Rain poured over New Avalon's Sector 6. Not water, not really—more like ionized mist from the broken skygrid overhead. It hissed when it hit the ground. Neon signs flickered above shuttered markets. Below, shadows shifted with purpose.
Lyra Vale sprinted through the ruins, boots slamming across metal grates. Sparks danced with every step.
Behind her, two Phase Hunters gave chase—sleek, cyber-organic things that glided just above the ground. Eyes like inverted suns. Voices like corrupted data.
"TARGET: VAL-03X, ENGAGE, NO SURVIVORS."
Kaelen's voice buzzed in her ear.
"You've almost reached the beacon. Don't stop now."
"Yeah? Easy for you to say when you're not being chased by literal glitch-demons!"
"Focus, Lyra. You're almost there."
She skidded into an alley and slammed her palm against a rusted panel. A light blinked green. The wall hissed and opened into a forgotten elevator shaft. She dove in just as a Phase Hunter slashed through the wall behind her, missing her by inches.
The elevator dropped. Fast.
Lyra caught her breath. "You said the other Starborn was here. You said we'd meet him."
Kaelen replied, tone uncertain. "We will. If he chooses to come."
Riven Ashfall had already arrived.
He stood atop the roof of the sector's old data-tower, watching the city pulse below him. His coat flapped in the storm. He watched the shadows. Felt the echoes.
She was here.
And so were they.
Voidspawn.
He felt it in his bones.
He closed his eyes. Reached inward.
The sigil across his back ignited—red-orange flame tracing ancient curves, pulsing with a rhythm older than memory.
He leapt from the tower.
Lyra hit the bottom of the shaft and rolled out just as the Phase Hunters cut the lights. Darkness swallowed everything.
"Come out, Starborn."
The voice slithered into her mind. A Phase Hunter stepped from the shadows, claws glowing, face flickering with glitchlight.
Lyra raised her hand.
"Burn."
The Flame flared—but sputtered. She was tired. Too tired. Her power surged—but the control was slipping.
The creature lunged.
And then—
Fire. Real fire. A streak of blazing light tore through the corridor and slammed into the Phase Hunter, sending it crashing against the wall.
A man landed beside her, one knee down, coat steaming.
Scarred. Hardened. Eyes like a dying sun.
He didn't speak at first. Just turned to face the remaining Phase Hunter with a kind of calm fury that only came from surviving too much.
Lyra stared. "You're—"
"Yeah," he said. "I'm the one they warned you about."
The second Phase Hunter shrieked and lunged—but Riven was already moving.
He ducked low, swept in, and drove his palm into its core. The Flame burst from his fist like a star going nova. The creature convulsed, screamed, and vanished in a spray of light.
Silence.
Lyra stepped back, hand still glowing. "Who the hell are you?"
"Name's Riven," he said, brushing dust off his coat. "Ashfall."
"You're one of us."
He nodded. "I was the third. Before the Realms burned."
She narrowed her eyes. "You've been watching me."
"I've been watching for all of us."
They exited the shaft into the upper ruins, where Kaelen was waiting—expression unreadable.
"Riven," he said with a nod.
"Kaelen." No warmth, Just a long history in that single word.
Lyra crossed her arms "You know each other?"
Kaelen nodded "He trained with the first Seven, The ones who died."
Riven looked at her "Some of us didn't."
A beat.
Lyra glanced between them. "So what now?"
Riven looked out toward the shattered skyline.
"Now we find the others. Before the Hunters do."
Elsewhere, on a frozen world orbiting a dead god, a girl awakened in a temple of mirrors.
Her sigil flared white.
And across the stars, a boy cried out in his sleep as lightning cracked through his veins.
The Starborn were rising.
And the Void-King watched.