The aftermath of Khepri's Wake still lingered in Neon Eden's system logs. Reports streamed in from the surviving recruits and veterans, each detailing the chaos, the devastation, and, in some cases, the sheer improbability of survival. But for Aira, the battle had been less about survival and more about understanding the next step.
She stood on the observation platform of Recruitment Hall Seven, her silver moon hair cascading down her back, catching the glow of the artificial moon. Below, the city hummed as usual, unaware of the layers of war quietly being fought on the edges of known realms. The veterans and recruits she had fought alongside were either recovering, reassigned, or quietly recalibrating their own growth within the system.
"…Status," she whispered, almost reflexively.
The interface appeared immediately.
---
Level: 418 / 1000
Rank: Two
Condition: Optimal
Skills Active: Astral Severance, Cosmic Step, Void-Tide Dance, Stellar Pulse, Dominion Waltz of the Silent Void
Domain Authority: Active – Allies +50%, Foes -50%
---
The numbers were the same as before, yet she felt the subtle shift of authority now that she had engaged in true battlefield chaos. Level alone did not measure her growth; the way the system tracked refinement, skill evolution, and battlefield intuition mattered more than raw numbers.
A faint hum pulsed beneath her feet. Not from Neon Eden itself, but from the edge of the city, where fractured dimensional barriers allowed incursions from unstable realms. The system recognized the signature immediately—a trace, faint but growing, of a Rank Five entity attempting to breach a peripheral sector.
Aira's eyes narrowed.
"Prepare the transport."
> Destination: Fractured Sector 12B – Temporal Breach
Objective: Containment and reconnaissance of Rank Five incursion
The platform shimmered as the transport array activated, wrapping her in the familiar displacement field. Aira allowed herself a brief moment to close her eyes. Her previous missions had taught her that precision, not haste, determined success.
When she opened them, the environment had changed.
The breach sector was a chaotic landscape of fractured terrain. Gravity pulled unevenly in multiple directions. Light warped strangely, as though reflecting from non-existent surfaces. A faint energy haze lingered, distorting the air and making distant movement difficult to discern.
The drones were first to react. Not hundreds, but thousands, moving as one, testing the limits of the broken realm. Their ranks were tight, formations fluid, adapting to shifts in terrain faster than most human or evolved operators could respond.
Aira stepped forward, assessing. Her mind calculated angles, distances, and probabilities. Every movement she had learned over the past year, every skill honed, all came together in subtle precision.
"…System," she said, voice steady. "Activate combat analysis."
> Analysis: Foes present: 1,248 drones – Combined Threat Level: Approaching Rank Four
Recommended Action: Prioritize area control and core destabilization
Aira smiled faintly.
"Just like old times," she murmured, drawing her sword. Its edge glimmered faintly, reflecting her own authority.
She moved.
"Cosmic Step."
Space folded around her, depositing her in the center of the advancing swarm. Blades whirred, shock emitters flared, and she responded in kind:
"Astral Severance."
The strike swept through the front ranks, severing drone cores in rapid succession. Drones fell before her, their systems collapsing with precise authority. Allies in the periphery gained a boost, their movements sharper, attacks stronger.
She flowed through the battlefield like water shaping itself around obstacles, using Void-Tide Dance to weave between attacks while striking with lethal precision. The drones adapted, but not fast enough. Each skill she invoked evolved subtly, integrating feedback from her surroundings and previous actions.
The breach pulsed. A deeper tremor resonated from the sector core—Rank Five presence manifesting.
Aira did not hesitate. She advanced toward the epicenter, cutting through thousands of drones with Dominion Waltz of the Silent Void. To an observer, it looked like a mesmerizing dance. To the drones, it was devastating authority made manifest.
As she approached the core, the environment shifted violently. Gravity surged in bursts. The terrain tore apart beneath her feet. The breach's energy began to form a semi-solid, quasi-organic shape—an unstable Rank Five entity attempting to materialize fully.
Aira paused, taking in the scale of the threat. She could have waited for reinforcements, but hesitation here would allow the entity to solidify, potentially reaching Rank Six imminence.
"…System," she said. "Calculate maximum containment output."
> Output achievable: 84% efficiency with current skill set.
Risk: Severe strain on operator; potential system feedback.
She exhaled slowly.
"Then 84% it is."
She invoked Stellar Pulse, the blade glowing with cosmic light as energy coalesced along her strikes. Each cut, each motion, disrupted the entity's formation, destabilizing its emergence. The realm shook violently, cracks forming in the ground and sky, fragments of distorted light cascading through the area.
The Rank Five entity retaliated with overwhelming force. Energy blasts collided with her authority in jagged bursts. Systems around the sector registered extreme gravitational flux. Some drones were crushed in the chaos, others accelerated unnaturally, forcing her to weave, step, and strike with precision that bordered on instinct.
Her silver hair flowed behind her, moonlight catching it in waves as she moved with calculated grace. Each skill evolved further, subtly improving damage, range, and efficiency with every strike.
The battle raged, relentless, as she advanced to the entity's core. She felt her level rising, but deliberately ignored it for now—experience alone was not enough; she needed control.
Finally, with a concentrated surge of authority, Aira drove her sword into the entity's core. Energy backlash shook the entire sector. A shockwave radiated outward, destabilizing remaining drones and collapsing the partially formed Rank Five being.
Silence followed. The realm, battered and scarred, began to stabilize slowly. Gravity normalized. Energy flux diminished. Systems recalculated.
Aira stepped back, breathing evenly. Her sword hummed faintly, resonating with residual cosmic authority.
"…Status," she whispered.
The interface appeared.
---
Level: 442 / 1000
Rank: Two
Condition: Optimal
Skills Active: Astral Severance, Cosmic Step, Void-Tide Dance, Stellar Pulse, Dominion Waltz of the Silent Void
Domain Authority: Active
---
She sheathed her sword, stepping lightly over fractured terrain. Veterans and surviving recruits were moving cautiously toward her position. They looked at her with a mix of awe and relief.
A scarred veteran spoke, voice low: "No one else could have handled that… not alone."
Aira shook her head slightly. "It's not just me. The system adapts. I adapt. And we all move together."
The higher ups' transmission flickered into her interface, confirming mission completion. Their tone was neutral, almost unreadable.
> Mission complete. Data logged. Experience distributed. Prepare for debrief.
Aira exhaled softly, her gaze lifting toward the fractured skies of the realm she had just stabilized. She had survived another day, leveled further, and proven yet again that the combination of system, skill, and will could bend even the harshest realities to her command.
The war was coming.
But for the first time in a long while, she felt ready.
And she would continue stepping forward—level by level, battle by battle, until even the breach itself learned to fear her name.