Night blanketed the Hollowheart Enclave, but the air crackled with dark energy. The Beacon glowed fiercely on Artemis's wrist—alerting her to something far more dangerous than before.
"Rift expansion detected," Lyra announced from the command nook. "The Hunters are opening multiple breach sites—several portals at once."
Artemis clenched her jaw, scanning the holo-map flickering over gnarled roots and ethereal lights. "We hold nothing back. We guard every Rift site. Protect the enclave."
Elara stepped forward, weapon ready. "I'll lead the east flank with Nova. Artemis, you're on the central breach with me."
The team dispersed. In corridors carved of living tech and stone, Artemis felt the fusion of power pulsing through the walls.
⚔️ Clash at the Central Rift
A massive portal yawned at the cleared courtyard—green-gold energy spilling into reality. From its depths emerged twisted beasts: Riftspawn hybrids fused with skeletal machinery. Their roars echoed across the enclave.
Emanating power, Artemis stepped forward, claws glowing red as they extended from her fingers.
Artemis: her form shifted, muscles coiled with otherworldly energy. Each strike sent shockwaves.
Elara: deploying energy constrictors and trap bubbles, precision and clarity in every move.
Unity: The bonded rallied—Lyra striking flanks, Nova blasting arc-weave bolts into advancing hordes.
Artemis howled, forming a ring of golden flame around the portal's edge as she carved through monsters, blocking the breach.
The Riftspawn leader screeched—towering, crystalline, phasing through solid stone. It lunged.
Artemis surged—sheaving claws into the creature's core. Energy flared. The Riftflare was blinding. The Riftspawn convulsed, then fragmented into motes of glowing dust—light scattering into the air, silence hammering down in its wake.
The portal trembled.
And snapped shut.