Scene One – Fire Over the Sky
The air still carried laughter. Music from the wedding reception drifted through the gardens, a soft melody of strings and drums, mingling with the scent of roses and fresh bread. Cecelia's veil fluttered as she laughed at something Katherine whispered, her cheeks flushed with joy. Caleb hadn't let go of her hand since the vows, his thumb brushing the new ring as though he was afraid she might vanish if he blinked.
It should have been a night written in memory forever.
And it was—though not in the way any of them expected.
The moment came as Cecelia turned, bouquet of wildflowers in her hand, preparing to toss it toward the waiting cluster of women. Lyra stood near the front, her grin wide, Katherine at her side. Even Eleanor, Katherine's mother, laughed softly, nudging her daughter forward as if teasing her to catch it.
The bouquet rose into the air—
—and then the sky tore open.
A searing beam of crimson light lanced downward, vaporizing the wedding cake in a hiss of fire and sugar. The table exploded into splinters, flames licking at the decorations. Gasps turned to screams as the guests recoiled, stumbling back. The bouquet fell forgotten into the dirt.
"Down!" Jeremiah's voice thundered across the courtyard. He grabbed Katherine, pulling her low as another beam scorched past, blasting apart the wine barrels. The explosion rattled the ground beneath their feet.
Caleb's head snapped up. His warrior instincts, dulled for months, roared back to life in an instant. Above, the night sky swarmed with black, jagged silhouettes—airships. Not human-made, but alien. Obsidian crafts. Their hulls gleamed like obsidian stone under the moonlight, lined with glowing crimson energy.
"No," Cecelia whispered, her voice breaking. "Not tonight."
But the invasion had begun.
The largest vessel hovered at the center of the formation, its cannons glowing brighter. Around it, smaller strike ships spiraled outward, raining beams into the city beyond. The distant skyline lit up with explosions. Towers crumbled. Screams echoed from the streets. The world they knew was shattering in real time.
Jax drew his twin blades with a sharp metallic hiss. "So much for a wedding reception." His eyes flicked to Caleb. "You armed?"
Caleb clenched his fists. "Not enough. But I'll manage." His heart pounded—not for himself, but for Cecelia. For all of them. This was no random raid. This was war.
Haruto bolted from the reception tent, already shouting orders. "Get the civilians underground! Guild recruits, defensive positions! Move, now!" His calm cracked into urgency as another blast struck the courtyard wall, showering sparks and stone.
Katherine rose to her feet, her power crackling at her fingertips, eyes locked on the ships. "This is it. The battle Broadman always warned us about." She turned to Jeremiah, breath ragged. "We fight, or we die."
Jeremiah's jaw tightened. He touched her shoulder, steadying her. "Then we fight together."
Above them, the airships shifted, their cannons aligning as though marking targets. The largest beam began to charge, its glow flooding the sky in crimson light.
"Scatter!" Leo shouted, sparks of lightning already jumping across his hands. "It's targeting us!"
The beam roared down.
The ground shook, the courtyard erupting as stone shattered and heat seared the air. Katherine threw up a barrier of raw energy, the force slamming her to her knees. Jeremiah dropped beside her, hands glowing as he reinforced her shield, sweat pouring down his temple. The blast hit like a hammer—then split, searing in all directions.
Guests screamed, sprinting toward the Guild's underground passage as Jax and Haruto herded them. Caleb grabbed Cecelia, pulling her against his chest, shielding her from falling debris. His eyes darted to Katherine's barrier. "They won't hold that long!"
"Then we take the fight to them!" Lyra's voice rang out. She was already moving, blade drawn, aura blazing around her like fire. "We're not sitting ducks!"
Leo ran to her side, lightning coursing down his arms. "Let's give them a welcome they'll regret."
The Guild members gathered, instincts overtaking fear. They were no longer wedding guests. They were soldiers. Defenders.
Above them, the fleet descended lower, like predators circling prey. Dozens of Obsidian Sentinels leapt from the ships, armored in black, weapons glowing red. They landed hard in the gardens, crushing tables and tearing through flowers, their helmets reflecting the chaos.
"Enemy ground forces!" Haruto roared.
The Sentinels charged.
Jax met the first wave, blades flashing, cutting through armor in a spray of sparks. Lyra struck next, her power slicing like light itself, carving through the black forms with ferocity. Lightning ripped the air as Leo hurled bolts into their ranks, bodies convulsing as they fell.
Katherine pushed forward, energy flaring from her palms, blasting back groups at once. Jeremiah followed close, staff sweeping, healing light flowing into allies mid-strike, restoring strength as fast as it was lost.
Caleb released Cecelia reluctantly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Stay back. Please." His eyes burned with resolve as he seized a fallen weapon from the ground, its Obsidian edge gleaming. "I won't let them take this from us."
Cecelia, trembling, nodded and backed toward Eleanor, who was already shielding the retreating civilians with surprising courage.
Explosions thundered in every direction. The garden was no longer a place of joy but a battlefield drenched in firelight and blood.
