[OPENING SCENE — DAWN, SKYVAULT EDGE DISTRICT]
Alarms scream through the waking city. Residents flee as storm clouds churn unnaturally above the Edge District. A tear rips through the skyline, and from it descends a dark fleet of skyships — jagged, obsidian, and wreathed in violet lightning.
At their helm: Xerai, draped in abyssal cloaks, her crown formed of bone and static. The former warlord exiled into Riftspace has returned.
Xerai (raising her staff):
"Let SkyVault remember its past sins... and kneel."
[SCENE — VAN HQ, EMERGENCY DEPLOYMENT]
The Vanguards are already moving. Crimsa loads gear silently, while Kael leads strategy.
Kael:
"Edge District is collapsing. Xerai didn't come back alone — she brought a Rift army."
Tari (grim):
"Her Phantom Strain soldiers are equipped with splicing blades. They phase through matter."
Jax (tightening gloves):
"Guess it's a good morning for war."
Irion (to Crimsa):
"You ready for your second big day?"
Crimsa (clicks gauntlets):
"Born ready."
[SCENE — SKYVAULT EDGE, WARZONE]
The Vanguards arrive in a hellstorm. Phantom Strain soldiers blink in and out of visibility, striking with spectral blades. Civilians are trapped beneath debris. Drones collapse from overloads.
Kael (to Echo-7):
"Override grid power. Blackout zone now!"
Echo-7:
"Done. Deploying Pulse Mines."
The battlefield becomes chaos — Rift energy pulsing, buildings shattering, smoke thick. Jax unleashes shockwaves that crack streets. Yuna creates floral shields to protect civilians. Tari drops Phantom troops from afar.
But Xerai joins the fight.
Xerai (to Kael):
"You fight like ghosts holding on to sunlight. I bring the void."
She lashes out with a wave of energy — half the team is blasted backward.
Yuna (bleeding, pulling Kael up):
"We're getting overwhelmed."
Irion (panting):
"They're syncing with the Rift. It's amplifying them."
Crimsa:
"Then we cut the signal. Cover me."
[SCENE — CORE SIGNAL TOWER, CHAOS CENTER]
As the others stall Xerai's forces, Crimsa scales a collapsing tower rigged with Rift tech. She hacks through phasing traps, using a makeshift tether Echo-7 uploaded to her suit.
Echo-7 (via comms):
"The tower is channeling the invasion. Disrupt it, and the army destabilizes."
Crimsa (gritting teeth):
"One problem at a time."
She reaches the core and plunges an overload spike into it — the tower erupts in static-light.
[SCENE — BATTLEFIELD, AS THE SKY SHATTERS]
The Phantom soldiers begin glitching, shrieking, and vanishing into digital ash. Xerai sees her army fall.
Xerai (screaming):
"No! This city was mine!"
Kael, bleeding, steps forward.
Kael:
"And it still stands — not because of power, but because we rise. Together."
Kael charges, combining with Irion's energy. Their attack collides with Xerai — a blinding flash.
When the light clears, Xerai is gone. Not dead… but displaced again.
[SCENE — VAN HQ, INFIRMARY]
The Vanguards lie bandaged, battered, but breathing. Crimsa has a cracked visor. Jax is on IV drip, Yuna rests with a healing blossom on her chest. Kael stares out the window, shoulders heavy.
Aurix (entering):
"You survived. But Xerai won't stop next time."
Tari (quiet):
"We barely held her off."
Crimsa (half-grin):
"Barely's still a win."
Irion:
"Something tells me… this is just the first ripple."
They all fall silent as thunder rumbles faintly — but the sky remains whole.
[TO BE CONTINUED...]