The sky of Axis 14 shimmered like liquid gold, and time flowed in smooth, endless rhythm. Aarav soared across the endless skyline, scanning for Core fluctuations. His Infinity Loop glowed faintly, guiding him from one Axis to another searching, protecting, watching.
Elios's voice echoed in his earpiece. "All clear in Axis 14. Core is stabilized."
Aarav nodded, his thoughts turning to his closest friend. "Any word from Rishi?"
"Still in Axis 12," Elios replied. "He insisted on guarding that Core alone. You know him won't back down from a challenge."
Aarav smiled briefly. "Yeah… that's Rishi."
But even as he floated among the clouds, unease crept in.
Then the alarm hit.
A pulse. Sharp. Urgent.
The Infinity Loop on Aarav's wrist flared red.
Emergency Signal Axis 12 Distress Beacon Activated. Guardian Under Attack.
Aarav's smile vanished.
"Rishi…"
Meanwhile in Axis 12
Rishi stood in the shadow of the Core Shrine.
This Axis was different rocky, full of floating stone islands, endless caverns glowing with veins of plasma. The Core here was buried underground, beneath ancient ruins. Rishi had just begun to adjust to the energy pattern when the sky darkened.
A hum buzzed in his ears low, strange, mechanical.
Then they came.
Aliens.
Tall, armor-plated, their weapons fused with dark energy. They warped in around him like shadows drawn to a flame. At the center of them floated a spiked orb of energy an extractor. Built for power drain.
One of the aliens raised its gauntlet. "Energy Signature: Code RISH-7X. Engage absorption."
Rishi's heart pounded.
"Oh, so that's the game now?"
He smirked—and then exploded into motion.
Rishi's Fight
Lightning danced across his fists as he moved faster than the eye could follow.
He launched bolts of electricity into the attackers, shattering one instantly. He flipped backward, arcing a chain-lightning wave that fried two more. But the extractor was absorbing fragments of his energy with every strike.
His strength began to slip.
Every punch felt heavier.
Every spark felt weaker.
He fell to one knee as another pulse hit him.
The extractor glowed, now siphoning his power directly from the ground.
"Come on…" Rishi growled. "Not like this."
He forced himself up, even as the aliens began to close in.
They were trying to capture not kill. They wanted to steal his abilities, to fuel another attack on an Axis Core.
Aarav's Arrival
Aarav burst through the dimensional rift like a bullet of white light.
He landed on the battlefield with a shockwave of gravity that flung three aliens into the air instantly.
"RISHI!"
Rishi glanced up, bloody but grinning. "Took you long enough."
Aarav raised his hand gravity beams erupted from the Loop, binding two enemy units in mid-air. "Couldn't let you have all the fun."
He looked at the extractor, now pulsing wildly.
"They're not just attacking the Core," Aarav realized. "They're stealing you."
Rishi stumbled. "They're trying to replicate powers… make more like us."
Aarav's expression hardened. "Not happening."
He surged forward, shielding Rishi and sending out a gravitational pulse that collapsed the extractor in on itself, folding it into a singularity. It vanished with a scream.
The remaining aliens screeched and vanished through a portal.
Aftermath
Rishi sat on the ground, catching his breath.
"That was… rough."
Aarav kneeled beside him. "You good?"
"Yeah," Rishi muttered. "But they were organized this time. They weren't just attacking they had my signature.
They knew my power."
Elios's voice chimed in, worried. "That means the Harbinger's collecting data on Guardians. He's adapting."
Aarav stood, fists clenched. "Then so will we."
He helped Rishi to his feet. "We're not just protecting Axis Cores anymore. We're protecting each other."
The Loop on his wrist glowed with new light deep blue, the color of unity.