The sky was an unending blend of violets and blacks, and rocks, dirt and debris hovered in the air, defying the pull of gravity, a telltale sign that the rift, wherever it was, was widening.
Vanya sucked in a deep breath, and she immediately regretted it as whisps of rift gas surged into her nostrils, the distinct burning sensation hard to miss.
On instinct, Vanya cut off her breathing, ignoring the sharp burning sensation of the rift gas in her airway.
Rift gas, just one amongst the many deadly pollutants spread from the void rifts. In excess inhalation, it was the very cause of lethal void mania, the most common cause of death and the fear of every demolition specialist, or rift runner as was the more commonly used title.
Vanya quickly grabbed her helmet, placing it over her head. The instant release of oxygen eased Vanya's burning lungs and she gulped in a much needed breath before slowing down her breathing, a vital requirement to reduce the rate of oxygen consumption as much as possible.
For rift runners like Vanya, extra oxygen tanks with the added weight, were a luxury they could not afford, and another common cause of death was running out of oxygen in the course of a mission.
"Agent Hale to UHF. Traces of rift gas from my current position. Energy scanners pinpoint instability north." Vanya reported her observation immediately.
"United Human Federation to Agent Hale, advance north to rift location. Decontamination team deployed, assessing rift instability in progress." The clipped voice of the UHF command buzzed in her earpiece.
Vanya adjusted her helmet as she trudged forwards. A short walk and the visor crackled with static, responding to the growing chaotic energy field and the sudden hike in the temperature.
The ground beneath her boots was cracked and dry, riddled with glowing fissures where void energy seeped through like a living infection.
'The rift is close...very close...' Vanya observed as her eyes scanned her surroundings, squinting to see through the green mist of thick rift gas.
Soon, her gaze settled on the rift. A jagged tear in reality that shimmered like broken glass. Beyond it was nothingness, a swirling abyss of dark energy where the void wraiths came from.
The job of a demolition expert on paper was simple: contain the rift before it ruptured and spilled its horrors into the city.
But in reality, there was nothing simple about running headfirst into oblivion.
Vanya tightened the straps of her harness and glanced back at her team. Three men in exo-suits, their faces hidden behind mirrored visors.
"Major rift identified. Five minutes until critical instability." UHF command relayed a status update.
"Copy that." Vanya replied, her voice steady despite the hammering of her heart.
"Move in." Vanya instructed, this time to her team.
Vanya sprinted forward, the weight of the explosive charges on her back was familiar but unwelcome. The stabilizer of her exo-suit whirred softly as she leapt over a chasm, landing on a precarious ledge that crumbled underneath her boots.
She barely kept her balance, throwing out an arm to steady herself.
"Vanya, the energy field is spiking." Grant, one of her teammates warned. "We've got activity."
"I see it." She muttered.
The air around the rift was alive with movement, dark shapes materialized in the periphery of her vision. Wraiths. Their skeletal form shimmered with void energy and their hollow, glowing eyes locked onto the team but their base was still rooted to the rift.
"Stay focused." Vanya ordered, unhooking the first charge from her pack. She pressed it against a fractured column of stone near the rift, activating the stabilizer field. The device hummed to life, anchoring the unstable terrain in place.
A screech cut through the air, sharp and grating. One of the wraiths lunged, its claw-like appendages slicing through the space where Vanya had stood seconds earlier. She rolled, came up on one knee, and fired her pulse gun. The bolt of blue energy hit the creature square in the chest, scattering it into a haze of black mist.
"They're getting free!" another teammate, Pike yelled, his pulse rifle lighting up the gloom.
"Keep them off me," Vanya snapped, planting the second charge. "We need four stabilizers in place before we can detonate."
Her fingers worked quickly, with the ease of expertise, but her mind was already calculating escape routes. Wraith attacks were growing more frequent in these parts, and this rift was more unstable than anything she'd faced before.
Usually, they would have a few minutes before the wraiths emerged, but this time, wraiths were summoned the moment the rift sensed their presence. The rift wasn't just growing, it seemed to be fighting back.
The third stabilizer was nearly in place when a deafening roar shook the ground. Vanya looked up just in time to see a massive wraith emerge from the rift. This one was different...larger, more defined, with jagged wings that crackled with void energy.
"Command, we've got a Type Four!" Vanya barked into her comm.
"Type Four confirmed," Command replied, their tone was too calm for Vanya's liking. "You are authorized to engage."
"Engage? Are you kidding me? It's a fucking Type Four!" Grant shouted.
Vanya ignored him, drawing her plasma blade. It hummed to life, casting an eerie glow over her face. "Stay back and finish the stabilizers. I'll keep it busy."
She charged the creature, her mind clear of everything but the rhythm of combat. The Type Four swung a massive claw, and she ducked, slashing at its leg. The blade cut deep, and the wraith screamed, black ichor spilling onto the ground.
"Come on, you ugly bastard," she muttered, dodging another swipe.
The creature's movements were faster now, its fury building. It lashed out with its tail, catching Vanya off guard and throwing her against a jagged rock. Pain lanced through her side, but she gritted her teeth and pushed herself up.
"Stabilizers are set!" Grant called.
"Good. Get to extraction," Vanya ordered, her voice sharp despite the blood trickling from her temple.
"What about you?" Chris, her third teammate asked in alarm.
"Just go!" Vanya snapped.
"UHF to Agent Hale, strange energy signatures detected. Requesting immediate clearance for detonation." Command instructed.
Vanya's eyes widened in alarm. "Agent Hale to UHF, my team is still within the effect range! They will need a minute to reach extraction! Do not detonate!" Vanya yelled, leaping to the side as the Type Four slashed at her again.
"Detonation in ten seconds! Evacuate the field immediately!" Came command's response.
"Ten seconds?!" Vanya hissed, in her distraction, the wing of the Type Four slammed into her back, sending her crashing to the ground.
A sharp ringing sound echoed in Vanya's skull, pain tore through her back along with the deathly chill that came with the touch of void spawn, and her vision blurred.
"Vanya!" Grant's voice sounded too close.
"No! Do not come back! Get to extraction! Detonation is in progress!" Vanya tried to scream but her tone was barely above a whisper, her throat sealed shut by the deathly chill of the wraith's touch.
"Nine...Eight... Seven...Six... Five... Four...Three...Two...One."
And then, the world itself erupted...