Kael Varn was no stranger to screwing things up, like the time he crashed a smuggling run by flirting with the wrong customs officer, but this was next-level disaster. Voryn's surface was a warzone, canyons splitting, crystals exploding into glowing dust. Coalition ships roared overhead, their cannons painting the sky with fire. Kael clutched his sister Mira, her frail body barely conscious in his arms, her eyes flickering with fear and something darker. Zara ran beside him, blood seeping from a gash in her side, her scar-faced grit holding her together. The Devourer's laugh, a bone-rattling growl, echoed in Kael's skull, and the new threat from Voryn's collapse loomed: a massive rift in the ground, spewing black mist that pulsed with eyes. Whatever it was, it wasn't here to chat.
Kael's pulse rifle was slag, and his Ascendant power-up, a crystal-fueled boost from the last fight, was fading, leaving his muscles aching like he'd been punched by a mech. "Syl!" he yelled into his wrist comm, dodging a falling boulder. "What's this new shit trying to kill us?"
Syl, his ship's snarky AI, buzzed through static. "Rift's emitting energy like the Devourer's, but denser. It's a fragment of its core, maybe a failsafe. Also, Coalition ships are locking onto your position. You're about ten seconds from being ash."
"Love your optimism," Kael muttered, his boots slipping on crystal shards. Mira stirred, her voice weak. "Kael, it's in me. The Devourer. I can feel it."
His heart froze. He tightened his grip, her weight pulling at his bruised ribs. "Hang on, Mira. I got you out once. I'll do it again."
Zara glanced back, her pistol raised, eyes scanning the sky. "Coalition's not playing. They'll bomb this place to dust to keep the Devourer quiet."
Kael's jaw clenched. The Coalition had used Mira as bait, experimented on Voryn to weaponize a god, and now they wanted to bury the evidence. Including him. "Then we move faster," he said, sprinting toward a jagged cave mouth glowing with red light. The rift's mist followed, tendrils curling like fingers, and the Devourer's voice whispered, "You cannot run."
The cave was a maze of crystals, their pulses syncing with Kael's racing heart. The air smelled of ozone and blood, thick enough to choke on. Zara limped, her wound slowing her, but she kept pace, her face set like stone. "There's a Coalition outpost nearby," she said. "I saw it in their files. If we reach it, we might find a ship."
"You sure it's not another trap?" Kael asked, voice sharp. Zara's past with the Coalition still stung, even after she'd risked her life for him.
She met his gaze, pain flickering in her eyes. "I'm done lying, Varn. I want out as bad as you do."
Mira coughed, her voice faint. "She's telling the truth, Kael. But the Devourer… it's stronger now. Because of me."
Kael's chest tightened. He'd woken her from stasis, but the Devourer was using her as a tether, its power growing with every step. The rift's mist thickened, forming shapes: humanoid shadows with glowing eyes, not as big as the Devourer's core form but plenty deadly. Kael set Mira down behind a crystal outcrop, grabbing a shard to use as a weapon. "Zara, cover me!"
Zara fired, her pistol's bolts sparking off the shadows. They hissed, lunging with claws like black glass. Kael swung his shard, smashing one, but it reformed, its eyes burning. "Syl, any tricks?" he shouted, dodging a claw that grazed his arm, blood welling.
"Outpost's half a klick north," Syl said. "Energy readings suggest Ascendant tech inside. Could be a weapon or a shield. But the rift's closing in. Move!"
Kael hoisted Mira again, her breathing shallow. Zara led, blasting shadows, her wound slowing her shots. The cave shook, Coalition bombs rattling the ceiling. Dust rained, and the mist grew thicker, whispering in Kael's mind. "Join me, and she lives."
"Pass!" Kael yelled, running. The cave opened to a valley, the outpost visible: a sleek Coalition base, half-buried in crystal, glowing with Ascendant runes. But the rift's mist surged, forming a massive figure, its body a swirling void, eyes like dying stars.
Zara froze. "That's not good."
"No shit," Kael said, setting Mira down. He gripped his shard, the Ascendant power-up tingling faintly in his veins. "Syl, what's in that outpost?"
"Weapon systems," Syl said. "Ascendant-based, Coalition-modified. Could hurt the Devourer. Or blow you up."
"Risk I'll take," Kael said. He glanced at Zara. "You in?"
She nodded, her smirk back despite the blood. "Let's piss off a god."
They charged for the outpost, the void figure roaring, its mist slashing like blades. Kael's power-up flared, giving him a burst of speed, but it flickered, unreliable. Zara fired, covering Mira, who whispered, "Kael, don't let it win."
The outpost's door was locked, runes pulsing. Kael slammed his shard against it, the Ascendant power sparking. The door hissed open, revealing a chamber of glowing consoles and a massive cannon, its barrel etched with spirals. But the void figure followed, its form filling the doorway, voice booming. "You are mine."
Kael's HUD screamed: energy surge critical. Mira's eyes glowed red, and she screamed, "Kael, it's taking me!"