SWNOVELXO Chapter 61: Episode 60
[OPENING SCENE — SKYVAULT CITY, DAWN]
Ash still clings to the skyline. Buildings remain scarred from the battle with Servix. The Vanguard Tower flickers with backup power. A soft orange light climbs over the horizon. The city breathes, barely.
[Veya stands atop Vanguard Tower, her uniform tattered but her eyes resolute.]
Veya (internal monologue):
"We lived through the fire. Through gods and monsters. But if today means anything... it means we do it together."
[SCENE — VANGUARD HQ, MAIN CHAMBER]
All surviving Vanguards gather: Kael, Irion, Suki, Veya, Aurix, Tari, Echo-7, Yuna. Bruised, broken, but not beaten. Their insignias pulse with radiant energy.
Kael: "Servix is gone. But the fractures he left behind..."
Suki: "...They're still open."
Aurix: "Then we close them. With this."
[A central chamber opens, revealing the Unity Core—a glowing nexus of Vanguard signatures.]
Irion: "Our combined essence. Our unison. We channel it now. Not to fight... but to protect."
[SCENE — SKYVAULT STREETS]
Citizens step out of shelters. Children look at the sky. A single streak of light arcs from the tower, followed by seven more. The Vanguards rise into the air, forming a circle above the city.
Veya: "Together, one last time."
[Each Vanguard activates their power:]
Kael's hands crackle with pure kinetic force.
Suki blossoms into a storm of light petals.
Irion guides crystalline blades into constellation-like shapes.
Aurix anchors radiant shields of hardened plasma.
Tari aims her Nova Lance to the sky, releasing a spectrum beam.
Yuna spreads her psychic vines, forming protective arcs.
Echo-7 unleashes a signal pulse syncing their minds.
Veya channels flame and wind into a radiant burst.
[The combined energy wraps into a singular radiant bloom — THE FINAL SHIELD.]
A dome of energy forms over Skyvault, impenetrable and warm. It hums with life.
[CITIZENS CHEER. THE SKY IS CLEAR.]
[SCENE — LATER, VANGUARD HQ BALCONY]
The team watches the city from above.
Kael: "So... we finally get to rest?"
Suki: "Until the next storm. But this time, they'll face a wall of us."
Irion (smiles faintly): "We were never just soldiers. We were guardians. Now we're legends."
[FINAL SHOT — THE VANGUARDS, STANDING TOGETHER, FACING THE SUNRISE.]
Veya (internal monologue):
"Even after the fire... gardens grow. We are the bloom after war. We are Vanguard."
[SERIES END]