The golden tranquility of the Helios-9 system was shattered not by an explosion, but by the sound of the universe being unzipped. In the high orbit above Eternia, just past the metallic glint of the Xylosian industrial moon, a rift in space-time manifested.
It was not a chaotic tear like those formed by the Red Dragon cultists. It was a perfect, geometric aperture, a hexagonal gateway of white neon light that hummed with a frequency that made every mana-core on the planet vibrate in sympathetic resonance.
From the gateway emerged a vessel that defied every aesthetic of the Frost Tide. It was a spear of polished chrome and translucent crystal, five miles long and surrounded by a rotating ring of gravitational anchors. It did not fly so much as it displaced reality, appearing instantly in the center of the Helios system as if it had always been there.
[ SYSTEM ALERT ]
[ DETECTION: TIER 15 INTERSTELLAR EMPIRE ]
[ DESIGNATION: THE KYROS HEGEMONY ]
[ THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME ]
