The Vanguard Oath: SkyVault Heroes!

[OPENING SCENE — SKYVAULT CITY, POST-BATTLE RECONSTRUCTION]

Skyscrapers stand wounded but glowing. Workers and drones swarm across the city like busy insects, rebuilding the city's shattered core with urgency and precision. News screens mounted on aerial drones replay images of the previous episode: Mother Null's sudden return, Crimsa's betrayal, and the massive explosion that tore through Vanguard HQ. Sirens echo in the distance as construction mechs lift scorched debris into levitating bins.

News Anchor (voice-over):

"—devastation continues this morning following the unprecedented explosion at Vanguard Headquarters. Sources confirm this was no accident. Authorities believe a trusted Vanguard turned rogue, leading to one of the most catastrophic betrayals in SkyVault's history."

Cut to: Kael overlooking the city from a repaired ledge of VAN HQ. He's covered in minor bandages, his armor still scorched from recent battles. His posture is tired, but his eyes burn with unwavering resolve.

Kael (internal monologue):

"Every time we think it's over, something worse crawls out from the dark. We've lost comrades. We've lost our home. But we're still standing. We're still breathing. And we're not done. Not yet."

[SCENE — VAN HQ, STRATEGY CHAMBER]

The new command room is smaller, more intimate, formed within the still-standing wing of the HQ. Holograms flicker above the central table, projecting Nullborn energy spikes across a topographical map of SkyVault's North Sector.

Yuna:

"We're seeing repeat Null pulses near the Ice Cradle. Last recorded seismic movement was… four hours ago."

Irion:

"That's not just an echo. Something's awake."

Aurix (arms crossed):

"The Ice Cradle's an abandoned facility. Old cryo-research labs from the Rift Era. Dangerous, forgotten, perfect for hiding."

Echo-7 (static in voice):

"Rift energy signature matches the one Mother Null used to phase through reality. This place could be… a rift anchor."

Tari (coldly):

"So we strike now, before it opens again."

Kael:

"Gear up. No half-measures. We burn it down to the ice."

[TRANSITION — ICE CRADLE FACILITY, NORTH SECTOR]

The landscape shifts to a desolate tundra. Shattered cryo-towers loom over a frozen battlefield. Sharp winds scream through the air, laden with static. As the Vanguards step through the snow, thermal armor activated, their boots crunch against blue-frosted glass.

Beneath the surface, faint silhouettes twist and squirm — frozen experiments, still alive? Still conscious?

Yuna (quietly):

"They froze fear here… and it never thawed."

Jax (rubbing hands):

"Man, couldn't this final showdown happen in a beach resort just once?"

Veya (from up ahead):

"Keep your eyes peeled. Something's watching us."

Suddenly, a shriek. A half-human creature made of jagged ice and rift flame drops from above, hurling a spear of crystallized bone. Irion phases through it and decapitates the monster with a flash of void energy.

Irion:

"Nullborn sentries. Expect more."

[MONTAGE — TRAVERSING THE ICE CRADLE]

Kael lights the way with his ignition blades, carving through ice walls while deflecting projectiles.

Jax smashes through frozen beasts using pulse bursts from his gloves.

Yuna spreads vines that snake through cracks, forming shields against airborne attacks.

Veya snipes from upper ledges, covering blind angles.

Tari marks key targets silently, her starlight rifle glowing a soft blue in the dark.

Echo-7 hacks the old cryo-terminals to unlock blocked gates while disrupting rift energy surges.

Aurix leads the charge, firing precise rounds and leaving no trace behind.

[CLIMAX — NULLBORN HEARTCHAMBER]

After hours of navigating the ruins, the team breaches the final barrier: an enormous chamber of obsidian ice, lit from within by pulses of black-red light. The Nullborn Heart hangs suspended above a lake of frozen souls. Mutated creatures twitch below the surface — once human, now memory-locked aberrations.

Echo-7 (scanning):

"This is it. The origin pulse. We destroy this, we sever the last link."

Aurix:

"Set up positions. Watch each other's backs."

As they ready themselves, the rift pulses again. Crimsa appears from the shadows, corrupted further by Mother Null. Her veins glow with black glyphs; her voice sounds doubled.

Crimsa:

"You're too late. The world's already breaking. All I've done… was mercy."

Kael:

"You don't get to define mercy."

She lunges. The room explodes into combat.

Kael and Crimsa battle near the heart, fire clashing with void sigils.

Jax gets launched into the ceiling, then drops down with a thunderquake that cracks the frozen lake.

Veya throws a tri-mine barrage that shreds part of Crimsa's cloak.

Tari pierces Crimsa's leg with a charged starlight bolt.

Yuna roots Crimsa's foot for a moment, giving Irion the chance to land a devastating shadow cut.

Crimsa (falling to her knees):

"You'll never stop her. I just gave her time."

She teleports out in a spiral of dark light.

Kael:

"Echo! End it!"

Echo-7 overloads the Nullborn Heart. It explodes, sending a shockwave of cleansing starlight that cracks the ice and silences the lake of souls. The heart melts. The rift closes.

[ENDING SCENE — BACK IN SKYVAULT]

Snow falls gently over the city. The Vanguard, bruised but alive, sit inside Nightfall Restaurant. Malro serves steaming plates of stew and sweet rice. The air feels warm for the first time in days.

Jax (mouth full):

"So, any bets on how soon the next cosmic nightmare shows up?"

Yuna (smiling):

"Let's just eat while we can."

Aurix:

"We stopped a riftstorm today. That's worth a toast."

They all raise glasses — even Tari, with a subtle nod.

Kael (to the team):

"We're not done. But for now… we're home."

Outside, the stars shimmer. One flickers—briefly—like a glitch in reality.

TO BE CONTINUED…