The world exhaled.
Light and thunder struck as one.
Kael's blade met Lume's bare hand in a shower of sparks.
The collision ripped through the hall—glass shattered, alarms shrieked, the tower itself howled awake.
Steel and gold collided again.
Each impact bent the air, sending arcs of light crawling up the walls.
Kael pressed forward, every strike measured, the rhythm of decades of discipline.
Lume flowed around him, effortless, redirecting power with gestures that ignored the limits of gravity.
"You defend a cage," Lume said, parrying a thrust.
Kael's jaw tightened. "You mistake order for chains."
The tower groaned; conduits burst in streaks of blue flame.
⸻
Archive Central — Situation Room
Technicians scrambled as feeds from Varda Tower flickered—two figures moving faster than the cameras could track.
Vonix leaned over the console. "Get me audio."
Static, then a clipped voice: 'Multiple hostiles—New Dawn confirmed—Kael engaging!'
"Deploy rescue teams," Vonix ordered.
Sarah Avelon entered beside Comik, eyes fixed on the chaotic feed.
"That storm isn't weather," she said. "It's feedback."
"Between them?"
"Between everything."
⸻
Tower Varda — Lower Levels
Archive soldiers sprinted through smoke and flashing lights.
"West corridor breached!"
"Seal it off! Keep pressure on the east wing!"
Aether bolts cut the dark as New Dawn infiltrators advanced—black armor veined in gold, moving like shadows.
"Warden's still up there!"
"Then we hold until he's done!"
Above them, the ceiling cracked, raining dust and light.
⸻
Main Hall
Kael ducked under a golden arc, countered, and drove his blade upward.
Lume caught the strike bare-handed—blood gleamed where steel broke skin.
Kael's voice was low. "You bleed after all."
Lume smiled behind the mask. "So do gods."
Gravity twisted. Kael dropped to one knee, armor crushing against him.
He slammed his palm into the floor, channeling blue light through the cracks, breaking free.
Silver met gold—resonance screaming through the chamber.
⸻
Archive Central
"Visual stabilizing!"
Kael's figure flashed between arcs of lightning and fire.
Sarah leaned forward. "He's channeling the tower's grid."
Comik: "That'll collapse it."
Vonix: "Then he's out of options."
⸻
Tower Varda — East Wing
"Fall back to the lift shafts!"
Through the haze, blue lights descended—Archive transports breaching the storm.
Cheers rose—then froze as the upper level flashed white.
⸻
Main Hall
Kael staggered, one knee striking the floor.
Lume advanced, unhurried. "You're spent."
Kael rose. "I'll end it."
He plunged his broken blade into the floor.
Runes ignited—blue racing outward.
"You'll bring it down," Lume warned.
"Then it falls with me."
The resonance erupted—light, thunder, and wind colliding as one.
⸻
Archive Central
Every screen turned to static.
"Signal spike! He triggered the failsafes!"
"Cut the feed!"
"Too late."
The image burned white.
Silence followed.
"Rescue teams report debris," Comik said.
Vonix closed his eyes. "Warden Kael held."
Outside, the storm began to calm—unnaturally, as if the world itself was catching its breath once more.