Clouds had begun to clutter the pristine skies in a damp gray. Darkness cast the golden glow of the Gilded forest in an offset of shadows. An unnatural breeze had come to rest on the warm coast, dimming the coral hues and bleaching the bright white beaches in a somber dread.

  The rangers had gathered their equipment, mounted their gliders and organized themselves in response to the imminent breach.

  Retrocosmic Intrusions… Those words echoed in Ranger Sorroz’s mind. An unease drenched the air in an unnatural surge of energy that erupted from beneath the forest floor.

  The rangers huddled under one of the old feather trees, their auditory modules heightening their perception to the sound of pitter-pattering from—rain?

  One of the rangers put their hand out, but no droplets struck from above.

  Pat pat pat

  The perplexing sound persisted, puzzling everyone except for Sorroz. His weathered gaze had witnessed this phenomenon before.

  The ranger with the outstretched hand staggered back in surprise as a droplet skidded across their faceplate and up into the feather tree’s canopy.

  “Inverted Rain.” Sorroz said gravely, his eyes scanning the brush as the number of droplets multiplied until rainfall erupted from the underbrush and up into the sky.

  The rangers watched in tense admiration of the rain.

  Sorroz brushed the golden grass apart, his eyes falling on the eerie, watery polyps that were sprouting from the pink growths. Anxious intervenience was painted across his face. A faint interval of fear that only delayed his withered frown. “Retrocosmic Intrusions… phenomena bleeding backward into our time from the abyss and beyond… Inverted Rain is an anomaly tied with sickly abyssal intrusion.”

  The rangers edged closer together. “But why now?” one ranger asked nervously. “I’ve never seen this condition at any of the other infected locations.”

  Sorroz suppressed a shudder. “Invervted Rain is the clearest sign of high abyssal condensation.”

  Sey, who’d been lost in thought as she stared at the rising water, finally snapped out of her daze. “M-Mr. Sorroz!” she pointed upward, through the feather leaves. The rain had begun to pool—or rather stop at a certain point. There like a reflective mirror, was the murky reflection of the forest distorted across puddles in the sky. “What’s happening up there?”

  Sorroz glanced up. “That’s how sky lakes are formed. Like the ones over Primordía or Tirma.” The silvery water grew darker and darker as more water accumulated.

  Sorroz tightened his grip on his equipment. “Let’s keep a tight wedge formation and follow me. Let’s avoid any infected ground—we have to regroup with the Post 15 team as quickly as possible.” he paused looking back at his unit through his visor. “Commandant Okari approved the use of W.K. blades.”

  The tension seemed to ease as several rangers eagerly unclipped small, black cylinders from their belts. Sorroz reached for his own, gripping the familiar, branded tube firmly and aiming it carefully away from himself. With practiced precision, he pressed two buttons along the lid, prompting a quick series of flashes as the device primed itself.

  Vwooom—hmmm…

  With a sudden surge of light, a solid bar of glowing orange Kyyr ignited from the tip, casting a subdued light that reflected against the passing streaks of water. The beam crackled faintly at the edges, pulsing with barely restrained heat. It held weightless in the air yet seemed to vibrate slightly in Sorroz’s grip as it cut a sharp silhouette against the gloom.

  Tsss… Tsss…

  The Inverted Rain collided with the blazing saber with a mellow hiss. His fellow rangers followed suit, igniting their respective tubes into tight masses of Kyyr.

  There was a volatile hiss in the air as the rain collided with the sabers. The dark-clad rangers were now enshrouded in the gloom with their M.K. Blades as their only light amidst the dark.

  “CB Esoteric Protocol 3-4-24. Purge orders.” Sorroz called over their radios. “Stand ready, team.”

  With that, they began to carefully make their journey towards Post 15.

  The walk was slow and steady; the only sounds that permeated the air were the hiss of the rain against their blades, the rain, and the rolling thunder that had occasionally rumbled. Sey was on the right flank of the formation, her eyes occasionally searching for the Skolas Sky Metropolis against the Retrocosmic Seas leaking from the abyss.

