The night had deepened over Velrith, cloaking the city in muted hues of blue and gray. From above, the skyline looked fractured — jagged buildings jutting against a sky smeared with Rift scars, the faint shimmer of dimensional instability casting an otherworldly glow across the streets.
For most civilians, the curfew meant silence, shutters drawn tight, lamps dimmed. But for agencies like Astraeus Dominion and Vanguard Edge, nightfall only marked the beginning of their work.
Tense Proximity
The two squads converged again near the industrial district, summoned by overlapping alerts: a cluster of Rift spawn had emerged from a fractured seam, feeding on residual energy. Though the anomaly was rated low — D-class at most — the proximity of two agencies meant competition was inevitable.
Lucien's team moved like sharpened blades. Seraphine whispered probabilities into Orin's ear, Lyra's threads shimmered across rooftops, and Caius merged with shadows, striking from impossible angles. Lucien himself stood at the center, his presence commanding without words, every gesture precise and deliberate.
Kael's team was already there when Astraeus arrived. Flames curled lazily along Kael's arms as he smirked across the open square, his squad loosely arrayed around him. Riven leaned against a lamppost, arrow notched but relaxed, while Eira's Frostfire glowed faintly in the dark. Maelis cracked her knuckles, her stance broad and unyielding, and Darius traced shield runes into the pavement beneath his boots.
The air between the two teams was heavy, an invisible boundary neither was willing to cross first.
Lucien's voice cut through the tension, cool and commanding. "We'll contain the anomaly. Stand down."
Kael tilted his head, golden eyes glinting. "Funny. I was about to tell you the same thing. Guess we'll see who finishes first."
The words weren't shouted, but they struck like sparks on dry tinder. Both squads tensed.
The Rift Spawn
The first creature emerged with a shriek — long-limbed, gray-skinned, eyes glowing with Rift corruption. Then another, and another, until the square swarmed with them. They were weak individually, but fast and ravenous in numbers.
Astraeus Dominion moved as one. Seraphine's voice guided the squad, predicting movements seconds ahead. Orin bent gravity, crushing clusters of spawn into the ground. Lyra's threads lanced through the swarm, light searing through their cores, while Caius vanished and reappeared, leaving torn bodies in his wake.
Vanguard Edge answered with fire and fury. Kael surged forward, fists ablaze, each strike detonating in controlled bursts. Riven's arrows split into multiple projectiles mid-flight, skewering entire lines of spawn. Eira's Frostfire froze enemies mid-leap before shattering them into shards, while Maelis absorbed blow after blow, laughing as she retaliated with bone-breaking strikes. Darius's shields redirected the chaos, creating controlled choke points for his team.
The square became a blur of fire and shadow, light and frost, precision and chaos.
Collision Course
It was inevitable that the two squads would cross paths. In the heat of combat, Kael and Lucien found themselves back-to-back for the briefest moment, surrounded on all sides.
Kael grinned, sparks flickering across his gauntlets. "Didn't peg you for the type to need backup."
Lucien's expression didn't shift, shadows coiling dangerously around his arms. "I don't. You're in my way."
Despite the words, their movements synchronized instinctively — Lucien's shadow spears piercing enemies that Kael's flames had driven back, Kael's explosive strikes clearing a path that Lucien's precision exploited ruthlessly. For a few fleeting moments, they fought as if they had trained together for years.
And then, as quickly as it began, they pulled apart, each resuming their respective squads.
The Near-Death Moment
Just as the battle seemed to stabilize, one of the Rift spawn mutated, swelling grotesquely as it absorbed lingering energy from the anomaly. It shrieked and lunged — not at Astraeus, not at Vanguard, but directly at Kael.
Kael reacted too slowly. The creature's claws slashed downward, fast and brutal.
Lucien didn't think — shadows erupted, forming a barrier between the strike and Kael's chest. The impact shuddered through the air, Lucien's aura flaring darker, heavier, almost demonic for a split second before he forced it back under control.
Kael staggered, blinking, the monster already dissolving into ash from the combined backlash of shadow and flame. He turned sharply toward Lucien, chest heaving.
Golden eyes met cold silver. For a heartbeat, the world narrowed to just the two of them. Kael opened his mouth, but no words came.
Lucien's voice was clipped, almost too controlled. "Stay focused. I won't save you twice."
Kael's lips curved faintly, part smirk, part something softer. "Sure. Whatever you say… shadow boy."
Aftermath
The remaining spawn were dispatched quickly, the square littered with their dissolving remains. Both squads stood apart once more, glaring across the empty space like rival predators.
Kael's team regrouped, his smirk intact but his mind unsettled. He hated admitting it, but for the first time, he'd seen Lucien not just as an untouchable rival — but as someone he couldn't look away from.
Lucien, meanwhile, stood in the shadows, his expression unreadable. His control had nearly slipped. For one instant, the darkness within him had surged dangerously close to the surface — and Kael had been the only one near enough to notice.