Through it all, Caleb felt something shift inside him. This was not a fight for survival alone. This was for Cecelia, for Katherine, for every person behind him. His wedding night had been stolen, but not his resolve.
The fleet above fired again, streaks of crimson slicing the night. The Guild raised their eyes, breath heaving, as the true scale of the invasion came into focus.
The sky itself seemed to burn.
And as the ground quaked beneath them, Katherine whispered the words no one wanted to hear:
"This is only the beginning."
Scene Two – The Shattered City
The night sky had turned crimson.
From the Guild's courtyard, Katherine and her team could see beyond the broken walls into the city. New York burned. Towers were reduced to jagged silhouettes against the fires consuming their bases. Sirens wailed in all directions, drowned at times by the shriek of Obsidian cannons. The air reeked of scorched stone and blood.
Jeremiah pulled Katherine to her feet, his healing aura still flickering around her. Her barrier had shattered minutes earlier, but she still stood, fire in her eyes.
"We can't hold the courtyard forever," he said through clenched teeth. "They'll level it with another strike."
"Then we move," Caleb snapped, cutting down another Sentinel that lunged at him. His wedding suit was shredded, streaked with ash and blood. He didn't care. "We get the civilians out and push them back into the streets."
Haruto staggered into view, his face smeared with soot. "Already evacuating through the tunnels. But if they keep bombing, those tunnels will collapse."
"Then we fight here," Jax growled, blades dripping with black ash. His grin was savage despite the chaos. "Better to break them now than run like rats underground."
A chorus of roars cut through the courtyard. The Sentinels weren't alone anymore.
From the skies descended monstrous creatures—hulking Nexus-Born, their bodies twisted by raw energy, their eyes burning pits of red. They slammed into the ground, crushing stone beneath them. Their jaws unhinged, releasing shrieks that rattled bones.
Katherine's chest clenched. "Nexus-Born. Broadman was right. The invasion is coordinated."
Lyra moved to her side, blade trembling in her grip. "Then we don't let them through. Not one step."
The first beast lunged, its claws slicing through the courtyard floor like butter. Jax intercepted, his blades crossing in a desperate block. The impact threw him back, crashing into a shattered table. He rolled and sprang up, blood streaking his brow.
"Strong!" he shouted. "Too strong to take head-on!"
Leo raised his hands, lightning pouring into the beast's chest. It roared but didn't fall. Katherine hurled a blast of raw energy, staggering it long enough for Lyra to slice through its leg. The monster toppled, but two more charged behind it.
Jeremiah threw himself between Katherine and the beasts, staff glowing. "Stay behind me!" His aura flared, weaving barriers of light, slowing the monsters' advance. Each blow against his shields rattled his bones, but he held, gritting his teeth.
Caleb's eyes darted to Cecelia and Eleanor, who were pressed against the retreating line of civilians. For a heartbeat, panic overtook him—then rage followed. He roared, charging into the nearest beast, jamming the Obsidian blade into its jaw. The creature convulsed, energy flaring, before it collapsed in a smoking heap.
"Caleb!" Cecelia screamed.
"I'm fine!" he shouted back, chest heaving. "Stay with Eleanor!"
Above them, the Obsidian fleet shifted formation. The flagship descended lower, its underbelly opening. A crimson glow began to build, brighter than any blast before.
Haruto's eyes widened. "That's not a cannon. That's a siege core. If it fires, half the city's gone."
The group froze. Even the Nexus-Born's roars seemed distant beneath the hum of the core charging.
"We can't stop that," Leo said hoarsely. "Not from here."
Katherine clenched her fists, eyes burning. "Then someone has to take the fight to the sky."
Lyra's jaw set. "Marcus isn't here. Then it's us."
Another blast rocked the courtyard. The core's glow intensified.
Jeremiah's grip tightened on his staff. He glanced at Katherine, her hair whipping in the wind of destruction, her eyes filled with fire. In that moment, he understood: this battle was the crucible they had all been forged for.
He took her hand briefly, their powers pulsing together. "We'll make it through this. Together."
She met his gaze and nodded.
The ground shook violently as another wave of Sentinels dropped into the courtyard. Behind them, the Nexus-Born gathered, their numbers swelling. The Guild stood at the center, battered but unbroken.
Caleb gritted his teeth, sweat dripping into his eyes. "We can't let them break us here. If they take the Guild, Earth is finished."
The crimson glow above reached its peak.
Then, with a sound like the tearing of the sky, the flagship fired.
A massive beam of energy tore through the clouds, descending toward the heart of the city. The night lit up brighter than day. Skyscrapers melted like wax, shockwaves flattening blocks at a time. Screams echoed from every direction, then vanished in the roar of destruction.
The Guild staggered from the impact, the force hurling them against the walls. Dust and ash filled the air, choking their lungs.
When the smoke began to clear, New York's skyline was no more. A crater burned where half the city had stood.
Silence, save for the crackle of fire.
Then Katherine's voice, raw but steady:
"This… is war."