[OPENING SCENE — PYRRHOS'S DUNGEON REALM, SUBTERRANEAN MAW]
Darkness breathes like a living thing. The air is thick with ash and glowing motes of embers float around the iron cages suspended above lakes of lava. Chains rattle in rhythm with distant roars.
Inside one of the cages, Veya stirs. Bruised, restrained, and weak, she grips the bars and peers into the burning abyss below.
Veya (whispers):
"Aurix... please tell me you're coming."
[SCENE — VANGUARD HQ WAR ROOM, NIGHT]
Crimson lights swirl around the holographic map. The remaining Vanguards gather — battle-worn, some bandaged. Irion leads the briefing with urgency.
Irion:
"Pyrrhos has turned the Ash Fold into a prison dimension. Veya's signal vanished into its heart. He knows we'll come... so we will. But not as prey."
Suki (fists clenched):
"Then let's burn that place to the ground."
Tari:
"We nearly died last time, Irion. We can't storm it."
Echo-7:
"What if we don't? What if we... sneak in?"
A silence. Echo projects a schematic from recovered data — an unstable dimensional node within the Fold.
Kael:
"A shadow-tether gate. We use their method against them. Risky. We could disintegrate mid-jump."
Aurix (stepping forward):
"Then we jump first. For Veya."
[TRANSITION — THE FOLD GATE, MIDNIGHT]
The team dons stealth armor layered with quantum seals. Aurix, Irion, Suki, Echo-7, Yuna, and Jax step into the shimmering rift.
FLASH.
[SCENE — DUNGEON REALM, ASH CORRIDORS]
The team emerges in a maze of ash-stone halls. Flaming wraiths drift in silence. The scent of burning memories stains the air.
Suki (quietly):
"This place... screams."
Jax:
"Split into pairs. Meet at the central chamber. We find her. We fight only if needed."
They scatter. Tension crackles. In the distance, chains drag... followed by a monstrous footfall.
[SCENE — VEYA'S CELL, ABOVE A LAVA CAVERN]
Pyrrhos stands at the ledge. Half-man, half-burning colossus. His eyes are pits of furnace light. He gazes at Veya's cage.
Pyrrhos:
"You remind me of a Phoenix I once consumed. So bright... until its last breath."
Veya (defiant):
"You'll choke on mine."
He laughs. The walls quake. Chains unravel.
[SCENE — MAZE CONVERGENCE POINT]
Aurix and Yuna find a broken mask — one of the Veya's guards. Blood trails steam on the walls.
Yuna:
"He's moving her. Now."
Suddenly, flames erupt. Pyrrhos crashes down from above, swinging a molten cleaver. The team braces as the floor collapses.
[INTENSE FIGHT SEQUENCE — PYRRHOS VS THE VANGUARDS]
Aurix channels Pulse Striker energy, his fists clashing with Pyrrhos's cleaver. Each blow shakes the chamber.
Suki summons petals like shields, redirecting firestorms around the team.
Yuna and Irion coordinate strikes, distracting Pyrrhos long enough for Jax to strike at his core.
Pyrrhos (roaring):
"You think your bonds matter here?! Fire burns through loyalty!"
Aurix (bleeding):
"No... but it tempers it."
Suddenly, Pyrrhos grabs Irion and slams him into the ground, cracking his armor. Veya's cage begins to fall toward the lava.
Veya:
"AURIX!"
Aurix dashes, diving into the air. Suki boosts him with a burst of petals. He catches the cage mid-fall and drives it into a wall. Pyrrhos lunges, but Echo-7 fires a concentrated blast into his eyes.
Echo-7:
"Time to blink out, furnace freak!"
Smoke erupts. The team regroups around Veya.
Yuna:
"We got you. Let's go."
But then the dungeon pulses. The walls warp. Pyrrhos rises again — now twice his size, fueled by raw hate.
Aurix:
"We can't win here. Suki — open a petal gate! NOW!"
Suki (cut and panting):
"I need... a second!"
She slams her hand to the ground. Petals scatter. A shimmering portal begins to form. The team rushes in one by one. Pyrrhos roars, hurling a burning spear — it grazes Jax's side.
Final moment — Aurix carries Veya through. The gate snaps shut just as Pyrrhos charges.
[SCENE — HQ MEDBAY, NEXT DAY]
Veya awakens to Yuna and Suki by her side.
Veya (whispers):
"We're... back?"
Suki:
"You're safe. We all are."
Irion (off-screen, bruised):
"Barely."
They all smile, wounded but victorious.
[FINAL SCENE — PYRRHOS IN THE FLAMES]
He seethes in the molten dark, body burning brighter.
Pyrrhos (to the flames):
"Let them run. The fire only gets stronger."
[TO BE CONTINUED...]