---Dylan---

The hum of the portal prototype fills the Smith Tower's lab, faint vibrations buzzing through my fingertips as I adjust a conduit panel. This thing is still temperamental-every recalibration a delicate balancing act between stability and chaos. The prototype pulses faint blue light in steady intervals, like a heartbeat. It's a small start, but a start nonetheless.

The whoosh of the elevator doors interrupts my concentration. Heavy footsteps, overlapping voices-chaotic, urgent.

Red is the first to storm into the lab, his scarf trailing behind him like a banner of battle. His expression is tense, his hair wild, and his usual cool composure is nowhere to be found. "Dylan," he barks, "we've got a serious problem."

I straighten up, wiping my hands on my jeans. "What happened?"

Kylen follows close behind, his face shadowed with unease. "The crash site wasn't just a ship," he begins, but Claire cuts him off as she strides in, carrying a tablet that looks about ready to shatter under her grip.

"It was crawling with void energy, Dylan," Claire says. "Unstable, corrupting-it was everywhere."

"And then the damn military showed up," Hail adds, leaning heavily against the doorframe. His face is pale, his usual smug grin replaced by something grim. "Stellen and his lackeys thought they could just waltz in and take over."

"They did more than try," Alyse interjects, her voice sharp and commanding. "General Stellen accused us of trespassing-on our own damn mission. It got ugly. Fast."

I glance between them, trying to piece together the fragments of their story. "Void energy? Military interference? Slow down. What the fuck is going on?"

Kat steps forward, her arms crossed tightly, her goth aesthetic more ruffled than usual. "It wasn't just void energy, Dylan. It was Vermidia's Spawn. Hundreds of them. They came pouring out of the ship like...like cockroaches."

The room falls silent for a moment. My chest tightens. "Spawn?" I echo. "You mean her minions? Like her own personal drones? Here? On Earth?"

"Yeah," Red says, his voice hard. "Teleporting little monsters with claws, teeth, and way too much speed. They hit us hard."

"We tried to hold them off," Alyse says, pacing. "Even with the military's help, we were completely outnumbered. There was no way to contain them."

"The ship wasn't empty," Kylen adds, his tone somber. "And whatever was in it was powerful enough to take over the crash site completely. We barely got out."

Claire gestures to the tablet in her hands, pulling up a simulation of the void energy readings. "It's off the charts, Dylan. I've never seen anything like this, not even with the first crash. Whatever Vermidia sent through this time, it's a direct threat."

"And we left them there," Kat says, her voice low and bitter. "The Spawn are probably tearing through the soldiers right now."

"They didn't stand a chance," Keegan mutters. "Even with all their guns, those things...they're not from this world."

I exhale, rubbing my temples. The room feels smaller, heavier, as if the weight of their panic is pressing down on all of us. "So Vermidia is escalating," I say. "She's not just sending ships anymore. She's sending armies."

"And whatever else was in that ship," Kylen says, his voice laced with worry. "We didn't stick around long enough to find out what it was. If Vermidia's Spawn are just the start, we need to be prepared for something worse."

I glance back at the portal prototype, its soft glow almost mocking in its stillness. It's a reminder of how far we are from understanding-or fighting-this war.

"We're not prepared for this," Alyse says, breaking the silence. Her voice is unusually quiet, almost vulnerable. "Not yet. Not like this."

I nod, my mind racing. "Then we need to get prepared. Fast."

We make our way upstairs into the penthouse living room. The tension is palpable, each step heavier than the last. The team takes their usual places. Red leans against the armrest of a couch, his scarf shifting in the breeze from the ceiling fan. Kylen stands near the corner, arms crossed like he's already strategizing. Claire sits on the far side, typing rapidly on her tablet. Kat slumps onto a chair, arms folded, her glare practically daring someone to speak. Hail stands by the window, staring out at the city like it might give him answers.

Alyse sinks onto the couch to my left, while Keegan drops wordlessly into the seat to my right. I glance at him, his posture tense, his gaze distant.

"You alright?" I ask, breaking the silence.

Keegan shakes his head, running a hand through his hair. "I saw my dad," he mutters, his voice low but heavy.

The weight of his words hits me like a punch to the gut. My best friend finally found the man he's been searching for, obsessing over, for years.

"I take it... it didn't go well?" I ask, my voice careful.

Keegan shakes his head again, staring at the floor. "I'll tell you later. Right now, we're just gonna talk about Vermidia, right? Always Vermidia."

Before I can respond, Kylen's voice cuts through. "Dylan, Keegan, focus up."

Kat's head snaps toward him, her eyes narrowing. "Oh, shut up, Kylen," she snaps. "Can't you see he's dealing with something?"

"Kat, don't," Keegan says quickly, but she's not listening.

