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Breaching Chaos

The Void-tainted constructs roared, closing in as Team Unknown tightened their positions. The Rift's glowing mist pulsed around them, suffused with a mounting intensity that made the ground beneath their feet vibrate. Ember raised his hand, signaling the team to recalibrate.

Terra, secure our fallback. Frost, cover the flanks. Umbra, projection status?

Ember's voice was calm and commanding through the Mind Link.

Ready, Val replied, focusing his energy.

Beneath his mask, his jaw clenched as tendrils of Void energy unraveled from his fingertips, forming into a shadowy silhouette at his side. The Void Projection pulsed with life, its form hazy yet responsive to Val's control.

Send it ahead. We need eyes on what's triggering these spikes, Ember ordered.

The Projection moved with precision, slipping through the mist like liquid shadow. As it advanced, Val relayed its visuals back to the team.

The Projection's perspective revealed more Void-tainted constructs emerging from fissures in the Rift, their grotesque forms brimming with raw energy. Among them, a towering figure loomed—a Void-forged sentinel twice the size of the constructs.

Contact. Central ridge, Val relayed. A sentinel-class construct. Reinforced. Heavily armored.

Confirmed, Riggs added from his elevated position. Flanked by standard units. Looks like they're funneling toward the Beta Team's position.

Ember's response was immediate. Aura, maintain overwatch. Frost, adjust north to cut off reinforcements. Umbra, recall the Projection and prepare for suppression.

On it, Val replied. The Projection dissipated into the mist as Val rechanneled his energy, his focus shifting.

As Ember continued issuing commands, Bo surged forward toward the northern flank. Ice surged from his palms, forming jagged barriers that halted the approaching constructs in their tracks. With precise movements, he created an encasement that slowed their advance, forcing them to funnel into a choke point.

Flank secure—for now, Bo reported, his voice steady despite the strain in his tone.

On the eastern ridge, Riggs fired bursts of concentrated wind energy, targeting the smaller constructs attempting to bypass the team's defenses. Each strike was a calculated effort to disrupt their movement, sending several spiraling into the abyss below.

"Still plenty heading for the Beta Team," Riggs muttered. Serra's group needs to tighten their formation, or they're toast.

Ember's tone hardened. Beta One, regroup and hold. Do not let them breach your line.

Serra's voice came through the comms, tense but resolute. Holding as best we can, sir.

The Beta Team struggled against the overwhelming numbers. Serra's light manipulation created blinding bursts, disorienting the constructs long enough for her teammates to deliver precision strikes. Beside her, Kieran utilized his energy to create makeshift barriers, buying precious seconds for their defense.

"Watch your left!" Serra shouted as a construct lunged at one of her team members.

The soldier barely managed to evade, stumbling as he fired a kinetic blast that knocked the construct back. "That was too close!" he muttered, his voice shaky.

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"No time for close calls!" Serra snapped. "Stay in formation and focus!"

Another teammate fired a bolt of electricity that struck a construct mid-lunge, frying its circuits and sending it crashing to the ground. "We can't keep this up!" he called out.

"Yes, we can," Serra barked. "We don't have a choice. Hold the line!"

Meanwhile, Kieran's team faced their own challenges. The western flank was under relentless assault, with constructs attacking in coordinated waves. Kieran prepared again his kinetic shield to absorb the incoming onslaught of enemies.

"More incoming!" one of his team members shouted, panic creeping into their voice.

Kieran glanced over his shoulder, his voice firm. "Stick to the plan! Use the trenches for cover and focus your attacks!"

"I'm running out of energy!" another soldier cried, her mana threads flickering as she struggled to restrain a construct.

"Then switch to your blades and keep moving!" Kieran snapped, throwing a chunk of rock at an advancing construct to buy her time. "We're not dying here!"

Fon's voice interjected through the comms, calm and deliberate. Terra is moving to assist. Stay alive.

Fon slammed his hands to the ground, sending rippling waves of energy into the Rift. The vibrations disrupted the unstable terrain beneath the constructs, creating sinkholes that swallowed several into the depths. He moved methodically, using the environment to neutralize threats without expending unnecessary energy.

"We're clear for now!" Kieran reported, though his voice was tinged with exhaustion.

Not for long, Fon replied. Reinforcements are converging on your position. Brace yourselves.

Meanwhile, Val shifted his focus, channeling energy into his Void abilities.

A dense, shimmering mantle formed around him—the Void Mantle, crackling with defensive energy. With a fluid motion, he released a series of Void Spheres, each one detonating upon impact and sending the advancing constructs into disarray.

Path clear, Val reported, his voice tight with exertion.

Keep pushing, Ember commanded. Umbra, cover Frost while he advances to the central ridge. We need to dismantle that sentinel before it reaches Beta Two.

Bo moved swiftly, his ice forming a shield as he barreled through a line of constructs. Val followed closely, hurling more Void Spheres to carve a path. The sentinel construct roared, turning its attention toward them as it swung a massive, jagged arm.

"Contact with the sentinel!" Val called out, narrowly dodging the blow. The ground trembled beneath the impact, fissures splitting outward from the force.

Bo retaliated, driving a pillar of ice into the sentinel's exposed flank. The construct faltered but recovered quickly, its Void core glowing brighter as it charged another attack.

"Targeting the core!" Bo shouted.

"Not yet," Ember interrupted. "Terra, destabilize the surrounding terrain. Umbra, prepare a full suppression."

Fon's hands pressed firmly to the ground, his energy surging outward. The terrain beneath the sentinel shifted violently, its footing disrupted as it staggered.

"Go, Umbra!" Ember commanded.

Val surged forward, Void energy coalescing around him as he conjured the Void Mantle once more. He leapt toward the sentinel, the Mantle absorbing the brunt of its retaliatory strike. With precise movements, he unleashed a barrage of Void Spheres directly into its core, each one detonating with devastating force.

The sentinel let out a deafening roar as its core fractured, Void energy spilling out in chaotic arcs. Bo delivered the finishing blow, encasing the core in a jagged spike of ice that froze it completely before shattering it.

Sentinel neutralized, Val reported, breathing heavily.

Reform the line, Ember ordered. We're not done here.

At the eastern ridge, Serra's team was barely holding on. Constructs swarmed their position, their attacks becoming more coordinated.

"They're adapting!" Serra shouted, unleashing a blinding flash of light to disorient the attackers. "We can't hold this spot much longer!"

"Fall back to the next ridge!" Riggs called from above, sending a gale-force wind that scattered the constructs.

On the western flank, Kieran's team faced similar struggles. One soldier collapsed, his kinetic absorption overloaded from repeated impacts.

"Get him up!" Kieran barked, using his energy formed into a kinetic wall to shield the injured soldier. "We're not leaving anyone behind!"

Fon's calm voice cut through the chaos. Reinforcements will be delayed. Hold your ground.

As the Beta Teams fought to survive, Team Unknown regrouped, their focus sharpening.

Dr. Lewis's voice came through the Mind Link, urgent and sharp. Energy readings are spiking again. This is just the beginning. Brace yourselves.

The team pressed forward, the Rift's malevolent presence growing with every step. Beyond the ridge, the heart of the enemy's stronghold awaited.