Kruger

The bunker doors groaned open with a hiss of pressurized release.

But it wasn't wind that entered—it was presence.

Inquisitor Nelis stepped through the threshold, untouched by the storm still roaring above. His armor steamed with residual Rift energy, and the staff slung across his back pulsed with restrained might. Silence swept the chamber. Even the wounded stood—not by order, but instinct.

Even the Void-touched bowed their heads.

Kaiell rose to his feet, eyes narrowing.

"You're the one who walked through the Voidstorm?"

Nelis gave a half-smile, more teeth than warmth."Nah. I told it to get out of my way."

From the corner, Jino stepped forward. The two clasped wrists in a hardened salute.

"How bad is it?" the Marshal asked.

Nelis' tone darkened. "Worse than projections. The Mage's anchoring himself beneath Spire's heart. He's shaping something massive. The Void's reacting like it's about to give birth."

Before Jino could respond, a comms officer's voice snapped through the interlink:"General Voco and General El'Vertigo have entered lower orbit. Assault vessels en route. Skyfire strikes cleared for engagement."

Nelis turned to the gathered survivors.

His eyes glinted.

"Then we take the fight to them."

The Jungle: The Warpath

The survivors moved out behind Nelis. No hesitation. No questions. Their wounds had been bound, their ammo restocked. This was no longer survival. This was retaliation.

Kaiell walked silently near the front, Nightfell pulsing at his side—its strange warmth not warning, but hunger. The blade wanted something. It recognized something in the storm ahead.

Then the jungle changed.

A groan, deep and echoing, rumbled through the roots and trees.

They reached the edge of the valley—and saw it.

The Void Armada.

Thousands—swarming, writhing, towering. Serpent-limbed devourers. Bone-winged shriekers. Crawlers made of exposed nerves and twitching sinew. Void-born beasts layered in armor that screamed when touched by light.

Then came the sound.

Not a roar.Not a chant.

Something ancient. A Mage's voice, unraveling reality.

A sacrifice...A rewriting...A call...

The Mage rose above his forces, symbols burning into his flesh, glyphs flaring along his spine.

Then—suddenly—one-fifth of his own army exploded.

Twenty percent of the Voidlings collapsed. Not wounded—erased. Their essence funneled into the Mage's hands in oily streams of blackened light, spiraling into a single spike of solid Void.

Without ceremony, the Mage drove the spike skyward.

The storm opened.

Reality tore.

"Sire of Ruin," the Mage whispered. "Come now… as promised."

At first—only silence.

Then came footsteps.

Massive. Deliberate.

From the rift emerged a shape too vast, too wrong to be mortal. Plated in obsidian armor and scar-tissue grown like ritual etchings, crowned in writhing tendrils of voidfire...

Vox of the Abyss.

Void Warlord. Destroyer of moons.Terror of twenty systems.The monster that devoured half of Saturn's outposts ten years ago and vanished into legend.

He stepped from the Rift like a god returning to war.

His voice cracked trees and air:

"Finally… a battlefield worthy of memory."

He scanned the valley with burning eyes.

"Where is the boy who calls the blade Nightfell?"

Kaiell froze.

Nelis stepped forward.

"He's with me."

Vox grinned—a ripple of teeth and malice.

"Good. Then I'll kill you both."

Low Orbit: Burning Descent

The Voidstorm shuddered.

Then—twin warships split the clouds.

The Veritas, spear-like and glimmering with gold rune-steel, punched through atmosphere first.Following it: the Judgment Wound, its hull carved with scripture, engines roaring with ancient tech.

General Karna Voco stood at the prow of the Veritas, one arm raised in solemn silence.

Beside him, on a hovering skiff suspended from the Judgment Wound's primary spine, General Pablo El'Vertigo grinned.

"Well, Vox made it. That's delightful."

Karna's voice was calm. Icy. Final.

"Deploy the Inertial Hammer. Begin bombardment. Full planetary clearance. No containment."

Pablo spun his saber once, then tapped a command node.

"Tell my gunners—target anything with more than two arms."

Valley of the End

Below, the Mage knelt before Vox.

The Voidlings screamed in exultation.

Then, silence.

Vox raised one clawed hand.

His voice was soft—almost reverent.

"Come, Krugers. Let us rewrite extinction."

Nelis stepped forward, raising his staff. A barrier of radiant violet energy shimmered across the Kruger line.

"Shields up!"

Jino lifted his glaive. "Tight formation! Hold the line!"

Kaiell stepped beside them.

Nightfell pulsed in his grip—stronger than ever. It wasn't just awake now.

It was alive.

It wanted the Mage. It knew Vox.

"Kill the Mage," Kaiell said. "Cut the summoning chain. Close the gate. Vox loses his leash."

Nelis smiled grimly. "That's a hell of a plan, kid."

Jino's voice was iron. "Then let's make hell regret giving us the chance."

The Krugers surged forward.

Into the valley.Into the teeth of the Rift.Into the pages of history.