Kael Varn was used to disasters, like the time he tried to fix his ship's reactor with a wrench and nearly blew up a spaceport, but this was a whole new league of chaos. The Ascendant city was crumbling, its floating spires crashing into the void below, their glowing runes flickering out like dying stars. A new portal swirled ahead, its black and violet energies crackling with menace, promising either salvation or doom. Kael held his sister Mira, her frail body shaking, her eyes flickering with the Devourer's red taint. Zara, battered and bleeding from her wounds, gripped her pistol, her scar-faced resolve barely holding against the pain. The mist figure, a fragment of the Devourer, loomed before them, its shifting form radiating hunger. Its voice, a blade in Kael's mind, hissed, "You brought her to me. Now she is mine."
Kael's body ached, his Ascendant power-up a faint flicker in his veins, barely enough to keep him standing. His crystal shard, his only weapon, felt like a twig against a god. "Syl!" he shouted into his wrist comm, dodging a falling spire fragment that shattered into glowing dust. "This portal better not lead to another death trap!"
Syl, his ship's snarky AI, buzzed through static. "Portal's linked to another Ascendant plane, Captain. Energy signatures suggest it's a shattered realm, maybe their last stand against the Devourer. It's your only way out, but the mist figure's tied to it. Also, Coalition signals are closing in. Torren's not done with you."
Kael's heart pounded, his eyes on Mira. Her dark hair clung to her pale face, and her breathing was ragged, like she was fighting the Devourer's grip with every breath. He'd saved her from stasis, but she was still its key, and now they were cornered in a collapsing city. "Hang on, Mira," he whispered, tightening his hold. "We're getting out."
Zara limped closer, her pistol raised, blood seeping through her torn armor. "We can't fight that thing here," she said, voice strained. "The portal's our shot, Varn."
Kael glanced at her, trust still fragile after her Coalition secrets. She'd sacrificed herself to save them, but her past kept biting them. "You sure this isn't another Coalition setup?" he asked, voice sharp.
Zara's eyes met his, raw with exhaustion and guilt. "I'm with you, Kael. No more games."
Mira grabbed his arm, her grip weak but desperate. "She's right, Kael. The portal's our only chance. But the Devourer… it's waiting on the other side."
The city shook, a spire crashing nearby, spraying crystal shards. The mist figure surged, its claws slashing through the air. Kael dove, shielding Mira, as Zara fired, her bolts vanishing into the mist like water into sand. The figure laughed, its eyes blazing. "You cannot flee."
"Syl, any tricks?" Kael yelled, scrambling toward the portal. His HUD screamed: energy surge critical. The mist figure's claws grazed his back, pain flaring, but he kept moving, Mira in his arms.
"Portal's unstable," Syl said. "But the relic you grabbed last chapter? It's resonating. Use it to weaken the figure, then jump!"
Kael fumbled for the Ascendant relic, a small crystal pulsing with faint light. He thrust it toward the figure, and it shrieked, its form flickering. Zara fired again, buying seconds. The portal loomed, its energies swirling like a storm. Kael took a breath, the air tasting of ozone and ash, and leaped through, Zara at his side, Mira clutched tight.
The world spun, colors bleeding into chaos, like diving through a kaleidoscope. Kael's stomach lurched, his vision blurring with stars and shadows. Then, solid ground. He landed hard, Mira groaning in his arms, Zara sprawling beside him. The air was cold, sharp with the scent of ancient metal and frost. They were in a shattered plane, a landscape of broken spires and floating islands, each glowing with faint Ascendant runes. The sky was a void, speckled with dying stars, and the ground pulsed like a living thing.
Kael set Mira down, checking her pulse. Weak, but steady. "Mira, you with me?"
Her eyes flickered, red fading to brown. "Kael," she whispered. "It's stronger here. The Devourer… it's close."
Zara staggered up, clutching her side, blood dripping. "This place is falling apart too. We need to move."
Syl's voice crackled. "This plane's an Ascendant graveyard, their final stand against the Devourer. I'm picking up a signal ahead, maybe a control spire. It could break the Devourer's hold on Mira, but the mist figure's following."
Kael scanned the landscape. The islands floated in a sea of void, connected by bridges of glowing crystal. A distant spire towered, its peak pulsing with red light, like a beacon. His gut screamed trap, but they had no choice. "That's our target," he said, helping Mira stand. Her legs wobbled, but she nodded, fierce despite her weakness.
The mist figure reformed, its eyes blazing, voice like grinding stone. "You cannot hide her." It lunged, claws slashing. Kael swung the relic, its light flaring, forcing the figure back. Zara fired, her pistol overheating, and they ran, the bridge trembling under their feet.
The ground shook, islands cracking apart. Coalition drones buzzed overhead, their red beams cutting through the void. Torren's voice boomed through a comm. "Varn, you're out of places to run."
Kael's blood boiled. "This guy doesn't quit," he muttered, dodging a beam. The spire loomed closer, its runes glowing brighter. Mira stumbled, her eyes flashing red. "Kael," she gasped. "It's taking me."
The relic pulsed in Kael's hand, and a new figure appeared, not mist but solid, clad in Ascendant armor, its eyes glowing blue. "You hold the key," it said, voice calm. "But the cost is everything."