In this game, the Nexus Realm shuddered as it came under severe attack by the Heralds of Ruin. And with each second, the shields by which their haven was defended grew thinner, and the structure of the multiverse tensed. Haru and his team waited, none of them backing down despite what was to come; they were as prepared as they would ever be.
"System Alert: Ref received. Name: Herald of Cataclysm. Category: Threat Level Red. New Protocol: Extermination.
There was a strange alert by the Rebirth System, that informed them of the coming danger. Then there was the Herald of Cataclysm that appeared out of blight in the Nexus's structure and now loomed over its vicinity. It had a hammer, which, in its presence, brought destruction and broken shards of worlds; even its footprints created fissures on the Earth.
Fists tightened Aiko starting the combustion around her. Much as we almost didn't manage the first one, and now this?
Rin who always cool-headed when it comes to fighting responses by saying, "We have studied from the last fight, we can do it if united. "
Miyuki smiled nodding her head affirmatively and with her water abilities creating a safeguard surrounding Oresama's team. 'It's a good idea to work on destabilizing its relation to the Nexus, just as we did before; we cannot allow it to breach through.'
His weapon in his hand, Haru inhaled deeply. Let me elaborate on this by providing you the most appropriate quotes: 'Let's make this count. We're all in.'
Understandably so, the Rebirth System realized that it needed to step up the game and increase the powers output and the coordination to boot when it came to fighting the Herald. "System Update: Energy Sync Initiated. <4>Combat Efficiency has been boosted to Levels 25%.
The team separated, all of them taking a stance around the Herald of Cataclysm. Aiko cast blasts of scorching hot fires in order to cause the entity to lose ground. Flames almost reached the Herald and made the creature change its position on the ground. At the same time, Rin accumulated all her strength in order to bring several enormous stone pillars from the ground in order to hinder the approach of the Herald.
Miyuki 'distancing' herself from it, swirled the water in the air in circles around the Herald's head thus blinding it and causing confusion. As such, Haru used the confusion to his favor and rushed towards the Herald as fast as he could to get a hit to their center.
However, the Herald of Cataclysm was not so easy to kill and it managed to dodge his attack. Snarling, it raised its hammer up high and slammed it down; the impact shook the Nexus and knocked apart the stone pillars as well as dispelling Miyuki's trapped vortex. The ground started to crack and gap beneath them; there was a strong possibility that the whole lot of them would be devoured.
"System Alert: Nexus integrity compromised. Immediate countermeasures needed."
The system's message shook the team off their lethargy. They had to prevent the Herald from creating more havoc to the situation.
"Rin, keep it distracted!" Shouted Haru as he quickly joined everyone else and tried to catch his breath. "Miyuki, Aiko, with me! We're going to hit it with everything we have!
Rin blinked and nodded, calling more earth to wrap around the Herald's legs, time for the others. Haru, Aiko, and Miyuki work together, straining their powers, focusing through the Rebirth System.
"System Directive: Unable to get Overload Protocol. Proposing an attack called Synch with Elemental Fusion.
The suggestion that was made by the system was accepted by the team. As much as they pledged to strike simultaneously, they had never tried it before but they understood that it was their only opportunity.
Thanks to Aiko's flames and Miyuki's water, the light radiating from Haru's blade was excruciating even to look at. From around them, began the sensation of the energy core surging, and drawing them into a rising maelstrom of elemental fury. It is here that the Rebirth System planned everyone's movements so that the energies would not interfere with each other and instead enhance the attack.
"System Alert: Coordinates Locked. Elemental Fusion System Standing by. Final assault activating now.
Realizing the threat the Herald of Cataclysm prepared to strike one final time, the hammer was lifted once more. But before it could do so, Haru and his team mobilised [their combined attack].
The spiral of light, flame, and water hit the Herald and sent him flying back; despite the pain, he stood his ground. The energy attacked the entity and penetrated all of its barriers destroying the dark energy that was binding the entity. Herald emitted one more loud sound as if the world was ending when the figure started breaking apart; it vanished into thin air.
"System Update: The Herald of Cataclysm has been neutralized The Nexus is now stable Warning: The final Herald is coming.
