Sylas Korr faced the Shatterkin Lord, her silver hair blazing like a comet under the B-tier Veil's violet glow. Klythios loomed before her, a towering fusion of shadow and crystal, its void-eyes burning into her soul. The slums of Ironhaven trembled beneath them, shacks crumbling like brittle bones as the Veil's low hum sent tremors through the air.
Ember-like runes pulsed violently on Sylas's scarred skin, each beat synced with the Ecliptic Codex thrumming in her chest like a caged storm. She cracked her knuckles, her gangster grin sharp enough to cut glass.
"You talk big, void-face," she taunted, eyes locked on Klythios. "Let's see if you fight half as good as you preach."
Klythios's voice was a subterranean tremor, more felt than heard. "Codex-bearer," it rumbled, "you wield Ecliptor's fire, yet you know nothing of its cost. Join me, and I shall unveil the truth hidden within the Veils."
Sylas let out a laugh, street-born and scornful. "Join you? I don't play sidekick, ugly."
Her grey eyes burned, the memory of every slum beating, every Sentinel sneer, every time they called her "Silver Weakling" boiling to the surface. She had Emberclad now. She had Voidstep. She had power. And she wasn't bowing to anyone.
But Klythios's mention of Ecliptor clawed at her thoughts.
"Careful, spark," the Codex whispered. It was usually smug, but now its voice was taut. "He's old. Older than me. Defeat him, and power is yours. Fail, and Ironhaven becomes ash."
Below, Veyra Sol battled chaos. Her ice-forged sword flashed as she shielded the slum children, cloak shredded and bruises darkening her sharp features. "Sylas! Don't listen to it!"
Toren crouched nearby, Aether gadget sparking erratically as he fought to stabilize the Veil's rift. Behind him, slum kids huddled, clinging to each other and their stolen shards, hope flickering in their eyes like the last embers of a dying fire.
Sylas snarled. She Voidstepped, flickering ten feet to the side of the Shatterkin Lord, and unleashed Emberclad.
Fire. Raw, primal, and vengeful.
It slammed into Klythios's crystal limb, exploding cracks across the polished surface. The beast roared, slashing with a claw of shadow. Sylas Voidstepped again—too late. The edge grazed her shoulder, slicing cloth and drawing blood. She stumbled, pain flashing hot, but her gangster grin never faltered.
"Cheap shot," she spat, planting her feet.
Klythios responded with a wave of tendrils made of sentient dark. One lashed her leg, sending her sprawling. Her breath wheezed, but she gritted her teeth. Voidstep and Emberclad were draining her fast.
Veyra leapt into the fray, ice blade carving through Klythios's leg. Frost bloomed across the surface, but the Lord of Shatterkin swatted her aside with terrifying ease.
"Veyra!" Sylas screamed, sprinting to her side. She helped her up.
"Focus, Scavenger," Veyra growled, blood on her lip. "It's toying with us."
Sylas narrowed her eyes. Then she raised both palms, and the fire surged.
Another blast of Emberclad hit Klythios dead center, shattering a plate of its torso. The Shatterkin shrieked, staggering. Her runes pulsed wildly, the Codex screaming inside her.
"Push harder, spark," it hissed. "Spend your Marks. Unlock Graviton Pulse. Ten Marks, and you crush him."
Ten Marks. From the Behemoth. From the Shardlings. She had more than enough.
"Do it," Sylas snarled.
Power rushed in.
Her runes glowed brighter than ever, the air around her thickening with pressure. The slums warped in her vision. Gravity bent to her will.
"Time to squash you, void-face."
She thrust her hand forward. The air rippled. Graviton Pulse slammed into Klythios, pinning the beast to the cobbled street. Its knees cracked, massive legs buckling.
Veyra pounced. Her ice blade slashed the Lord's arm, spreading frost like infection. Toren fired a final pulse from his gadget, disrupting the Veil's energy. Klythios faltered, roar turning into a glitchy whimper.
"You cannot stop the Veils' awakening," it gasped. "Ecliptor's legacy will rise."
It lunged. Sylas Voidstepped, slower now. The claw sliced her again, deeper. She hit the dirt, shoulder torn, blood soaking her ripped shirt.
"Sylas!" Toren cried, running to her.
Veyra stumbled forward, weapon raised, but she too was waning. The kids screamed. Another shack fell.
No. No more.
"Get... up," Sylas whispered to herself. Her breath tasted like copper and dust.
She forced herself upright. Graviton Pulse thrummed in her veins. Her kindness—the part Elias had taught her to never kill—burned like a second fire.
"You don't get to win," she growled.
She unleashed another Pulse. Stronger. Deadlier. The ground beneath Klythios cratered. Its body cracked in a dozen places.
Veyra struck its heart.
The Shatterkin Lord shattered. Aether exploded. The essence surged into Sylas's chest, flooding her.
"Shatterkin Lord defeated. Twenty Ecliptic Marks gained," the Codex purred. "You are a storm, spark. But the Veils are only beginning to stir. Ecliptor's shadow looms."
Sylas collapsed, her runes flickering.
Veyra caught her. "You're insane," she muttered.
Sylas grinned weakly. "You like that about me."
Toren knelt beside them, his gadget dead in his hands. His face was pale. "Sylas... that thing knew the Codex. The Old Pantheon. This isn't just some power-up. It's divine."
Sylas chuckled. "Divine, huh? Sounds like tomorrow's problem."
The slum kids gathered around them, eyes wide with awe. Sylas tossed a glowing shard to one bruised boy.
"Keep it safe, runt," she whispered. "You're stronger than you know."
But the Codex spoke again, louder now. "Tomorrow's trouble is already here, spark."
The rift behind them pulsed again.
From the mist stepped a woman in a flowing robe, her eyes aglow with Aether.
Oracle Lysara.
"Codex-bearer," she said, voice smooth as silk and cold as ice. "You've drawn too much attention. Come with me. Or Ironhaven burns."
Sylas rose, runes flaring.
"You wanna threaten my home?" she said, voice low, lethal. "Bring it, lady."
The Veil spat out more Shardlings behind Lysara.
Sylas cracked her knuckles. Graviton Pulse hummed like a war drum.
The slums were hers to protect.
And no Oracle was going to stop her.