  “Motion Detected left-wing on your 10 from apex, 23 meters out.” A ranger called over the comms.

  The rangers rearranged their position, inverting the wedge shape defensively as they scanned the tree line. Light was barely passing through the dark waters above, casting caustic patterns across the dull gold underbrush.

  “Motion Detected right-wing on your 3, 22 meters out.” It’s only bobbing in the sensors, sir.” the voice called out again.

  Sorroz gave a sign, the rangers arranging their blades defensively as they prodded the soil for infection. The motion was coming from a marble ruin that was drenched in the rising rain. It stood ominous before the group like a pregnant beast. The rangers readied themselves as their ocular receptors detected the distinct sound of scraping.

  They fanned out, prodding the ground lightly as they burnt through the underbrush. The low glow of the amber sabers illuminated an eerie pattern as Sorroz checked the inside of the ruin.

  It was dark inside; water had begun to pool within as it cascaded out the broken windows and into the sky. It was calm. Sorroz pressed on, examining the drenched floor carefully as water brushed up his uniform.

  Chhhk… Chhhhk…

  The faint echo of something scraping against the marble resonated from a room deeper within. He moved in slowly, another ranger following at an angle with M.K. Blade set to low.

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  Thunder grumbled from the esoteric storm beyond. Flashes of pink lightning faintly illuminated a long hallway that led to a small complex of rooms.

  Krrrsshhhk… Chhhk…

  The sound had changed for a brief second before returning to the same almost rhythmic sound. It was coming from the farthest room to the left, where a door remained ajar, the faint glow of glistening water above revealing a slow stream of water draining into the room.

  “Approaching the source. Standby,” he calmly said over his comms.

  KRRRCH—

  A loud, rough crunch echoed from the room. The sound causing the two rangers to grab their sabers so tight they dare to edge their breaking point.

  The room was dark. There were seemingly no windows within, but the two could tell something was inside. Sorroz and the other ranger positioned themselves on both sides of the room’s entrance. They both readjusted the shape of their sabers, using their Kyyr to bend the sabers into short, curved blades. The two rangers nodded at one another as they pushed the marbled door fully open.

  Void.

  The word came to Sorroz's mind as they stared into the dark room.

  KRRRCH! KRRRSSHK!

  The sound was loud, like the sound of someone walking on shattered glass. The two nodded, amplifying their visors’ visual receptacles to take in just enough light to see what lay within.

  Nothing.

  The room was deceptively large and cavernous, but it was most definitely empty. The two men checked the corner, but there was nothing. Only darkness and the sound of water splattering against the ceiling.

  KRAKK!

  The two flinched, their bodies instinctively following the sound.

  Above.

  Perched upside down on the ceiling.

  There was a pale man—no, a thing—seated almost completely motionless in black water. The two rangers instinctively flinched, their breaths growing fast and unpleasant as they stared at what appeared to be a person.

  The creature wore what remained of a ranger’s uniform, now stretched and shredded like old skin. Its flesh was milky white, almost translucent, clinging tightly to squirming muscle that writhed with abyssal spirals. He— It looked mostly human save for the face. He—Its dark blue hair hung upside down— clearly revealing its two lifeless white eyes that were seemingly on the verge of bursting from their sockets. His nose had split open, the gouge spreading down its face and leading to its mouth.

  Its mouth was the most deformed. His teeth had been pushed out by a growth ripping through the skin of his lips in some places. This growth emerged from its shattered jaw and split in two, mimicking a shriveled and deformed fish-like jaw filled with crude, needle-like teeth that were struggling to bite into the sides of another ranger’s corpse.

  The body was mangled. Flesh and bone were stripped from the arms, the face was half-eaten, and the ribcage was cracked open like a rotten fruit. It was gnawing on the ribcage, organs twitching with the last echoes of miserable life.

  The Inverted Rain had claimed the corpse, their blood pooling in the ceiling with the creature, who, amidst its chewing, blankly stared down at the glowing blades.

