> [Location: Emberveil Nexus – Outer Perimeter Ridge, Eastern Firewall Post]
Time: 27 Minutes Until Sovereign Division Strike Squad Arrival
Participants: Jiang Han, Tian Xue, Lin Suyin, Yan Qirou, Yan Feng, Phoenix Sovereignling, Nexus Defenders
Mission: Hold Emberveil Against Initial Assault
System Alert: Sovereign Enforcer-Class Units Deploying from Four Directions
Objective: Survive 1 Hour – Prevent Core Flame Destruction – Activate Phase IV Defensive Seal
---
Preparing the Front
The flame citadel buzzed with motion. Soul-thread runners zipped between towers. Defensive glyphs bloomed into the sky like burning runes. Lin Suyin stood at the center of the central relay circle, barking orders.
> "Verdant Archers—ridge line!"
"Moth Strikers, hold until the first wave commits!"
"Crimson squad: you're with Tian Xue. No one breaks the east line!"
Jiang Han stood beside her, gripping Echofang as the blade whispered echoes of the past and futures yet to be written.
Tian Xue approached, her armor now etched with the Nexus sigil: a burning spiral coiled around a flame that refused to be shaped.
> "They're sending enforcer-class first," she said. "Testing our limits."
> "Then let's break theirs," Jiang replied.
---
The Sky Tears Open
The clouds split like paper.
Five Sovereign-class dropships descended, shaped like obsidian spires on fire. A voice rang out through all system-linked threads:
> "By order of Flame Sovereign Council, all unauthorized sparkbearers will surrender immediately. Compliance will be met with mercy."
Yan Feng chuckled dryly.
> "Funny. That's what they said to Long Chen."
A second later, the ships burst open—and dozens of armored enforcers leapt out, threads already flaring with command-level compression glyphs.
> "Contact in five… four…"
Jiang stepped forward.
> "Formless Flame—activate."
---
Jiang Han Unleashed
He vanished from sight—not with speed, but with absence.
One enforcer blinked—
—and Jiang was behind him, blade already mid-swing.
Echofang carved through his memory threads, not just flesh. The soldier dropped, convulsing, his flame unraveling.
Another enforcer activated a null-seal trap. Jiang leapt backward, slammed his palm into the air—
—and released a temporal-disrupt pulse. The trap shattered in mid-deploy.
Tian Xue struck like a comet beside him, flame wings unfurled. Her strikes danced with Mothwing precision, backed by Nexus-force glyphs.
For the first time…
The enforcers faltered.
---
The Heart Holds
Phoenix Sovereignling shrieked from above, unleashing Skyflame Tempest Dive across the western front. A dozen enemies burned before they landed.
Lin Suyin's traps triggered like a song—threads slicing between time, catching boots before they stepped.
Yan Qirou invoked the Crimson Reaping Dance, her dual daggers spinning in a deadly rhythm.
And as each Nexus unit held their ground, the system shimmered.
> [Phase IV Seal Initiation: 87% Stabilized]
[Objective Update: Survive Remaining 33 Minutes]
Jiang landed beside Tian Xue.
> "We can hold this."
Tian Xue nodded, but her eyes locked on the horizon—
Where a second wave began to rise.
And behind it… a figure cloaked in shifting light.
Yan Feng's expression darkened.
> "They sent a Directive Agent."