A crimson tear split the sky above the First World.
The three moons disappeared behind a sea of burning clouds as the portal expanded across the heavens.
Every Guardian looked up.
Every soldier fell silent.
The Harbinger had arrived.
At first, only its hand emerged.
Black crystal armor reflected the crimson lightning surrounding the portal.
Then came its arm.
Its shoulders.
Finally—
The colossal machine stepped into the sky.
The impact shook the entire planet.
Mountains cracked.
Oceans rose into towering waves.
Even the ancient capital trembled beneath its weight.
Kael stared upward.
It was larger than anything he had ever imagined.
The Harbinger's head alone was the size of a fortress.
Its crimson eyes slowly opened.
Two beams of scarlet light swept across the world.
Searching.
Then they stopped.
Locked onto Kael.
"It found him..." Lyra whispered.
Without warning, the Harbinger raised one arm.
The crystal embedded in its palm began to glow.
Aetherion's voice thundered inside Kael's mind.
"Move!"
Kael leaped from the palace balcony just as a beam of crimson energy crashed into the throne room.
BOOM!
The palace exploded.
Ancient walls that had stood for ten thousand years vanished in an instant.
Dust and stone filled the air.
The Throne of the Last Core disappeared beneath the rubble.
"Your Majesty!" Lyra shouted.
Kael landed hard in the courtyard.
He looked back in horror.
Half the palace was gone.
The Harbinger had destroyed it with a single attack.
The Guardians roared.
Crystal dragons launched into the sky.
Stone giants hurled massive boulders.
The Azure Dominion warships unleashed countless beams of blue energy.
The attacks struck the Harbinger from every direction.
Smoke covered its enormous body.
For a brief moment...
Hope flickered.
Then the smoke cleared.
Not a single mark remained.
"It didn't even scratch it..." Seraphine whispered.
The Harbinger took another step.
The sky cracked again.
Its voice echoed across the First World.
Cold.
Mechanical.
Absolute.
"Target identified."
"Last Core confirmed."
"Extermination protocol initiated."
Thousands of crimson circles appeared around its body.
Weapons.
Hundreds...
No...
Thousands of them.
Kael's heart pounded.
"We can't stop that."
Caelum drew his sword.
"Maybe not."
He stepped in front of Kael.
"But we can buy time."
One by one, the Guardian leaders moved beside him.
Lyra raised her spear.
Seraphine drew her crystal blade.
Orion summoned ancient runes that filled the sky.
None of them retreated.
Kael looked at his friends.
At the warriors who had chosen to stand beside him.
His white Core burned brighter than ever.
"No."
Everyone turned toward him.
"We stand together."
White starlight erupted from his body.
The light spread across the battlefield, covering every Guardian and every ally.
For the first time...
They felt the power of the Last Core flowing through them.
The Harbinger paused.
Its crimson eyes flickered.
As though...
It recognized the light.
Deep inside the giant machine...
A faint blue glow appeared.
A voice, almost forgotten by time, whispered from within.
"...Help..."
Kael froze.
"Did you hear that?"
Aetherion answered immediately.
"Yes."
Silence followed.
Then Aetherion spoke words that changed everything.
"The Harbinger isn't just a weapon."
"It has a pilot."
The battlefield fell silent.
The true battle...
Had only just begun.