Gaia Chronicles: The Integral Saga

Location: Gaia HQ – Central Spire, Command Hall

King Leonardo Serfort Granhart XI stood before the digital map of Earth, arms clasped behind his back. The virtual image of the globe flickered as dozens of red sigils spread like bloodstains across it. Each one marked an Abyssal surge point. Each one pulsated with unnatural energy.

"Eight rift sites in one week," muttered Commander Irene Synthesis 3. "And the energy signatures match Rank 1 Abyssal concentrations."

"No… they're not Abyssals," muttered Thea Synthesis 0, narrowing her eyes. "They're hybrids."

Cyg's voice cut through the tension.

"Then someone's evolving them."

Onscreen, the projections shifted to show what the scouts had retrieved. Towering beings—some humanlike, some twisted beyond recognition—fought alongside standard Abyssal ranks. Their auras were corrupted, yet they moved with intention.

And one of them… bore a weapon.

A blade identical to a Divine Artifact.

"How are they mimicking Artifacts?" Diane Synthesis 4 asked, her jaw tense.

Elaine's voice cracked through the quiet.

"Because they're not mimicking. They're corrupting them."

Elsewhere: Abyss-Breached Zone – Syrenia Ruins, Southeast Asia

A titanic shadow walked through the ruins of a shattered city—once home to millions. Now, only stone dust remained. The buildings were pulverized, not burned. Erased.

The figure's skeletal wings glowed with rotting silver. Around its neck, multiple Divine Artifact fragments pulsed with stolen ether. It wasn't just a beast.

It was a message.

And the being standing before it—was Kaien Rhyst, Codename: Judicant Breaker of Orion.

He grinned up at the monster and said,

"Erebus wanted me to say hello to Gaia."

With a single gesture, Kaien embedded an Abyss core directly into the creature's chest. It pulsed once. Then the monster howled—a distortion of every sound known to man.

Location: Gaia HQ – War Room, Moments Later

"We've detected something emerging from the Syrenia Zone," announced Sophia Synthesis 25. "Its ether output matches that of a Rank 0 Abyssal. But it's not an Abyss. It's something new."

King Leonardo frowned.

"And Erebus?"

"Still silent," replied Thea. "But he wants us to react."

Charlotte tapped the screen rapidly, calculations blazing behind her glasses.

"If we lose Syrenia, the eastern defense grid collapses. We're exposed from the Pacific front."

Cyg stood.

"Then we hit first."

Location: Deployment Skycruiser – En Route to Syrenia

Aboard the cruiser, the Octagon stood together. Armor shimmering. Weapons prepped. Ether coursing like electricity between them.

Zayne, twirling Azrakel, muttered to his sister:

"Feels like we're walking into a war zone."

Zaria, as calm as ever, responded:

"That's because we are."

Hikari stood apart from the group, her scythe sealed, her form tense and haunted. Mia gently touched her shoulder.

"You're still you, Hikari."

"...What if I'm not?" she whispered.

Sylvia stepped between them.

"Then we'll remind you."

The ramp dropped.

The sky was black again. But it wasn't an eclipse.

It was the Abyss.

Location: Battlefield – Syrenia Crater

The monster was already waiting.

Fused with machinery and bone, it stood nearly sixty feet tall, each limb bristling with crystallized corruption. From its back extended multiple Divine Artifact-like weapons, twisted and glowing red.

Raika, Gram, Tryce, and Lionel moved with the second wave, carving paths through lesser hybrids while the Octagon engaged the titan.

"Draw its attention!" Sylvia called, releasing a thunderous sonic shockwave.

"On it!" Charlotte leapt from a damaged skyscraper, hurling charged gears to jam the creature's joints.

Elaine sent tornados to displace its footing. Eun-Ha amplified their ether.

Then, Mia floated above it.

"Creation Sequence—Mirror Reversal."

With a snap of her hand, she copied one of its corrupted weapons midair, forming a glowing red spear of her own and launched it back into the beast's shoulder.

But it still stood.

Then it roared—

And from the sky, it called down Abyssal rain.

Location: Skies Above Gaia – Just Moments Later

A rift opened—not near the battlefield, but over HQ.

And from that rift descended a figure in black and violet.

Not monstrous.

Not hybrid.

Human.

And unmistakably powerful.

Erebus.

His obsidian armor gleamed. His sword, Nihileth, hummed with whispers.

He floated above Gaia's heart and spoke, voice magnified through every channel.

"I gave you three eras to prepare. And still, you cling to order."

"Very well."

"Let chaos begin again."