The sky of the First World had become a battlefield.
On one side stood the Alliance.
Guardians.
The Azure Dominion.
Crystal dragons.
Stone giants.
And the newly freed Harbinger.
On the other stood the Architects.
An army of beings made entirely from living light.
Neither side moved.
For a moment, the universe seemed to hold its breath.
Then—
A crimson portal opened behind the Architects.
Everyone turned.
A massive Devourer fleet emerged from the darkness.
Veyrath stood at the front of it.
Kael's expression hardened.
"You're here too."
Veyrath smiled.
"Of course."
He looked toward the Architects.
Then toward Kael.
"You didn't think I'd let them take the Last Core, did you?"
Seraphine raised her weapon.
"You're saying you'll help us?"
Veyrath laughed.
"Don't misunderstand."
"I don't care about your alliance."
His eyes turned toward the silver gateway.
"I care about what lies beyond it."
The leading Architect stepped forward.
"You have no authority here, Devourer."
Veyrath's smile disappeared.
"And you have no right to claim this universe."
A wave of energy exploded between them.
The battlefield erupted.
Architect warriors descended from the sky like falling stars.
Devourer ships opened fire.
The Alliance charged forward.
The First World became chaos.
Kael remained in the center of it all.
White energy surrounded his body as he blocked a massive Architect attack.
The impact sent him sliding across the ground.
Arion appeared beside him.
"Are you alright?"
Kael nodded.
"Yeah."
He looked toward the sky.
"We can't fight everyone."
Arion understood.
"So what do we do?"
Kael looked at the Last Core.
"We find out what they're really afraid of."
Aetherion suddenly spoke.
"Kael."
His voice was urgent.
"Look at the gateway."
Kael turned.
The silver gateway wasn't growing anymore.
It was shrinking.
The Architects weren't invading.
They were retreating.
Kael's eyes widened.
"Why?"
Aetherion answered.
"Because they're not here to fight."
"They're here to delay us."
A massive pulse shook the universe.
Every battle stopped.
The stars above the First World disappeared.
Not dimmed.
Disappeared.
A black void spread across the heavens.
Even Nox's crimson presence vanished.
Veyrath looked upward.
His face went pale.
"No..."
The Architect leader turned toward the void.
"The seal has failed."
Kael felt something cold move through his chest.
"What seal?"
No one answered.
Then—
A crack appeared across the sky.
Something pushed through from the other side.
A hand.
Not human.
Not mechanical.
Not made of energy.
It was darkness given form.
The hand slowly pulled itself through the crack.
The entire universe trembled.
Aetherion whispered the words Kael had been dreading.
"It's here."
Kael stared upward.
"The darkness?"
Aetherion shook.
"No."
"The thing that created it."
The crack expanded.
An enormous eye opened beyond reality.
It wasn't crimson.
It wasn't blue.
It wasn't any color Kael had ever seen.
It was empty.
And when it looked at him...
The Last Core screamed.
Kael fell to his knees.
For the first time since he had awakened Aetherion...
He was afraid.
The voice that followed wasn't loud.
It simply appeared inside the minds of every living being.
"At last."
"The Key has awakened."
The eye focused on Kael.
"Now..."
"Open the door."
The Last Core suddenly began to crack.