[OPENING SCENE — SKYVAULT POLICE STATION, EARLY MORNING]
Steam curls off scattered coffee cups. The sun rises through tinted glass. General Vortan leans over a glowing table with several Vanguard members gathered around — Kael, Yuna, Echo-7, and Aurix. Irion leans against the wall silently, arms crossed.
General Vortan:
"We've confirmed high-density movement near the fractured Core Ring. Nullborn's residual signal is still being hunted… but something else is moving. Something new."
Aurix:
"Something smarter?"
Echo-7 (projecting visuals):
"Smarter. Hungrier. These aren't just memory echos — these are command-signals. Organized ones."
Kael (steely):
"Then someone's giving orders."
[SCENE — VAN HQ GYM — MIDDAY TRAINING]
Jax is sparring with Veya while Irion watches from the edge. Yuna tends to Tari's arm, bandaging a burn from the last fight. It's quiet — too quiet.
Veya (taunting):
"You sure you're not getting soft, roar-boy?"
Jax (grinning):
"Soft like a plasma grenade, sweetheart."
Veya twirls her pistols and knocks him back. He flips midair and lands with flair.
Echo-7 (appearing as a floating tablet):
"Combat score: 7.4. Style points: 11."
Jax:
"See? Even the toaster thinks I'm fabulous."
Irion (half-smiling):
"Fabulousness doesn't win wars."
Everyone stops. Irion's serious tone casts a chill.
[SCENE — OUTER CRATER ZONE — INVESTIGATION SITE]
Kael leads a small recon squad to a strange structure forming outside the city — sleek black spires pushing out of the earth like teeth.
Kael (inspecting it):
"Nullborn wasn't building this… someone else is."
Tari (checking markings):
"These runes aren't psychic… they're techno-synthetic. Like Echo-7, but older."
Echo-7 (quietly):
"This structure predates the original SkyVault foundations. I'm detecting... ancestral coding."
A sudden shift — the spires emit a deep hum. From beneath the soil, dark metallic tendrils emerge and form into a humanoid shape.
???:
"You are trespassing on forbidden lattice."
A new entity appears — XERAI, a synthetic enforcer of the forgotten Core Laws. Cloaked in living circuitry, its voice modulates between male and female tones.
Xerai:
"Return to balance or be repurposed."
The squad braces. A new threat has arrived.
[SCENE — COMBAT: KAEL, TARI, ECHO-7 VS. XERAI]
Xerai moves impossibly fast, shifting between digital and physical form. Kael's flame barely touches it. Tari's shots flicker through its shield. Echo-7 tries to interface, but is denied.
Echo-7:
"It's like fighting a mirror of myself. Only smarter."
Kael (fighting back):
"We don't need to outthink it. Just hold it long enough—"
—for Irion to arrive.
Irion (from above):
"Duck."
A massive blast of Riftfire slams into Xerai, staggering it.
Xerai (processing):
"Unstable Oath-Variant. Marked: VOIDCAST."
Irion:
"That's right. Now move."
[SCENE — BACK AT HQ — POST-BATTLE]
The team regroups, analyzing the data. Xerai vanished after battle — leaving behind a shard with glowing script.
Veya:
"Okay, so we've had gems, shadows, psycho-AIs and now space-law robots?"
Jax:
"It's like the universe has a bingo card of trauma."
Yuna (softly):
"This shard... it's a map."
They all gather around as Echo-7 projects the decoded path — deep into the gravity-dead zones beneath SkyVault.
Aurix:
"Looks like we're going underground."
[SCENE — NIGHTFALL RESTAURANT, CLOSING SCENE]
The team tries to enjoy dinner. Chef Malro serves spicy udon and fried root-beast dumplings. There's laughter. A moment of peace.
Jax (mouth full):
"I swear, if one more villain crashes this place, I'm installing turrets in the soup bowls."
Malro (from kitchen):
"I heard that!"
Kael looks to the city skyline beyond the window. His smile fades slightly.
Kael (thinking):
"We're not just fighting enemies anymore. We're waking up the past."