⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣
NATION OF X’OMNERA — JUST OUTSIDE THE TOWERS DISTRICT — ABANDONED LOADING WAREHOUSE
Rain hammered the sheet-metal roof like fists.
Otto paced the warehouse floor with a limp, barking orders while the survivors patched each other up on crates and broken pallets.
“Anyone who can walk..stand. Anyone who can’t, point at someone who owes you a favor,” he snapped.
Men shifted, groaned, raised hands.
Three bodies weren’t here.
Five were barely conscious.
Everyone looked burned, bruised, hunted.
Otto clicked his tongue once.
“Alright. We got one hour. Then we’re gone. X’Omnera’s cooked. Too many eyes. We go back to Hagg. Gable will meet us there.”
One of the men asked if Gable was good. Others began to murmur in support of the question.
Otto cut them a glare sharp enough to stop a heartbeat.
“Gable’s fine. He finishes rail jobs. Worry about yourselves.”
He turned.
The back door swung open.
Riven and Talla sprinted in, soaked, breathing hard.
A wave of relief hit the room, but Otto didn’t slow.
“Well look at that,” he said, smirking “Thought the rain scooped you two into a recycling bin.”
Riven lifted a brow. “You sound heartbroken.”
“Oh, devastated,” Otto said, hand over his chest. “Was really looking forward to your next match. Truly. Going to miss it. Tragic.”
The sarcasm folded neatly into respect between them.
Otto tapped his palm twice.
“You got something for me?”
Talla handed him the case.
The Core inside glowed like a trapped sun.
Riven held out his hand.
“got something for us?”
Otto snorted then he pulled a stack of YoYos from his coat and dropped them into Riven’s palm.
“Double your UCL payout,” Otto said. “Plus a slice of my bet.”
Talla blinked. “But we didn’t fight in—”
“I know,” Otto said.
He stepped past them, limping toward the exit with the rest of his crew falling in line.
He paused at the doorway.
“Nothing’s changed,” he said without turning around. “I still expect ya’ll to deliver in your next match.”
A beat.
“Heard your debut will be under all the lights.”
Then he was gone, the warehouse emptying after him.
Riven stared at the YoYos.
Talla leaned in, whisper-sharp.
“We find Set. Then Vei.”
“One night left,” Riven said, grin breaking wide. “Plenty.”
They sprinted out into the rain, hearts punching with adrenaline and relief.
⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣
The Rustline felt peaceful at night.
Neon leaked through cracked signage and died in puddles that never fully reflected the sky.
Set waited in an alley where the light didn’t reach.
A group of gamblers argued across the street. A food drone sputtered and died. Two kids sprinted past carrying something wrapped in cloth they shouldn’t have.
He didn’t look. His focus stayed on the glyph still on his forearm. A helplessness Set never knew existed before X’Omnera.
The glyph pulsed. A faint pull under the skin.
Set’s ears twitched as something familiar cut through the noise. Light steps. Uneven rhythm. Relief moving faster than caution.
Riven came first, grinning before he was close enough to be seen. Talla followed, hood soaked, tail flicking water behind her.
Set was visibly annoyed. “You guys stop at a pleasure house on the way?”
Riven held up the YoYos. They clinked softly as he let them settle back into his palm.
“Everything’s good,” he said. “Vei good. Us good.”
Talla nodded. “And then some.”
Riven stepped closer, voice lower.
“We caught wind of something on the way here.”
This caught Sets attention fully. Whatever frustration he was feeling a moment ago was gone now.
“Matchmakers moved us. Prime slot. No warning.” Riven continued.
Talla’s tail twitched. “Platinum bracket. Main card.”
Set saw it then.
Pressure being applied from above and below at the same time.
X’Omnera didn’t need Rain to crush them.
It needed them to step into a spotlight where escape stopped being an option.
Riven exhaled, aether prickling faintly at his fingers as his rhythm creeped back.
“They want a show,” he said. “So I guess we’re headlining.”
Set met his eyes.
A distant siren wailed and cut out.
”I’ve been working on something for you guys. Hope X’O likes noise.”
Set stepped forward.
Not toward Riven’s face. Toward his hands.
Riven was already warming up, fingers tapping against his thigh, breath syncing, a rhythm crawling up his spine. Set cut through it and stopped inches away.
Riven paused. “You good?”
Set didn’t answer.
He shifted half a step and flicked his claw across the space where Riven’s next motion would’ve landed. Close enough to force a reset.
Riven clicked his tongue and tried again.
Set did it again. Different timing. Different angle.
Riven’s brow tightened. “Alright—”
Third time. Faster.
Riven snapped his hands back, irritation flashing. “What’s the deal?”
Set finally spoke. Low. Flat.
“You telegraph everything because your cadence is predictable.”
Riven blinked ready to respond before fully processing.
“It’s a cadence. It’s supposed to be–damnit.. when you’re right. You’re right.”
Set stepped back and tapped the concrete once with his claw.
Riven struck.
Set moved in and clipped the rhythm early. A disruption. Just enough to steal the ending.
Riven recoiled, stumbled a half-step, caught himself. Tried to restart.
Set was already there. Another disruption. Another cut.
Riven exhaled sharp, aether buzzing at his fingertips, rhythm fighting to lock back in.
“Telling you, I see it a mile away.” Set said.
They went three more times.
Every attempt ended unfinished.
Riven stood there breathing hard, hands hovering like they wanted to land somewhere they couldn’t reach.
Set turned away.
“Figure it out before tomorrow,” he said.
He started down the alley, rain sliding off his shoulders, ears already tuned back to the city.
Talla watched him go, then looked at Riven.
“You good?”
Riven flexed his fingers once. Twice.
Then began tapping a new rhythm against his thighs. Different now. Louder. Hungrier.
A grin crept back in, sharp and sinister.
“They’re gonna hate this,” he said.
They moved.
Vei was still waiting.
And the clock was still running.
As they disappeared into the Rustline crowd, a broadcast screen two blocks over flickered to life.
UCL UPDATE — SLOT ADJUSTMENT
PLATINUM BRACKET HEADLINERS — TRIPLE KILL VS TEAM ZERO HOUR
⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