The map hovered in mid-air holographic lines tracing the multiverse like a glowing web.
Aarav's eyes narrowed on one node: Axis 9. Its light pulsed weakly.
Rishi adjusted the Infinity Console. "Confirmed energy signature. Core destabilization already in progress. Alien intrusions detected."
Elios appeared beside them, his tone urgent. "If Axis 9's Core falls, the ripple could collapse five neighboring Axes. We must act now."
Aarav clenched his fist. "Then let's end this before the Harbinger can even begin."
The Journey to Axis 9
They stepped into the portal this time not into chaos, but into a place of beauty and balance.
Axis 9 was peaceful.
A glowing sky of amber clouds, trees floating mid-air, cities built on rivers of wind. It was harmony incarnate.
But underneath that beauty... came a hum. Wrong. Off. Distorted.
Aarav and Rishi landed on a hill overlooking the Core Temple an ancient crystal structure surrounded by spiraling rings of energy.
"See them?" Rishi asked, scanning the skyline.
Aarav nodded grimly.
Figures cloaked in black scales and metal armor crept toward the temple alien invaders from the corrupted Axes. They carried jagged weapons that pulsed with anti-Core energy.
"They're trying to infect the Core with a frequency virus," Elios said. "It'll twist the axis into a dead loop no time, no power, no growth."
Aarav raised his hand, calling his power. "Not while I'm alive."
Assault on the Invaders
The moment they reached the base of the temple, the first alien charged.
It moved fast too fast but Aarav was faster.
Using a magnetic burst, he ripped the enemy's weapon apart mid-air and slammed it to the ground with a focused gravity blast.
Rishi struck the second attacker with a lightning net, crackling energy locking the creature in place.
More came. Dozens.
"Let's finish this!" Rishi shouted.
They fought like one.
Aarav floated upward, spinning in the air, channeling gravitational rings around himself. Each ring expanded outward, bending reality pushing enemies back without touching them.
He dove through the center of the ring and hit the ground hard releasing a gravity shockwave that collapsed the entire battlefield.
Alien bodies scattered. But the lead one the Core Breaker still stood.
It raised a hand and released a pulse of pure distortion, aimed directly at the temple.
"No!" Aarav shouted, racing forward.
He drew on the Infinity Loop again calling the Axis Pulse from within.
The same light that fought the Harbinger now burned through his veins.
Aarav's body flared with white-blue energy. Time slowed. The Pulse shot outward and collided with the distortion.
There was silence.
Then
BOOM.
A flash of light.
The distortion collapsed.
The Core Breaker was obliterated its body sucked into the very reality it tried to destroy.
Balance Restored
The Core Temple's rings began spinning again.
The energy field returned to stable patterns.
Elios approached, breathless. "You saved this Axis."
Rishi grinned. "That's one Core safe."
Aarav looked into the sky. "But how many more are under attack right now?"
The multiverse shimmered above them dozens of Axes glowing.
Elios said quietly, "Too many. The Harbinger is spreading faster. He's targeting Axes with weak Guardians… or no Guardians at all."
Aarav turned to them both. His voice was calm but unshakable.
"Then we protect each one. We become the Guardians they never had."
Final Lines
As they stepped back into the portal, Aarav felt something stir deep inside him. Not fear. Not doubt.
A mission.
The Infinity Loop was glowing brighter now. As if the Loop itself had acknowledged him not as a traveler.
But as a defender of the Axis.