The portal above Aetherreach didn't just tear the sky — it consumed it.
Tendrils of swirling void spread across the horizon, darkening the lightning-lit clouds, smothering the natural energy of the realm with an ancient, suffocating hunger. Lyra stared at it, heart racing, every part of her flame instincts screaming that this wasn't just another Shadowborn anomaly.
This was intentional.
Kaela took a step back, shielding her eyes as one of the Void tendrils swept low over a floating island. The rock cracked in half, its memory essence drained mid-air, leaving behind an empty husk that crumbled into dust.
"That portal's feeding," she said "On time. On reality."
Mazen Kai stood silently beside Lyra, eyes locked on the black vortex.
"That's not a tear in space," he said grimly "It's a beacon. A summoning gate."
Kaelen drew his blade "Summoning what?"
Riven adjusted his gauntlet, sensors overloading "I don't think we're going to like the answer."
They didn't have to wait long.
From the vortex, shadows bled — not just Voidspawn, but something… more structured. Cohesive. Intelligent. Marching formations of armored figures, their bodies wrapped in black aethersteel, their eyes glowing with twin rings of violet flame.
Vaelion's breath caught "Riftborne."
The name sent chills down Lyra's spine.
The Riftborne were legends whispered in broken records — soldiers consumed by the Void, not corrupted, but rewritten by it. A forgotten legion said to have turned on the Starborn themselves in the final moments of the First Flamewar.
And leading them — stepping through the void gate with slow, deliberate menace — was a towering figure in jet-black armor carved with starlit veins.
He wore no helmet, his skin pale as moonlight, and his gaze burned with impossible clarity.
"Do you know who that is?" Kaela whispered.
Lyra didn't speak — she felt it. Her flame recoiled, her soul echoed with old pain.
"That's Serian… the fallen brother of the first Starborn."
"Lyra of the Ember Vein," Serian said, voice smooth as obsidian "Bearer of echoes. Child of fire. Your journey ends here."
Kaelen stepped in front of her "Not a chance."
But Lyra placed a hand on his shoulder, stepping forward.
"You're the reason the Realms broke," she said "You led the betrayal."
"No," Serian replied calmly "I ended the lie. The Realms were never meant to endure. The Flamebound built their truth on stolen starlight."
Vaelion growled "You turned against the Flame. You betrayed your own blood."
Serian smiled "I freed us."
Without warning, the Riftborne surged.
Kaelen spun into battle instantly, blade meeting voidsteel. Riven deployed a kinetic pulse, sending two enemies flying from the edge of the floating isle. Kaela launched twin bolts of white flame, carving protective sigils mid-air.
Lyra reached deep into the Aether Key, drawing power she hadn't dared tap into since Embergrave. The Key glowed blindingly bright — and she moved like fire given form.
Every step seared the platform. Every motion burned.
But it wasn't enough.
More Riftborne emerged, waves of them. The sky was choked with them now, raining black fire and ruin.
"Fall back!" Mazen shouted "This isn't a fight we can win!"
Lyra's instincts warred with her fury. She wanted to stand her ground, to burn them all down. But Kaelen grabbed her wrist, eyes fierce.
"We fall back today," he said, "so we can win tomorrow."
She hesitated — then nodded.
"Back to the ship!" she called out.
Riven triggered the Nightingale's emergency beacon. The ship swooped down, cutting a swath through Riftborne with its defense runes blazing.
The team leapt aboard just as a massive Riftborne fired a beam of annihilation — narrowly missing the ship as it soared upward.
As they retreated into the upper aether skies, the team stood in stunned silence.
Below, Aetherreach burned.
The Riftborne had claimed the realm.
And Serian… had returned.
In the Nightingale's war room, Lyra leaned on the console, her flames dim.
"We're running out of time," she said.
Vaelion nodded solemnly "Then we stop running. We find the next Key. We find the Heart of Solarian. And we end this."
Kaela looked at Lyra "Where to next?"
Lyra clenched her fists. The Aether Key pulsed once, then slowly shifted — revealing a new starpath. A name flared into existence across the map.
"Voidspire."
She stared into the hologram "That's where the next key is. That's where the Starflame fragment sleeps."
"And the Void waits."