The gate opened with a sound like a computer booting up from the 1990s, all mechanical whirring and digital processing, and beyond it was a city that looked like Apple had designed dystopia.

Everything chrome and glass and glowing circuits, absolutely pristine, and completely devoid of human life.

"So we’re in a tech demo," I said, stepping through. "Great."

The transition was smooth, almost pleasant compared to the usual dimensional nausea, just a clean shift from London drizzle to artificial perfection.

And immediately, my shoulder felt empty.

Void’s absence was like forgetting my phone at home, constant nagging awareness that something important was missing, except the something could obliterate threats and called me Mama.

The city stretched ahead, towers reaching toward a sky that couldn’t decide if it was day or night, streets lined with glowing pathways like someone had installed RGB strips everywhere.

"No life signs," Henrik said, which seemed obvious given the complete lack of anyone anywhere.

"Abandoned smart city," Mara muttered. "Because that’s not creepy."

Azryth stepped closer, his presence shifting into protective mode without Void here to handle that job, and I felt warmth through the binding that had nothing to do with demon power and everything to do with the fact that my husband took protecting me extremely seriously.

His hand settled at my waist, keeping me positioned slightly behind him.

"The entity energy is in the central tower," he said, nodding toward the massive structure dominating the skyline. "Strong signature."

We started walking, and the city decided to say hello.

Panels in building walls slid open with mechanical precision, and drones poured out like angry metal bees, maybe thirty of them, hovering with scanning equipment and weapons that were definitely not friendly.

Red targeting lights painted all of us.

"Well," I said. "That’s rude."

They opened fire.

I dove behind what looked like a decorative bench but was actually solid metal, manifested warden energy, and fired back without thinking too hard about it.

My blast caught a drone center mass, sending it crashing into a building in a very satisfying shower of sparks.

"Got one!" I said, then had to duck as three more decided I was interesting.

Azryth’s barrier appeared in front of me without him even looking my way, catching the incoming fire, then dark energy lashed out and tore through half a dozen drones at once.

"Behind me," he said, tone leaving no room for argument.

"I’m fighting!" I protested, but I stayed behind him anyway because I wasn’t stupid enough to argue tactics mid-combat.

Though honestly, after the last gate of Void making everything explode before it got within ten feet of me, actually having to dodge was kind of refreshing.

In a terrifying sort of way.

Mara and Ryota moved like they’d been fighting together for years instead of awkwardly avoiding eye contact for weeks, hunter instincts and tactical training creating the kind of coordination that would’ve been impressive if they weren’t both in denial about it.

Henrik’s barriers kept the worst of the barrage off everyone, and within minutes the street was littered with smoking drone parts.

"That was fun," I said, checking to make sure I still had all my limbs.

"Those were just the scouts," Mara said, because apparently we couldn’t have nice things.

She was right.

Bigger units were emerging now, proper combat mechs, humanoid and heavily armed, moving with coordinated precision that screamed networked AI.

"Why are they always bigger," I said to no one in particular.

The mechs attacked in formation, professional and methodical, and the group scattered to avoid getting PKed.

One targeted me specifically, weapon ports rotating to track my movement like it had decided I was the weak link.

Rude, but fair.

Azryth intercepted it before it could fire, demon power slamming through its chest armor, and the mech went down hard.

Another came at me from the left, and I hit it with warden energy that scorched its shoulder but didn’t stop it.

It fired back, and Azryth pulled me out of the way, his barrier catching the blast.

"You’re good at this," I said.

"Practice," he responded, destroying the mech with what looked like casual effort but I could feel through the binding was very focused violence.

We fought forward, through waves of mechs that kept getting smarter, adapting to our tactics like they were learning in real-time.

By the time we reached the tower entrance, everyone was breathing hard and I was remembering why Void’s overprotective murder spree in Cairo had been convenient.

"I miss our Void," Henrik said, which was probably the most emotion I’d heard from him all week.

The tower interior was massive, like someone had combined a server farm with a cathedral and added aggressive mood lighting.

Circuits covered everything in glowing patterns, and in the center stood something that made me immediately regret every life choice that had led to this moment.

