Chapter 7: A Scar Called Eltherra
Ruby hated Eltherra.
Not because of its thin air or the way the mountains clawed at the sky like shattered teeth, but because it was the only place in the multiverse where she had bled twice and nearly died once. It had the look of a forgotten myth—an old-world sprawl of fractured architecture layered across hovering cliffs and violet grasslands that hummed with unnatural wind. But beneath its surface, Eltherra was a nest. A waiting place. A scar in reality no one had healed.
And today, it was home to the next name on her list.
The bounty was flagged in red, pinned across five systems, with a reward high enough to fund a small army. But Ruby didn't want the credits. She wanted the information. This bounty wasn't just another outlaw or multiversal menace—it was someone who used to wear the same mark as she once did.
The Reclaimer Syndicate had agents everywhere now. Most stayed hidden, pulling strings from shadow ports and black citadels. But some were more arrogant. One of them had made a name for himself on Eltherra.
Korrin Vale.
The man who once called Ruby his partner.
She landed her ship—less a ship and more a scavenged hybrid engine wrapped in armor plating—on the outskirts of the trade sector. Lyra was silent for most of the descent, her eyes scanning the terrain.
"You've got that look again," Lyra finally said as they passed a massive cliff-side temple with broken banners fluttering.
"What look?"
"The one that says 'I've got old ghosts to dig up.'"
Ruby didn't reply.
Lyra continued, "You don't have to do this alone, you know."
"I'm not."
"Could've fooled me."
They disembarked near a ruined bazaar. The markets here were mostly abandoned, a mix of collapsed merchant stalls and black-inked signs written in five dialects warning travelers to keep their heads low. Scavengers watched them from the shadows, but none dared approach. Not when Ruby walked with her hand near the holster of her quantum blade.
She remembered walking this same street with Korrin years ago, back when they still believed the Syndicate was doing good—purging chaos before it spread, capturing anomalies before they infected universes. Before they realized the truth.
Korrin had believed the Syndicate's lie longer than she did.
And he'd betrayed her for it.
They entered a bar called The Glass Spine. It was quiet inside, but not empty. A bartender with silver eyes glanced up but didn't speak. In the back, a small group of bounty hunters played a game with shifting holograms and knives, their laughter sharp and hollow. Ruby ignored them.
Instead, she walked to the far corner where an old man with two mechanical arms sat behind a dusty terminal.
"Looking for someone," she said.
The man didn't flinch. "Aren't we all?"
"I have a name."
"Then you're lucky. Most come here with only regret."
She leaned in. "Korrin Vale. Where is he?"
The man stared at her for a long second. Then, without a word, he typed something into his console. The screen flickered. A location. A tower.
Ruby recognized it instantly.
The Watchspire. Once a Syndicate outpost. Now, his throne.
She turned and left without thanking him.
Outside, Lyra was already preparing the gear.
"Found him?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"I still think you should've put a bullet in him when you had the chance."
"So do I."
They took the long path to the Watchspire, avoiding the main roads. The tower rose like a needle from the side of a jagged mountain, wrapped in broken scaffolding and veined with old-world tech conduits. Ruby felt the shift in the air before they even got close—the way the multiverse bent slightly around the structure, like it resented its existence.
A force field blocked the entrance. Not a simple barrier—this one hummed with ancient Titan magic, layered with mechanical overrides. It was a trap disguised as a gate.
Lyra started scanning it.
"Don't bother," Ruby said.
She stepped forward, raised her hand, and let the Titan blood stir.
It answered—reluctantly.
The gate hissed and peeled open.
"Still creepy when you do that," Lyra muttered.
"Good. Means it's working."
Inside the Watchspire, time seemed to slow. Dust floated in the beams of pale blue light. Shadows moved in places where they shouldn't. Ruby kept her breathing steady. Every inch of this place had been designed to test her. She passed the old combat floor where they used to train. Memories flickered—Korrin's voice, laughing, shouting, warning.
Then she reached the upper chamber.
And there he was.
Korrin Vale stood by the wide observation window, his back to her. His coat was long, stitched with Syndicate markings, the Reclaimer insignia glowing faintly across his collar. His hair had gone silver, but he still moved like a predator—casual, but deadly.
"I wondered when you'd come," he said without turning.
"Took me a while to stomach it."
He finally faced her. "You look the same."
"You don't."
"Time changes those who embrace the cause."
Ruby drew her blade.
Korrin didn't flinch. "You always were dramatic."
"You always were a traitor."
He smiled. "You left the Syndicate. I rebuilt it."
"You turned it into a cult."
He took a step forward. "You still think you're fighting for the right side? They never wanted you, Ruby. They wanted your blood. They wanted your extinction."
"And you helped them."
"I helped *you*. You were losing control. Becoming something dangerous."
"I *am* dangerous."
He nodded. "Yes. And that's why I need you now."
She blinked. "What?"
"The multiverse is collapsing in on itself. Portals are breaking. Time threads are snapping. You've seen it."
"I have."
"There's a reason. The Titans were never meant to vanish. The void they left behind is tearing everything apart."
"And now you want to bring them back?"
"No. I want you to take their place."
She stared at him. The madness in his eyes wasn't born from ambition. It was born from desperation.
"I'll never join you."
He sighed. "Then I'll have to kill you."
The room dropped ten degrees.
A second figure emerged from the shadows behind Korrin.
Ruby's eyes narrowed.
"Of course," she whispered. "You brought *him*."
It was her rival. A bounty hunter named Vesh, once her equal—now enhanced beyond recognition. Half his face was machine. The other half wore a smirk like a wound that refused to close.
"Miss me?" he asked.
Ruby didn't answer.
She ignited her blade.