to be locked in the Max Void. What are you doing on this planet?"
Arretel smirked, revealing faint cracks running across his lips. "These cultists hired me. Security detail, you could say. Can't say no when the pay's good, although they are a bit insane."
"You should have stayed caged," she said, stance shifting. "Since you are here, might as well just rid the world of you."
The ground trembled as Arretel rolled his neck, the red light in his veins intensifying.
"Cute. Let us see if the little noble, knows how to fight."
His hand pressed against the dirt.
Flame Art: Molten Cradle
The ground exploded.
Lava burst upward in spiraling tendrils, each one alive with crimson flame. Seraphine leaped back, her boots skidding across the molten ground as heat seared the air. She slashed downward — her sword cutting a crescent through the magma wave, splitting it apart in a blinding flash.
She countered instantly.
"Celestial Vein: Starfall Arc!"
Bolts of radiant energy rained from above, piercing through Arretel's molten armor. He grunted, unphased, and slammed his palm into the ground again — molten rock flowed over his skin like armor, crystallizing into jagged scales.
He was stronger than the reports. Much stronger.
For a moment, Seraphine's mind split between instinct and calculation. Every swing he made tested not just her blade but her resolve — his power pressed down on her like the weight of a starship.
Seraphine gritted her teeth. Mid-Star Vein Realm, my ass. He's already near the late stage.
"Team," she barked through comms, "Arretel Zahn is here. I'll handle him. You deal with the rest."
"Understood!" Jirru's voice came through, his mech shifting into siege mode.
"Be careful, Lady Seraphine!"
The rest of the team echoed back — a mixture of faith and fear.
But Seraphine barely heard them. Her focus tunneled entirely on Arretel.
She surged forward.
Their blades collided — steel against molten stone. The impact sent a shockwave through the air, scattering dust and embers.
Arretel's strength was monstrous. Every swing of his blade felt like colliding with an avalanche. His movements were slow but unyielding — each one heavy enough to shatter mountains.
Seraphine danced around him, her strikes fast and precise. Every cut she landed sent bursts of celestial light across his armor — but the cracks mended instantly, molten energy flowing like blood beneath the surface.
'If I misstep once, I'll be buried here.' She thought.
But beneath the fear was something sharper — the familiar thrill of standing on the edge of her limits.
He caught her sword in his bare hand, sparks flying. "You've got heart. Shame you're fighting for a lost cause."
She smirked. "So are you."
Her eyes flared.
"Celestial Vein: Astral Reversal!"
A sigil ignited beneath their feet. Arretel's molten armor was ripped apart by gravitational pull — light bending inward before detonating outward like a collapsing star. He was hurled backward, slamming into the canyon wall hard enough to fracture it.
When the dust cleared, he was laughing.
"I like you," he said, rising to his feet, molten blood dripping from his lips. "You hit harder than the last dozen bounty hunters I crushed."
He clapped his hands together, and the ground answered his call.
"Flame Art Obsidian Heartburst!"
The battlefield darkened. The earth convulsed, erupting in black crystal spikes that fired toward Seraphine like spears. She deflected one, shattered another, then leaped high — spinning midair as her sword ignited with starlight.
The two forces collided again, their power painting the sky in blue and red fire.
The clash of light and magma split the horizon — one side radiating celestial calm, the other burning with hellish fury.
For a moment, time itself seemed to hold its breath.
Then came the shockwave.
A blinding explosion tore across the canyon, flattening everything in its path. Even Jirru's mech struggled to stay upright. The rest of Seraphine's team stood with their shields up gritting their teeth. Veyra, the scout, couldn't withstand the brunt of the shock wave and was almost vaporised along with the cultists.
When the light faded, both warriors stood opposite each other, breathing heavily. The cultists were gone — vaporized by the sheer magnitude of their battle.
Arretel smirked, blood dripping from his chin. "You're not half bad, Lady Seraphine."
"Neither are you," she said, raising her blade again, her aura flaring like a sunrise. "But this is where you fall."
They charged once more — and the world exploded into light.