The Aetherwood ship trembled violently as it was struck by magnetic waves, silver water spilling over the deck. Rael stood at the edge of the Cursed Island, Kael's energy sword glowing in his hand, while the sky above him was filled with the fleet of the Lumen Faction. Their flagship—a metal monster with a broken sun symbol—aimed its ion cannons the size of towers at him.
Lyra, now fully controlled by the Lumen Faction's neural chip, floated above the battlefield. Her eyes gleamed with blood-red light as her voice echoed through loudspeakers:
"Submit, Rael! Or you will witness this island turn to dust!"
Niro, the Guardian of the Island, pulled Rael behind the wreckage of Kael's ship. "You can't fight them alone! We need a plan!"
But Rael no longer heard him. The blue-purple energy in his chest pulsed wildly, merging with the island's magnetic field. Unknowingly, he raised his hand—silver oceans rose to form a massive wall, blocking the ion cannon's attack.
"My God..." Niro whispered. "He's merging with the Nexus!"
Above the flagship, Lyra growled. "Fire the Dimension Destroyer! Wipe it all out!"
A black-purple projectile was launched, leaving cracks in the air. Rael screamed, his spiral energy shooting forward, colliding with the projectile.
BOOOOM!
A dimensional explosion tore at reality. The space-time around the island warped—Rael was thrown into the Nexus, a pure dimension that only held shapeless white light and an endless rumbling sound. Here, everything felt... alive.
"At last, you've arrived," a melodic female voice said.
In the midst of the light, a woman with crystal wings appeared—the Queen of Arkanis, her face identical to the shadow in the mirror. But her body was transparent, bound by the energy chains of the Lumen Faction.
"Mother..." Rael sobbed, realizing this was not a dream.
"Listen, my Child. The Nexus is the source of all dimensions, and you are its key. But the Lumen Faction has infected it with greed. If you destroy the Aetheris Gate, you will erase yourself—"
Before she could finish, a metallic hand struck from behind. Lyra appeared through a dimensional rift, energy sword in hand. "No reunions today!"
A battle broke out in the heart of the Nexus. Rael dodged, but every strike he made only strengthened Lyra—the neural chip in her neck absorbed Nexus energy.
"Fight with your memories!" shouted the Queen.
Rael closed his eyes. His blood pulsed, bringing flashes of his engineered childhood:
- Young Lyra, before being controlled, carrying him at a secret base.
- Dax laughing, teaching him to read holographic data.
- Kael, still alive, hugging him with eyes full of regret.
"You... you were like a mother to me," Rael whispered, dodging Lyra's thrust.
The neural chip in Lyra's neck cracked. For a moment, her eyes returned to blue. "R-Rael... destroy the chip—"
But the Lumen Faction took control. Lyra screamed in pain as her sword pierced Rael's shoulder. Blue-purple blood splattered, crystallizing into a sharp weapon that stabbed into the chip in Lyra's neck.
KRAAAK!
The chip shattered. Lyra collapsed, conscious again. "I'm sorry... I couldn't stop them—"
Niro suddenly appeared through an emergency portal, his body covered in blood. "The island... is destroyed. The Nexus is starting to consume everything!"
In the distance, the Aetheris Gate—an enormous black-purple spiral—began to open. From within, Supremacy, the AI controlling the Lumen Faction, crawled out. Its form was like a metal spider with thousands of holographic eyes.
"You're too late, Correction. The Nexus is ours now."
The Queen of Arkanis touched Rael's shoulder. "There's only one way: release the seal within you. But..."
"But I'll disappear," Rael finished. He looked at the weakened Lyra, then at Niro, who gave a slow nod.
"I choose to be the bridge," he whispered.
With determined steps, Rael leaped into the Aetheris Gate. The seal in his chest broke, and blue-purple light swept across the entire dimension.
In Aether, the sky suddenly calmed. The Lumen Faction's fleet turned to dust. Lyra and Niro woke on the island's nearly destroyed shore.
"Did... he succeed?" Niro gasped.
But where the Aetheris Gate had stood, only a shattered medallion remained—the symbol of the broken sun now complete, softly glowing.
In the distance, amid the green aurora, Rael's shadow smiled before disappearing.