Chapter 91: Outside the Metropolis!
Chapter 91: Outside the Metropolis!
The hum of the turbines deepened as the vessel angled upward, breaking from the final layer of Ebonreach’s regulated airspace.Skyglass Heights shrank behind them, the city’s towers glittering like frozen stars in vertical procession, each one humming with wealth and purpose.
At the helm, the Beast Master pilot adjusted the haptic controls with a casual grace that spoke of long experience.
Her black-and-white ZENTHRA uniform didn’t shift a wrinkle as she guided the Aerial Vessel forward through a corridor of blue-lighted air traffic boundaries.
The Green Mantis perched on her shoulder flicked its spined forearms, eyes scanning the skies ahead with mechanical precision.
Damian sat as Kitsuul jumped on his shoulders while looking at everything with fascination.
"You two are quiet," The Beast Master Pilot said without turning. "Thats good. Most of the new Rift divers babble until the silence finally catches them. You’re either the stoic type... or you’ve already seen too much."
She cast a brief glance back at them- Damian watching the window with calm eyes, Serena sharpening her thoughts with silence as her Void Serpent slithered restlessly along her neck.
The Mantis clicked once. Approvingly.
"You passed over the restricted bands of Skyglass Heights’ inner sanctums a few seconds ago. Not many Trial Guardians ever do- mainly genuine Guardians get this chance. The deeper you go into that skyline, the tighter the grip. Airspace’s layered. You would need six-level chain clearance just to cross out of Ebonreach Metropolis. But your clearance came through directly from Director Park, so..." She arched a brow. "You two must be special."
She gestured toward the vast landscape ahead, where the clouds began to thin and a new kind of sky opened.
In silence, minutes passed as the Aerial Vessel they were in crossed vast stretches of buildings of the Skyglass Heights.
Until...
"Now leaving the airspace of Ebonreach Metropolis."
They crossed massive obsidian metallic walls that rose to the havens, and entered a region of blue and black earth that shone with danger.
"And welcome...to the Azure Depth Zone."
The Beast Master Pilot stated.
Below them, the land changed.
Where Ebonreach had been all sharpened angles and metal precision, the Azure Depths was a wild sprawl of color and danger. Deep blue forests stretched for miles, the trees glistening with a phosphorescent sheen as if they’d been dipped in moonlight.
Some glowed with flickering aether-pulse spores. Others looked petrified mid-bloom, twisting toward the skies like open mouths yearning to scream.
"Azure Depth Zone is one of seven classified Outer Expansion Zones surrounding Ebonreach," the pilot continued, her voice slipping into something between briefing and story. "Each one is a frontier. Contested, dangerous, and home to Entropic Rifts that shift and bloom like living scars. The Azure Depths are infamous for their hallucinogenic flora, low-lying aether currents, and predator-class Entropic Beasts that can hunt even Symbiotic Resonance Interstellar Beast Masters. The moment you step out there, the ecosystem turns against you."
She turned a dial, and a glowing holomap shimmered to life across the glass cockpit.
"This is just one corner. Beyond us are the Blackvale Scars, the Sandrift Plains, the Hollow Fracture Expanse... and more. Most are walled off by the major Beast Corporations. They build fortress-bases around stable Rift points. ZENTHRA holds three Rifts in this zone. SUNBORN has two. There’s even an unclaimed Rift deeper in the forest. They call it the Phantom Wound. But no one goes near it anymore."
Damian leaned slightly forward slightly as he gazed out into the fantastical and eerie earth below.
"Why?"
She smiled faintly, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
"Because something inside it started calling people’s names and then eating up Guardians like it was nothing. A Plan is being formed by the Major Beast Corporations to tackle it..."
Serena stiffened, but said nothing.
"The Rift you’ll be diving into," the pilot went on, "is the most recently stabilized Intermediate Rift under ZENTHRA control. It’s got a controlled containment zone, full forcefield parameters, and a kill-radius of a few dozen miles if containment fails. You’ll be dropped in the early sector the moment you enter the rift- this is the safest zone. Don’t stray. Past the early sector zone markers, you’ll find Symbiotic Resonance-grade Entropic Beasts. Farther in... nobody knows. So your lives are very much in your hands."
BOOM!
The Aerial Vessel slowed.
Through the cockpit glass, the Azure Depths unfolded into view: walls of blue-lit steel encircled a vast clearing carved from the forest, where multiple towers jutted skyward, buzzing with anti-Entropic energy.
A ZENTHRA Base...that was massive, orderly, and humming with menace.
Drones zipped across the sky in strict formation.
Enforcer-Class Androids stood sentinel on turrets, their plasma rifles glowing faintly under the violet sunscape.
Along the perimeter, reinforced plasma fences rose into the sky, enclosing a massive, radiant rupture in space.
The Entropic Rift.
It pulsed like a heartbeat.
A swirling vortex of colors that defied the laws of light—blues that bled into black, crimson that curled around green, and something deeper beneath it all. Something ancient!
Their pilot slowed the vessel and began the descent.
"ZENTHRA Base, this is Vessel V3 en route from Skyglass Heights. Authorization Alpha-Park-17. Confirm docking clearance for Trial Guardian deployment."
A crackle, then a reply.
"V3, clearance confirmed. Platform Seven is green. Medical and recovery teams are on standby. Deploy when ready."
The vessel dipped.
Down below, dozens of ZENTHRA personnel in silver-gray armor moved with purpose. They manned consoles, calibrated scanners, loaded containment gear, and ran diagnostics on computer panels.
Damian watched all of it.
"Entropic Rift... Intermediate Level," he whispered.
His blood surged.
This was it.
Where he would rise further.
Where he would push Kitsuul’s power beyond anything seen.
Where he would carve through monsters and evolve into what he had to become.
A Killer of Guardians.
A Judge of those others did not dare judge!
Serena was quiet.
Her eyes locked on the Rift as her serpent coiled tighter, silent tension in her posture.
The moment the vessel touched down with a whisper-soft thunk, the side doors hissed open.
Cool, charged air swept in- thick with ozone, dread, and the scent of wet leaves soaked in power.
Their pilot stood from the helm, her Mantis crawling up to perch on her head.
"Zone Authority’s been granted. This Rift’s yours for the next six hours. Nobody else is scheduled to enter."
She looked at Damian.
"At least try not to die. It’s a long walk back."
Damian stepped onto the landing platform.
The Entropic Rift loomed like a portal made of ruin and dreams.
He didn’t hesitate.
Not anymore.
"Let’s go," he said, his voice low.
And with Serena beside him, they walked toward entropy.
Toward power.
Towards the Entropic Rift!