Sari stared at the golden portal key in Bara's hand, then looked back to where Kael should have been lying. Cold air seeped into every pore of her body, carrying a suffocating sense of dread."Kael?" Her voice caught in her throat, more breath than sound. "No... it can't be..."Bara dropped to his knees, his hands trembling as they touched the key. His face, usually filled with unwavering determination, had turned deathly pale, carved with profound sorrow. Confusion and despair filled his eyes."He's... he's gone," Bara whispered hoarsely. "Like dust. This is all that's left." He raised the key. Its blue glow had faded completely. "He used all of his strength... to seal that tear."Still sitting among the ruins, Raka stared blankly at his own hands. A cold emptiness spread from his palms, where his Cosmic Light had once pulsed. Nothing. Hollow. Just like his heart after hearing what had happened to Kael."Kael..." Raka murmured, the name feeling unfamiliar on his dry tongue. "He sacri

"No!" Lyra screamed.The wave of pitch-black energy shot forward. The instant it touched the air near the Dimensional Gate, it wasn't Lyra who was struck. Instead, the gate pulsed violently, unleashing an even greater explosion of energy that obliterated what remained of the headquarters. Lyra's scream echoed through the chaos before her voice was swallowed completely."Lyra! Lyra, what happened?" Sari's panicked voice crackled through Bara's comm, barely audible over the deafening roar. "The headquarters... the entire core structure is collapsing! Dimensional fragments are tearing through the walls! Bara, can you hear me?!"Raka flinched and looked around.The walls surrounding them, which had only been cracked moments before, were now beginning to bend inward, pulled toward an invisible vortex. Even the air itself seemed to be dragged away, crushing everything in its grip."Damn it!" Bara clutched his head as a violent pounding exploded inside his skull. "I can feel it. That dimensi

Moros's cruel laughter still echoed throughout the base, stabbing at Sari's ears like shards of falling glass.The emergency console before her flashed frantically, its crimson light dancing across her tense face. Streams of data dissolved into waves of chaos, like a river overflowing its banks, carrying digital debris in its wake."No! That's impossible!" Sari cried, her voice catching in her throat.Her fingers flew across the cracked holoscreen, desperately pressing controls that now seemed to reject her touch."System! Respond! What's happening? Where's Raka? Aeris? Kael... what are you doing?!""Warning!"The synthetic voice of the Life Network echoed through the room, now trembling with unmistakable desperation."Network integrity has fallen to 23 percent. Dimensional damage has reached 45 percent. Nullifier active in the primary sector. Massive data loss. Guardian data... lost."Sari squeezed her eyes shut for a brief moment, her breathing falting.Guardian data lost.Those wer

The air inside the Academy ruins was cold and thick with the smell of moss, a rotten scent mixed with cosmic dust. Lyra moved silently between shattered pillars and collapsed walls, her dark shadow dancing through the remnants of a grandeur that had long since faded. One day had passed since the chaos at the Dimensional Gate, since Kael had turned against them and Bara had lost himself. One day, and everything already felt far more hopeless.Everything we knew has been torn apart, Lyra thought, her fingers brushing across the cracked Academy emblem carved into one of the walls. Raka is fading, Bara is hollow, Kael has fallen to Moros. All that's left are questions and ruin.She no longer felt bound by her old loyalty to the Academy. Kael's betrayal, Bara's lost memories, and Raka's mysterious silence had shattered every illusion about the order they had sworn to protect. Now she sought only the truth, no matter how dark it might be. The clues she had uncovered in the newer archives ha

"Kael! Stay conscious!" a voice shouted, cutting through the howling dimensional storm raging around the floating crystal island.Kael gasped for breath, his fingers digging into the cracked ground as warm blood continued to drip from his nose. "Who... who's there? Don't come any closer!""It's me, Kael. Look at me," the voice replied, cold yet carrying an unmistakable firmness.Kael lifted his head with the last of his strength. His blurred eyes struggled to focus on a figure walking through the dense purple mist. "Aeris? No... that's impossible. You were supposed to be... infected...""I was infected, but look at me now," Aeris said, calmly stepping forward as strands of dark energy swirled around his wrists, obedient as loyal servants."How are you standing there?" Kael asked, his voice hoarse with utter disbelief. "This gate... Moros turned it into a weapon. Its energy will tear you apart!""Let him try," Aeris whispered, extending both hands toward the massive vortex gaping above