The guardian shifted its weight.
The sound of bone grinding against bone carried across the desert. Lucien didn't move. He watched the creature carefully, wings of golden light still spread behind him.
"Formation lock."
Aurora Covenant moved instinctively. Garrick stepped forward again, resetting his stance. His shield slammed into the sand as new stone surged outward from the ground. This time the defensive wall formed thicker. Wider. More stable.
"...Better," Garrick muttered.
Orion shifted to the right flank, bow raised. Kaida moved slightly left, shadows already spreading across the sand. Mira crouched low, drawing a new summoning circle with careful precision. Seris remained just behind the front line, golden light already gathering around her hands.
Nox stood beside Lucien. Watching.
The guardian's skull tilted slightly. Then its ribcage opened. Orion spoke quietly.
"...Incoming."
The creature inhaled. A moment later—a storm of bone fragments shot outward like shrapnel.
"Shield!" Lucien ordered.
Garrick braced. Stone erupted upward in a solid barrier. Most of the fragments shattered on impact. Several punched through. One clipped Garrick's shoulder. Another struck the sand beside Mira and embedded itself deep into the ground.
"...Okay," Garrick said. "Still hurts."
Lucien moved. Golden light flared as he launched forward again. His blade carved a bright arc across the guardian's chest. Bone cracked under the strike, but the creature barely reacted. Its arm swung immediately. Lucien twisted midair, narrowly avoiding the blow before landing several meters away. The impact shook the ground.
Orion fired. Three arrows of pale moonlight streaked across the battlefield. Two pierced the creature's shoulder. The third bounced off its rib plating.
"...Armor confirmed," Orion said calmly.
Kaida lifted her hand. Shadow surged upward around the creature's leg. The darkness coiled tightly around the joint. For a moment—the guardian slowed. Then it flexed. The shadows snapped apart.
Kaida frowned. "That should have held longer."
Mira finished her summoning circle. "Okay. Try this again."
Two spectral wolves burst from the glowing sigil and charged forward. They slammed into the creature's knee. The guardian staggered half a step. Then kicked. Both summons shattered instantly into fragments of fading light.
Mira stared. "...That was my improved version."
Seris raised her hands. Warm golden energy flowed outward, stabilizing the strain building in Lucien's authority. "Careful," she said softly.
Lucien nodded once. Then moved again. This time he didn't strike the chest. His blade slid downward—searching.
Behind him, Nox was studying the creature's movements. Something about its pattern felt wrong. In the future he remembered, this guardian had been fast. Almost feral. This one fought differently. Slower. Heavier. But every attack carried tremendous force.
Another change.
The creature moved again. This time its gaze shifted. Straight toward Nox. Lucien stepped between them instantly.
"Eyes on me."
The guardian swung again. Lucien blocked with his blade. The impact forced him several meters back, boots dragging through the sand.
Nox spoke quietly. "Left knee joint."
Lucien adjusted immediately. His next strike cut sharply across the joint. Bone cracked. The guardian staggered. Orion reacted instantly. Two arrows struck the same point in rapid succession.
"Target confirmed."
Kaida's shadows surged again. This time she focused everything on the weakened joint. The darkness wrapped tightly around the leg. It held.
"Now!" Mira shouted.
A new summoning circle ignited beneath her. Three spectral wolves burst forward. They slammed into the guardian's damaged leg. The creature lost balance. Garrick reacted immediately. Stone surged upward beneath the creature's weight, destabilizing it further.
"Push!"
Lucien launched upward. Golden light blazed brighter around him. His blade came down in a powerful strike. The guardian's knee shattered. The creature collapsed to one knee. The impact shook the desert.
Aurora Covenant paused for a moment. Not because the fight was over. But because the guardian—was still staring at Nox. Even now.
Lucien noticed again. "...That's three times."
Nox said nothing. Because something else had caught his attention. The creature should not have fallen this quickly. Not even close. Which meant the timeline was already diverging.
__
Meanwhile - Aurora Covenant Building
Kairos sat in front of the monitoring screen. The live raid feed filled the display. Outside the gate, emergency broadcasts had taken over every major network. A recon drone hovered near the gate's edge, its camera projecting a stabilized view from inside.
On screen—Aurora Covenant fought the massive guardian beneath a fractured violet sky. A news banner scrolled across the bottom: BREAKING — S-RANK GATE OFF SEOUL'S EASTERN COAST.
The commentator's voice carried through the speakers. "Viewers across South Korea are witnessing the first S-ranked gate engagement in recorded history."
Kairos leaned forward. His hands rested on the desk. Four small elements orbited slowly around his fingers. Fire. Wind. Water. Earth. Balanced. But trembling.
"...Lucien."
The camera zoomed slightly as the guardian dropped to one knee. For a moment it looked like the team had the advantage. Then the drone feed flickered. Kairos frowned.
"Signal interference?"
The camera stabilized again. And this time—something else was visible. The sky inside the gate was cracking. Thin fractures spread slowly across the violet expanse.
Kairos sat up straight. "...The environment is destabilizing."
Outside the gate, another drone appeared in the broadcast feed. Black armored figures moved into position along the perimeter. Kairos recognized the insignia immediately.
Regulated Order.
"...Elias," he murmured.
__
Back inside the gate—the guardian began to rise again. And the fractured sky above the desert started to break.