The sun hung low, bleeding fire across the horizon. It wasn’t the Earth’s sky—this world, Arcaelion, had a sky dusted with wide brushstrokes of violet and gold, streaked with distant arcs of glassy-green auroras. Beneath this alien canopy, she crouched near the edge of a shimmering pool—not water, but liquid light that pulsed to the rhythm of her heartbeat.
Zeri’s bright orange combat suit clung to her lithe frame, its segmented patterns glowing faintly as her body absorbed the energy of the atmosphere. Though battle-ready, the ensemble gave nods to her audacious personality. Where others might’ve opted for muted tones or stealth-friendly attire, Zeri kept her electric orange hues vibrant. The suit’s design mimicked the function of traditional swimwear but was fortified with integrated capacitors. Her neon green pigtails, tied high and wild, gleamed in the ethereal light, with strands arching upward as if charged with static electricity.
“They’ll come through the breach any second now.” She muttered the words aloud, though no one stood beside her. The pool’s luminous surface rippled as she tapped her fingers on the metal railings beside her. It was this world’s nexus, a point of pure energy, and whoever controlled it had the fate of Arcaelion in their hands—or claws. Behind her, massive alien trees loomed, their curved, crystalline trunks refracting light like prisms. Gleaming vines and moss carpeted the terrain, with faint whispers of wind carrying scents that reminded Zeri of sweet mangoes back home. Yet this place was anything but tranquil.
The first enemy emerged through the breach. They didn’t walk—they slithered, their segmented bodies entwining as they spilled forth like a living tide of black oil. Zeri sprang to her feet, and energy crackled around her hands in violent arcs of bright green. Her signature weapon, the Phase Blaster, materialized almost reflexively in her grip, formed entirely of the energy she harnessed. The barrel of the weapon shimmered, alive with shifting circuits embedded in its frame.
“Too many,” she murmured, narrowing her amber eyes. A bead of sweat formed on her temple, though the suit’s internal cooling system ensured her muscles stayed loose and sharp. The creatures advanced, their clicking mandibles loud enough to resonate in her chest. Zeri extended her arm, the blaster whining as power surged through it. Too loud in the deathly quiet of the battlefield.
The first shot erupted like a comet, slamming squarely into the front ranks of the creatures. The impact sent an electric pulse through their swarming forms, lightning jumping from one to the next. Some disintegrated on the spot, their shouts sounding strangely human before fading to silence. But the others? The others adapted. They began weaving patterns in their approach, zig-zagging, countering her precision blasts.
“Clever bastards,” she hissed, vaulting backward with the kind of agility that only years of survival on volatile planets could forge. Zeri’s boots sank into the moss, but she moved as if weightless, her lightweight frame designed to harness, not resist, the constant flow of energy. She darted toward an elevated ridge overlooking the pool, her gleaming pigtails whipping behind her like twin streaks of neon light.
And then she saw him—or, rather, what was left of him.
An armored figure lay crumpled near the ridge, his uniform charred black and barely distinguishable save for one detail—the insignia of Ekron’s Vanguard blazoned on his shoulder plate. The Vanguard. Her people. Her team. Her family. He’d fought his way through the breach to guard the nexus, knowing the odds were slim. And she hadn’t been here in time to stop it.
The guilt hit her chest like a collapsing star. She crouched briefly beside him and clenched her fist. His battle gauntlet still pulsed faintly—an emergency generator she could repurpose.
A booming roar shook the earth as more of the creatures joined the fray. This time, they brought siege-level weaponry, massive tendrils crafting energy whips that lashed upward, carving trenches in the ridge’s surface. Zeri yanked the gauntlet apart and jammed its core into an auxiliary port in her suit, the result both dangerous and unpredictable. Her orange-clad figure flashed green for a moment, arcs of pulsing energy coiling like vines around her body. Her blaster reshaped itself, its frame widening, its barrel splitting into three jagged lightning conduits.
“You’re not taking this planet.” Zeri’s voice carried an edge sharper than any metal alloy. She jumped off the ridge, her fall broken by a sudden surge of charged energy that propelled her toward the center of the creature swarm like an airborne missile. Her suit glowed as she hit the ground, the shockwave rolling through the attackers and throwing them into disarray. Pulses of lightning shot from her fingertips, cascading through the horde as she became a rogue streak of light darting through the fray. She fought relentlessly, her body and weapon moving as one.
The battle raged for what felt like lifetimes. Zeri wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the breach began to close on itself, swallowed by the energy pool and the planet’s natural defenses. She collapsed onto her knees, her suit’s reserves flashing dangerously low on her HUD. Her neon hair glimmered faintly, now frayed from the sustained discharge of power, and her chest heaved with exhaustion.
As silence fell, she looked out across the battlefield. Smoking craters and twitching remnants of the enemy littered the ground. And yet, her body trembled not with relief, but anger. Anger at the cost of the battle, the man she’d failed to save, and the unseen hand that sent these predators after her world. She steadied herself against the pool’s rail and whispered, “If they send more, I’ll be ready.”
The auroras overhead swirled, casting their celestial light on the bloodstained moss as Zeri swore silently to never let another one of her people fall.
The fight wasn’t over. It never would be.
Genre: Sci-Fi Action/Adventure
The Source…check out the article that inspired this amazing short story: Vibrant Orange Bikini Zeri Cosplay Inspiration: A League of Legends Splash
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