When the last note had been played and the final screens turned to black, everyone let out audible sighs of relief. But their respite was short-lived as some of their members who where militia men became restless and soon} The Rebirth System released a new prompt, and the content caused their scalps to tingle.
"System Alert: Last Herald Alive. Title: Herald of Oblivion. Threat level: Omega. Full Multiversal collapse pending with no action.
Thus, the Herald of Oblivion was different from all the rest. It is frightening, that masquerading under the appearance of a positive force it was an empty nothingness, a darkness that seemed to suck the very light and life out of everything that was near it. Before the two ships were near, the atmosphere of the Nexus got chilling and the fear invaded the spirit of the team.
'This… this one… it is different,' Rin said in a hushed voice, she was no longer as composed as she used to be. 'It feels like it's… sapping the strength right out of us'.
Haru frowned, and an infectious feeling of being overwhelmed by the events settled on him. 'It cannot be allowed, not under any circumstances whatsoever, and we can no longer afford to weigh our options.'
Aiko's flames were small and barely threatening when she confronted the Herald of Oblivion but she retraced them back. It has come to this. We cannot give up now."
Her voice was strong and calm as she was scared for her life, Miyuki said, "We have to come up with a way to contain it Since, if it goes to the Nexus core, then all is gone."
The Rebirth System, sensing the dire nature of the situation, displayed a new directive: 'System Directive: Start Final Sequence.' Alert: High Probability of System Overload.'
The Final Protocol was the last stand, the very last try to contain all the energy within the Nexus and the team to stop the Herald of Oblivion. It was rather dangerous and had all the potential of being a failure, but it was the only available strategy.
He stared at his team, he can sense that determination on their faces. Each and every last one of them was aware of the danger, but it was equally important that each one of them was aware of the prize that was up for the taking. Finally, with a nod in affirmation, he initiated the so called the Final Protocol.
"System Final Protocol: The Power Convergence is enabled now Calculate Dimensional Seal.
The Nexus was already emitting the light but as the Final Protocol initiated more energy were pulled towards the Nexus. The team could literally sense a connection with the Nexus core and its effect on the boost base that was beyond any powers that they had ever felt before.
The Herald of Oblivion, understanding this, released dark energy, which was going to consume everyone in the room. However the system assisted in part by the Final Protocol – rose a transparent wall of pure light to contain the invading darkness.
"System Directive: Focus All Energy on Dimensional Seal: Activation Preparation.
Haru and the others could give their power to the system which allowed the building of the dimensional seal around the Herald of Oblivion. It was terribly tense and the strain of continually having to keep the seal sealed was almost too much to bear.
But they didn't falter. Both of them, without barely noticing the pain, averted all their concentration on subduing the Herald. The seal also became more pronounced, its illumination increasing as the thing approached.
The Herald of Oblivion opened its mouth wide for the final time to roar out a sound that froze all, then, the dimensional seal started to close tighter, sucking the figure into the inside and the Herald of Oblivion was no more. It was the light of the Nexus's power which began to displace the darkness that had threatened to claim them all.
"System Alert: Gospodar of Erasure Saved. Last Protocol Completed. Multiversal Devourment Prevented.
When the light disappeared the entire team was back in the Nexus, tired but alive. The Herald of Oblivion was gone; Olesm disappeared into a black hole and the Nexus was protected again.
Haru got down onto his knees, breathing harder than anyone in the room. 'We… we did it. '
After a while seated beside him, Miyuki kneeled and put her hand on his shoulder. And the last: Nobody does it better: 'We did it together'.
The last of Rin's energy seemed to leak out of her with the words, but she was still able to muster a small smile. 'It's over… for now. '
Aiko who was seated by his side her flames now less bright than before but still alight grinned. "We make a pretty good team don't we?"
The Rebirth System, now stable and fully operational, displayed a final message: The mission is complete; all heralds are neutralized; the nexus is restored; "Awaiting new orders."
The team, having been through the confrontation, looked at each other thus realising that the battle was far from over. There would be new enemies, new difficulties which would threaten the multiverse but they knew. Both of them, with the Rebirth System at their side, would stand whatever the future would bring.
For now, however, they were content to rest-much to Vanish's relief-from the knowledge that, for the third time in as many days, they had overcome insurmountable odds, and that the Nexus, the multiverse, and their friendships were only tighter.