"No, Keegan," she says, standing up and pointing at Kylen. "He needs to hear this." Her voice rises, sharp and unforgiving as she turns on Kylen. "You've got some nerve acting all high and mighty after what you and Red pulled-keeping information about his dad from him! Who the hell do you think you are?"

The room freezes, Kylen glaring at Kat with icy precision, but before the tension can snap, Hail turns from the window, his voice cutting through the argument like a blade.

"Guys, get down!" he shouts, his eyes wide with alarm.

Before anyone can react, the glass wall of the penthouse shatters. A dark-armored figure crashes through, landing in the center of the room with a deafening thud. The glass table beneath him explodes into shards, the sound reverberating off the walls.

"Dreadwind!" Red shouts, drawing DragonsBreath in a fluid motion, the blade igniting in a fiery glow.

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The rest of us spring into action. Kat readies her bow, Alyse summons crackling lightning into her hands, and Kylen's plasma shield flickers into place. My hands glow dark blue, the energy buzzing at my fingertips, ready to strike.

The armored figure rises slowly, his helmet folding back to reveal a face twisted with fear.

"Red... Red!" he stammers, his voice panicked. "Listen to me! She's coming-she's coming, and she wants you all dead!"

Red stumbles back, his breath hitching as if he's been struck. The DragonsBreath slips from his grip, clattering to the floor as the flames extinguish.

"Domnik?" Red's voice trembles, barely a whisper.

"This is Domnik?" I blurt out, my mind racing. "Isn't he supposed to be-"

"Dead," Alyse finishes, her voice sharp and disbelieving. "He's supposed to be dead."

Hail steps forward, his sword of ice at the ready. "Who's coming, Domnik? Is it Vermidia?"

Domnik's body seizes, his eyes flickering between their natural color and a dark, ominous purple. His scream is guttural, raw, as if something is tearing him apart from the inside.

The helmet snaps shut over his face, and when he looks up, his eyes are solid purple. His voice is no longer his own, replaced by something chilling and otherworldly. "Ah, it is you, the children of the Nine," Vermidia says, her voice reverberating through the room like an echo from the void.

Domnik's body trembles violently, and for a fleeting moment, his voice breaks through. "Red, please, help me! She's too strong-" His plea cuts off in another scream of agony, and the purple glow consumes him again.

"Dammit, let him go!" Red yells, his voice raw with desperation.

"Never!" Vermidia snarls through Domnik, her tone venomous. Dreadwind lets out a deafening blast of sound, the shockwave shattering every remaining window and throwing us all against the walls like ragdolls.

The air crackles with tension as we scramble to recover, weapons drawn, powers flaring. The fight begins.

Glass crunches beneath my boots as I scramble to my feet, the room spinning from the impact. My hands ignite with dark blue light as I focus on Dreadwind-or Domnik, or whatever he's become. His armored form radiates void energy so strong it makes my stomach churn.

Dreadwind moves faster than I expect, a blur of dark steel. He charges Alyse, who barely dodges in time. She retaliates with a crackling bolt of lightning aimed at his chest, but the energy fizzles against his armor like water on hot metal.

"He's absorbing it!" she shouts, frustration clear in her voice.

Red is already moving, the DragonsBreath roaring back to life in his hand. "Then we hit him harder!" he yells, launching himself at Dreadwind. The fiery blade arcs down, aiming for the gap in his armor, but Dreadwind catches the blade with his gauntleted hand. Sparks fly as the void energy around him ripples, snuffing out the flames.

"You'll have to do better than that, Scarlet Phoenix," Vermidia's voice taunts from within Domnik's helmet. With a twist of his wrist, Dreadwind hurls Red across the room like a ragdoll. He slams into a bookshelf, the impact shaking the walls.

Keegan teleports into the fray, his batons whirling. He lands a series of blows to Dreadwind's back, the sound of metal on metal ringing out. For a moment, it seems like he's gaining ground, but Dreadwind spins, catching Keegan mid-swing. A burst of void energy erupts from his palm, sending Keegan flying into the couch, which collapses under him.

Kat fires an arrow at Dreadwind's exposed helmet. The shot is perfect, but just as it's about to hit, he teleports in a burst of dark energy, reappearing behind her. "Nice try," he sneers, swiping at her with a clawed gauntlet. She ducks, rolling away and firing another shot, but he blocks it effortlessly.

Kylen steps in, his plasma blade forming in his hand. He slashes at Dreadwind, the weapon humming as it cuts through the air. Dreadwind blocks with his arm, the plasma searing a groove into his armor but not penetrating. They clash in a flurry of blows, Kylen's movements precise, calculated, but Dreadwind matches him step for step.

"Claire, anything?" Kylen barks, not taking his eyes off the fight.

Claire, crouched near the shattered windows, furiously types on her tablet. "I'm working on it! There's something in his energy signature-give me thirty seconds!"

