The transition into the Void-Pocket was usually a moment of profound relief, but as the Crimson Fury—a jagged, brutal warship the color of dried blood—settled into her dock next to the Emerald Talon, the air in the sanctuary felt heavy. The Crystal Tree at the heart of the pocket flickered with an agitated, sickly violet light, its ancient roots vibrating against the white stone.
Kael stepped off the ramp of the Vanguard, his Resonance Gauntlet still hissing with the residual heat of his duel with Ares. Beside him, the Berserker moved with a haunted, mechanical gait, his greyed armor clanking with every step.
"Something is wrong," Lyra whispered, her silver hair standing on end as her Tier 4.0 senses scanned the iridescent sky. "The resonance of the pocket... it's being muffled. It feels like a shroud is being pulled over us."
The Intruder in the Code
"Kael! Don't move!" Elis's holographic form appeared, but she was flickering violently, her code leaking strings of red binary. "When you shattered the Loop-Anchor on Kratos, a Vorthax Mimic-Virus hitched a ride on the Fury's hull. It's not just a virus—it's an Infiltrator Unit."
Before Kael could react, a shadow detached itself from the underside of the Crimson Fury. It moved like liquid oil, flowing across the white stone with terrifying speed toward the Crystal Tree. As it moved, it shifted form, mimicking Kael's own silhouette, but its surface was a shifting mosaic of stolen memories and jagged needles.
[ENEMY ENCOUNTER: VORTHAX SHADOW-STALKER (INFILTRATOR CLASS)] [OBJECTIVE: PROTECT THE CRYSTAL TREE AT ALL COSTS]
"If it reaches the Tree, it can upload our coordinates to the entire Vorthax Hive-Mind!" Doc Gear-Grinder yelled, frantically trying to localized the security shields from his workshop. "Everything we've built—the base, the rebels—it'll all be formatted in seconds!".
The Berserker's Redemption
Kael lunged forward, his Tier 4.2 gravity powers flaring to create a localized heavy-zone to slow the stalker. But the creature shifted into a gaseous state, slipping through his gravitational fingers like smoke.
"I... I know this smell," Ares growled, his dull eyes suddenly igniting with a spark of the old, crimson fire. "This is the rot that ate my crew. The coward's weapon."
The Berserker didn't use a ship or a fancy gauntlet. He let out a roar that shook the very foundation of the Void-Pocket. He threw his rusted axe, not at the creature, but at the ground in front of the Crystal Tree. The axe embedded itself in the stone, releasing a massive burst of Chronometric Radiation.
The Shadow-Stalker, caught in the sudden time-distortion, was forced back into a solid, physical form.
"Kael! Now! Use the Trinity Sync through the Tree!" Sylva's voice rang out from the Emerald Talon.
Kael slammed his hands onto the bark of the Crystal Tree. He didn't just use his own power; he acted as a conductor for Ignis, Aurelia, Sylva, and even the fractured Ares. A wave of pure, uncorrupted Source Code surged through the island.
The Shadow-Stalker shrieked—a sound of grinding metal and digital agony—as it was literally deleted from reality. The violet light of the tree stabilized, returning to its calm, iridescent glow.
A House United
Ares stood over his axe, his chest heaving. For the first time, the " Berserker" looked at Kael not as a glitch, but as a leader.
"You protected the home," Ares grunted, offering a massive, scarred hand to Kael. "The Fury is yours, boy. Tell me who needs to bleed next.".
[BASE SECURITY RESTORED] [FLEET SYNC IMPROVED: 4/7 SHIPS ALIGNED] [KAEL ARDENT PROGRESS: TIER 4.3]