Neon Echelon burned in silence.
From the edge of the city's highest district, the floating wreckage of the Sky Warden cast eerie shadows over the skyline. Once the holy flagship of the Technopaladins, it now drifted as a shattered monument to Rael Vortigar's defiance.
Inside the ship's broken cathedral, beneath flickering stained-glass projectors and cracked starlight crucibles, Rael stood before a pile of smoldering corpses.
He didn't blink.
Didn't flinch.
Just watched.
The floating Throne of Shards purred behind him—alive, feeding on residual holy energy like a predator nursing a fresh kill. Its jagged frame subtly adjusted to Rael's emotional state. Today, it pulsed with anticipation.
Lyra Kaine kicked a broken priest-bot aside and dusted blood off her violet coat. "Well," she muttered, "that escalated beautifully."
Rael turned his head, faint crimson sparks dancing across his iris. "They were expecting a martyr. They got me instead."
"Bet their gods are still buffering."
"Let them buffer. They'll need the lag."
She tapped into the ship's AI remains, pulling a spectral map from the dying code. "Got something. Buried deep in a dead sector. Void-Zeta. Coordinates match one of the Sealed Archives."
Rael's smirk turned dangerous. "Archive of the Broken Star?"
"You know it?"
"I buried it."
Lyra blinked. "You what?"
---
Meanwhile, Somewhere in Orbit — The Scarlet Spire Casino
Laughter echoed.
Kora Voidfang leaned back in her chair, boots propped on the corpse of a gambler who hadn't realized cheating against her was suicide. She twirled a glass of sentient liquor—it changed color depending on her thoughts. Right now, it was pulsing red.
Around her, casino guests whispered in fear. No one moved. No one ran. Kora liked it that way.
Then her wrist-link buzzed.
> New Contract: Rael Vortigar. Priority Red. Kill on Sight.
She grinned so wide her cheekbones practically shimmered.
"Well, well, finally something spicy." She looked at the bartender bot. "Keep my seat warm, sweetheart."
She stood, summoned her obsidian scythe from her shadow, and vanished in a ripple of static and laughter.
---
Back to Rael and Lyra — Sector Void-Zeta
The ruined tunnel groaned with ancient energy. Runes lit up under Rael's boots as he walked, reacting to his presence. It wasn't just technology or magic—it was both, twisted together, older than the stars.
"This place hates me," Lyra muttered, shivering. "Feels like we're walking through someone's dying memory."
Rael touched the walls. "You're not wrong."
The gate to the Archive pulsed in the dark ahead—an organic tear in reality, sealed by paradox locks and temporal anchors.
Rael whispered a word.
Reality cracked.
> "Who seeks the Broken Star?"
"The one who shattered it," Rael replied.
The gate peeled open like a wound.
Inside: impossibility.
The Archive was vast and shifting. Platforms floated through space. Time flowed sideways. Books whispered. Light bled.
And at its heart, the Guardian stood. Ten stories of divine steel, with a sun-cage for a heart.
> "You are not worthy."
Rael stepped forward, eyes glowing like twin novas. "I disagree."
---
Just as the battle tension peaked—an alarm blared. A ripple of shadow slithered through the Archive.
Lyra spun. "What the hell—?"
Rael turned, but it was too late.
A laugh echoed through the Archive—smooth, sultry, unhinged.
From a fold in space, Kora Voidfang emerged, standing atop a floating codex. Her scythe rested lazily on her shoulder. Her smile could make stars flinch.
"Damn," she drawled, eyeing Rael. "They weren't kidding. You really do look like a final boss."
Lyra raised a spellblade. "Who the hell are you?"
Kora gave a mock bow. "Kora. Assassin. Executioner. Collector of pretty things. And you—" she pointed at Rael—"are on my list."
Rael tilted his head. "Let me guess. Hired to kill me."
"Obviously. But don't worry. I haven't decided how yet."
The Guardian stirred, confused.
Rael laughed. "Careful, assassin. I bite."
"Oh, I'm counting on it," Kora winked.
---
Three deadly forces now stood within the Archive.
A god-machine preparing to judge.
A king of ruin seeking his legacy.
And a smiling death with motives unknown.
> The Archive of the Broken Star shuddered.
And the storm truly began.
End of Chapter 2