"We don't have thirty seconds!" Alyse snaps, unleashing another barrage of lightning. This time, it strikes the floor beneath Dreadwind, sending a shockwave that staggers him.

Hail charges in next, his ice sword gleaming in the dim light. He slashes at Dreadwind's legs, the blade biting into the armor and freezing part of it solid. "Now!" Hail shouts.

I don't hesitate. I leap forward, both hands blazing with energy, and fire a concentrated blast at the frozen armor. The impact shatters the ice and sends Dreadwind stumbling, but instead of falling, he teleports again, reappearing in the center of the room.

"Enough!" Vermidia's voice booms through him, and a wave of void energy explodes outward. The sheer force sends us all sprawling again, and this time, I feel my ribs ache as I hit the wall.

Red is the first to rise, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead. "Domnik, fight her! Don't let her win!" he shouts, his voice raw.

Dreadwind hesitates, his hand twitching as if resisting Vermidia's control. "I-I can't," he growls, his voice layered with both his own and Vermidia's. His helmet retracts for a moment, and I see Domnik's face, contorted in agony. "She's too strong."

"Hold on, Domnik!" Red pleads, stepping forward despite the risk.

Claire suddenly stands, her tablet flashing in her hands. "Got it!" she shouts. "There's a feedback loop in his armor-it's amplifying her control! If we overload it, we can sever the connection!"

"How do we do that?" I ask, panting as I get back to my feet.

"Hit him with everything," Claire says, her eyes steely. "At once."

Red nods, gripping DragonsBreath tighter. "You heard her! Everyone, now!"

We coordinate in an instant. Kylen's plasma blade, Alyse's lightning, and Kat's arrows all strike in tandem. Hail's ice sword lands a powerful blow to Dreadwind's shoulder as Keegan teleports behind him, smashing his batons into the weakened joints of his armor.

I gather all the energy I can muster, my hands glowing brighter than ever before. "Domnik, hold on!" I shout, firing a massive blast of energy directly at his chest.

The combined assault overwhelms his armor, which crackles and sparks violently. Dreadwind falls to one knee, his helmet retracting again. Domnik's face is pale, his eyes flickering between their normal color and the dark purple glow.

"She's... losing control," he gasps. "Finish it-"

Before he can finish his sentence, a final surge of void energy erupts from him, knocking us all back one last time. When the light fades, Domnik collapses, unconscious, his armor flickering with residual energy.

The room is silent except for our ragged breathing. Red stumbles toward Domnik, kneeling beside him. "Domnik?" he whispers, shaking his shoulder.

---Alyse---

A deafening wave of sound crashes over us like a tidal force from Domnik's body, slamming into my chest and rattling every bone in my body. The sheer power of it sends me to my knees, the breath forced from my lungs. My ears ring, drowning out the chaos around me, and the world tilts as the ground rushes up to meet me.

I try to push myself back up, but my limbs feel like they're made of lead. All I can do is watch in horror as Domnik strides through the carnage, his steps deliberate and unyielding.

Pain throbs through my body as I struggle to push myself up. The ringing in my ears from the last blast of sound power growing with every second. My vision blurs, and my legs feel like dead weight beneath me. Domnik's boots crunch over shattered glass as he closes in on Dylan, who lies unconscious amidst the debris.

"No..." I whisper, my voice barely audible over the chaos in my mind. I fight against the haze, willing my limbs to cooperate, but my body betrays me.

Domnik grabs Dylan's limp form with one hand, lifting him like he weighs nothing. The sight sends a surge of panic through me, cutting through the pain. "Dylan!" I scream, forcing my arms to move. I claw at the floor, trying to drag myself closer, but it's like swimming against a tidal wave.

Domnik strides toward the gaping hole in the window, the wind howling around him. Glass shards glint in the moonlight, scattered across the floor like forgotten stars. My heart pounds in my chest as I reach out, desperation turning my voice raw.

"No! Dylan! Don't take him!" My voice breaks, tears blurring my vision.

I push harder, digging my fingers into the floor for leverage, but it's no use. My legs refuse to support me, and the air feels heavy, suffocating. Around me, the others are scattered, groaning or unconscious, unable to stop him.

Domnik pauses at the edge of the shattered window. For a moment, I think he might turn back, that some part of him-some remnant of who he was-might hear me, might reconsider. But when he turns to glance back, it's not Domnik who looks at me. It's the cold, unrelenting presence of Vermidia staring through his eyes.

"No..." My voice cracks as he steps out into the void of the night sky, carrying Dylan with him.

The weight of helplessness crushes me as I reach toward him, my hand outstretched as if I could somehow pull Dylan back by sheer will. But Domnik doesn't stop. His figure disappears into the dark, the wind swallowing the sound of my screams.

Tears streak down my face as the reality sets in-Dylan is gone.