With the Emerald Talon secured and the Trinity Shield proven in battle, the growing fleet returned to the safety of the Void-Pocket. However, the peace was short-lived as a haunting, rhythmic signal began to bypass the Celestial Vanguard's encryption.
"It's an SOS on the old Aethelgard military bands," Elis reported, her holographic form glitching with static. "It's coming from the Obsidian Expanse—a sector filled with dead moons and graveyard stations. The signal name is... The Crimson Fury."
Valerius went rigid, his hand tightening on his amber blade. "The Fury was the flagship of the Berserker Corps. If she's still alive, she's likely trapped in a Infinite Combat Loop—a Vorthax trap that forces a ship to relive its final battle forever to farm its energy."
The War-World of Kratos
The fleet dropped out of warp near Kratos, a planet that looked like a jagged tooth made of industrial steel and fire. The entire world was encased in a Chronometric Cage, a shimmering red barrier that slowed time to a crawl within its borders.
"Look at the surface," Kael whispered, his Tier 4.0 eyes piercing through the atmospheric haze.
Below, thousands of ancient Starborn Wraiths were locked in a stalemate with an endless army of Vorthax Centurions. Because of the time-loop, every time a soldier died, they were "respawned" by the planet's core to fight again.
"MY BROTHER IS THERE," Ignis roared, his obsidian hull vibrating with a mournful resonance. "HIS RAGE IS TEARING THE WORLD APART."
The Mission: Break the Loop
"We can't bring the ships in," Doc Gear-Grinder warned, adjusting Kael's Resonance Gauntlet. "The time-dilation will freeze your engines. You'll have to go down on foot, enter the Core of Kratos, and shatter the Loop-Anchor."
The Team: Kael, Valerius, and Lyra.
The Objective: Locate the Crimson Fury's pilot, Ares, who is currently acting as the battery for the entire planet's war.
The Danger: If they stay inside the cage for more than an hour, their own biological clocks will sync with the loop, and they will never be able to leave.
As they stepped onto the surface, the air was filled with the sounds of a battle that had been raging for 500 years. A spent plasma bolt froze mid-air inches from Kael's face.
"Don't touch the projectiles," Lyra warned, her silver hair flowing in slow-motion. "If you disturb the loop, it resets on you."
Suddenly, a massive figure in blood-red armor crashed through a nearby wall. It wasn't a machine, but it wasn't human either. Its eyes were burning pits of cinders.
"Fresh meat," the armored figure hissed, raising a dual-bladed axe that dripped with chronometric energy. "I haven't killed a new face in five centuries."
[NEW ENEMY: ARES THE BERSERKER (CORRUPTED STARBORN)] [RESONANCE LEVEL: TIER 4.5]