The sky over Planet E-7 had not been blue for three years.
A crimson haze covered the wasteland, turning every sunset into a smear of blood across the horizon.
Kael Varyn crouched behind a collapsed concrete barrier, watching the ruins of an abandoned commercial plaza.
Wind pushed dust through shattered windows.
Nothing lived here anymore.
Except the things that had learned to adapt.
Beside him stood Marcus Hale, a broad-shouldered man holding a reinforced shield nearly as tall as himself.
Marcus narrowed his eyes.
"You see it?" he whispered.
Kael nodded.
Something moved inside the broken structure of an old shopping complex.
Metal beams shifted.
Concrete cracked.
Then the creature stepped into the open.
Four meters long.
Bone plates ran along its spine.
Its breathing sounded like rusted machinery grinding together.
A Riftbeast.
Marcus tightened his grip on the shield.
"That thing's bigger than the last one."
Kael didn't answer.
His attention was on the sword in his hand.
A dark crimson blade.
Simple.
Yet strangely alive.
Every time powerful creatures appeared nearby, the sword vibrated slightly.
As if it were hungry.
Kael had awakened with the sword three months ago.
No one knew where it came from.
Marcus glanced sideways.
"You still want to fight that thing?"
Kael kept his eyes on the beast.
"There's a core inside it."
Marcus snorted.
"There's a core inside everything on this planet if you cut deep enough."
The Riftbeast suddenly roared.
Marcus charged forward.
His shield slammed into the creature's ribs.
Kael moved at the exact moment the monster turned.
He slid beneath the creature's claw and drove the crimson blade between two bone plates.
The sword vibrated violently.
Energy rushed into Kael's body.
The Riftbeast screamed.
Kael twisted the blade deeper.
Bone cracked.
Seconds later the monster collapsed.
A dark red crystal rolled from its chest.
A core.
Kael picked it up.
Cold.
Heavy.
He pressed it against his chest.
Pain exploded through his body.
Energy surged through his veins.
Far above the ruins—
an orbital satellite activated.
"Anomaly detected."
And the camera locked onto Kael Varyn.