The Axis Nexus glowed dimly under the stress of recent attacks.
Dozens of Axis nodes blinked, some flickering as if gasping for air. Aarav studied the projection silently, his fingers curled in frustration.
Rishi stood beside him, still recovering from the ambush in Axis 12.
"They're getting faster," Rishi said, "more precise. They came straight for me like they had my blueprint."
Aarav nodded. "We can't keep chasing them. We make them chase us."
Elios's digital form flickered to life. "Are you suggesting bait?"
Aarav's voice was calm. "Exactly. We create a fake Core activation in an unguarded Axis. If they're watching and we know they are they'll show up."
Rishi cracked a grin. "And this time, we're the ones waiting."
Choosing the Battlefield
"Axis 6," Aarav pointed. "No Guardian. Core dormant. Silent for years. The perfect place."
Elios tapped into the Nexus beacon. "I'll broadcast an unstable energy signal make it look like a Core surge.
It should be enough to attract them."
Rishi flexed his fingers, static flickering at his fingertips. "Let's not wait too long. They don't knock."
Arrival
Axis 6 was a cold, barren world. Broken cities half-swallowed by sand. Skies dim and colorless. Rishi stood atop an old stone archway, peering into the empty horizon.
Aarav crouched below, near a false Core emitter disguised in rubble.
Time passed. Wind howled. Still nothing.
Then
The wind stopped.
The light in the sky warped.
Ripples spread across the air like someone had cracked glass.
A dozen portals tore open.
Aliens.
The same kind that had ambushed Rishi. They poured through the rifts, moving with purpose each one drawn toward the decoy signal. Energy extractors. Weapons shaped like anchors of darkness.
"They're buying it," Rishi whispered. "All of them."
"Wait for it…" Aarav said, watching from the shadows.
The first alien stepped near the emitter.
Now.
Aarav surged forward, releasing a controlled gravity wave that smashed the front line into the ruins.
Rishi leapt from above, landing in a crackle of electricity. He struck the nearest one with a blast that threw sparks across the plain.
The aliens scrambled, caught off-guard.
Aarav twisted space around his fists, turning the air into collapsing spheres. Each blow felt like it tore reality in two. Rishi moved like lightning, weaving between strikes, dropping them one by one.
They had trained for this.
They fought as Guardians.
Trap Sealed
As the aliens tried to regroup, Aarav raised both hands.
The Loop on his wrist activated, triggering a gravitational net a shimmering dome around the battlefield.
"You're not leaving," he said.
The remaining aliens attempted to phase out, but the dome held them inside. Rishi channeled his lightning into the ground, powering the trap with raw energy.
"They wanted Core energy?" he said. "Let's see how they handle this."
Aarav slammed the ground, channeling gravity into the net compressing space, locking it tighter. The aliens were crushed under pressure, their extractors shorting out. The dark weapons shattered.
One by one, they fell disabled, disarmed, defeated.
What They Found
Elios scanned the remains. "They were carrying something… data drives. Not tech from our side."
Aarav picked up a glowing shard. Symbols etched across it flickered Coordinates. Frequencies. Axis Signatures.
He read the last one aloud.
"…Axis Zero."
Rishi froze. "That doesn't exist. Axis One is the first."
"Not according to them," Elios replied. "These signals trace back beyond the Loop."
Aarav turned toward the sky. "Then we're missing something. Something older than all this."
Rishi whispered, "Maybe even the Harbinger's origin?"
Aarav's jaw tightened.
"We're going to Axis Zero."