Twenty feet of technological nightmare, humanoid but wrong, armored in layered plating that looked designed to withstand small nuclear weapons, and weapons integrated into every available surface.

Its head swiveled to look at us, red optical sensors focusing with disturbing intelligence.

"Intruders detected," it said, voice synthesized but carrying way too much personality for comfort. "Analyzing threat parameters. Conclusion: you all die now."

"Listen, can we talk about this?" I asked.

"Termination protocol initiated."

It moved.

Way too fast for something that size, weapons firing from multiple angles while it went straight for Azryth, apparently smart enough to identify the demon lord as the priority target.

Azryth met it with demon power, dark energy clashing with advanced weaponry, and they were actually matched.

Like, genuinely matched, the AI calculating counters in real-time and adapting to demon power with speed that was frankly terrifying.

I fired at its flank, warden energy hitting armor that barely dented.

A weapon pod swiveled toward me with intent that felt personal.

Azryth’s barrier caught the blast before I could panic, his attention split between fighting and keeping me alive.

Mara and Ryota attacked from opposite sides, working together without acknowledging they were working together, while Henrik’s barriers deflected the worst of the return fire.

The AI adapted constantly, armor shifting to cover weak points, weapons tracking all of us at once.

It fired at me again, and Azryth moved directly in front of me, barrier absorbing the impact while demon power struck at the AI’s core systems.

Through the binding, I felt his absolute focus on two things: destroying this threat and making sure I didn’t get shot.

Married life was complicated.

The fight was brutal, genuine teamwork required just to survive, and I was contributing actual damage instead of standing around being protected.

Satisfying, but also exhausting.

Azryth pushed harder, dark energy finding gaps in the AI’s defense, tearing through critical systems while Ryota’s blade severed power conduits.

Mara’s knives found something vital, and with coordinated strikes from everyone, the AI finally fell.

The crash was spectacular, twenty feet of metal hitting floor hard enough to crack it.

We all stood there, weapons ready, making sure it was actually dead.

It didn’t move.

"So," I said into the silence. "That was stressful."

"Very," Mara agreed.

In the AI’s chest cavity, visible through torn armor, something glowed with familiar energy.

The fragment.

But it wasn’t loose, wasn’t waiting to escape.

It was integrated into a device, complex technology arranged around the fragment’s energy in patterns that looked intentional.

Mara moved closer, scanner active. "Communications relay system. Incredibly sophisticated. The fragment is powering technology that enables instantaneous data transmission across unlimited distances."

"Coalition would love that," I said.

"Extremely useful," Henrik confirmed. "Worldwide coordination, no lag, no interference."

Azryth was staring at the device with intensity I could feel through the binding.

This was the moment.

The test that would confirm or disprove everything he’d been suspecting.

"Take it," he said quietly.

Henrik reached in carefully and extracted the device, football-sized technology glowing with fragment energy.

He pulled it free.

We waited.

The fragment’s energy stayed, glowing steady in the device, completely stable.

Five seconds.

Ten.

Thirty.

It didn’t disappear.

It didn’t vanish like all the others.

It just remained exactly where it was, contained and present.

"It’s not escaping," Henrik said slowly, like he couldn’t quite believe it.

"No," Azryth said, and through the binding I felt certainty crystallize. "It’s not."

"But every other fragment..." Mara started.

Reality lurched sideways.

Not violently, just suddenly, like someone had grabbed my consciousness and yanked it somewhere else, and I recognized the sensation immediately.

The Arbiters.

Summoning us.

It’s been a while.

My body was still standing in the tech chamber, I could feel that distantly, but my mind was being ripped away with force I absolutely could not resist.

"Oh come on," I tried to say, but my mouth wasn’t connected anymore.

Azryth’s hand tightened on mine in the physical world even as our minds were dragged elsewhere, and through the binding I felt him experiencing the same involuntary dimensional kidnapping.

"Riven?" Mara’s voice, alarmed and distant. "Azryth? Not again—"

Then the tech world disappeared completely, and everything went crystalline.