  With a sorrowful tone, Sorroz spoke over comms, “Stage 1 Caused located. Purging.”

  His fellow ranger nodded as the two bent the Kyyr in their blades as they lashed the creature. Searing its flesh with the burning edge of their sabers.

  As the abyssal miasma thickened below, tension brewed high in the Cetarro Sky-Scraper. The few rangers posted above grew increasingly anxious. Mera stared at her crystalcomm, her eyes twitching as she read the incoming report. Slowly, she looked up, locking eyes with Serfet.

  Serfet swallowed hard. “There’s been a breach in Sector 5…”

  Aria blinked, confused. “Abyssals?”

  Mera gave her a weak nod. “Three new specimens…” she muttered, her eyes drifting to a growing crowd of Servinae that was forming by the window facing the Giled forest. The three looked at each other, confused, before rushing over, pushing past the Servinae.

  Mera stopped short. Her eyes widened in both awe and terror. Not far below, a massive, dark, bubble-like formation of black water had nearly swallowed the entire west side of M?ry’Plu. From the raging surface of the stormy, skybound ocean, water surged violently upward into surging twisters.

  She stumbled back, bumping into an excited Servinae who jostled past her, sending her to the floor. Her world was spinning, the sickly terror ensnaring her as the sound of voices all around her caused her every sense to blur and shift her mind was storming with emotion—

  It’s here.

  “Mera!” Serfet’s hand grabbed her, yanking her out of the crowd. “Hey—are you okay? What happened?”

  She was trembling, her knees keeping her bound to the floor. “I—I’m okay…”

  “Oh—okay then?” Serfet said, confused.

  “Dude.” Aria said, giving Serfet the are-you-stupid glare. She knelt down next to the shaken Mera. “Breathe with me, Mera. In and out—slowly.”

  Mera followed along, taking deep, measured breaths. “Thanks… ” she mumbled.

  As the crowd grew thicker, the trio scrambled out of the jumble of Servinae.

  “Let’s get out of here! We need to contact Morray and find Gira.” Serfet said, looking down at his crystalcomm.

  “Wait—Gira?” Aria’s brow shot up. “You want to send him down there? Shouldn’t he be recovering after that crazy fight with Borren?”

  “Not unless we give him this.” Serfet reached to his belt and produced a blue-glass flask.

  “A Kyyr booster?” Aria said, perplexed, “Wait, hold on—he didn’t fight Borren on a booster?!”

  Serfet shook his head. “Morray forbade it. Said, no enhancements under any condition.”

  “By all that’s gold… Uncle Morray sure can be cold.” Aria remarked shakily.

  A thunderous crack echoed from beyond the Cetarro Sky Scraper.

  The trio looked at the window, unsettled by the deep wailing boom of abyssal thunder.

  Mera watched the pink lightning arc across the gray clouds, her heart matching the boom, her eyes filling with tears. “We need to find Gira.” She squeaked out, her hands gripping her little black bag with all her strength, the faux leather creasing painfully.

  Somewhere in the depths of the arcade in the entertainment hall, a figure crashed down and into the darkness. He’d broken his arm upon impact with the carpet floor. But it didn’t matter. Bone snapped back into place and a white, bony embrace enveloped his arm, the blacklight illuminating the white growth before it vanished into the figure's skin.

  The entire Cetarro Sky Scraper groaned as water collided into its base. The impact rocked the tower like an old vessel in a stormy sea. In the dark, pulsing lights of the arcade, two blue eyes opened—then dulled to gray-black.

  Gira blinked, dazed. “Ehh—wh-where am I?” He looked around, disoriented by the thumping music and strobing lights.

  Someone had seen his strange arrival. A silhouette leaned against a nearby cabinet, a curious smirk growing on their face. The stranger stepped forward and tapped Gira on the shoulder. “Are you lost?”

  Gira turned. “Yup! Am I still on the flying tower?”

  “You sure are.” The stranger chuckled, voice low and serpentine. “Say… what was that white stuff on your arm?”

  “Huh? What white stuff?” Gira looked down, puzzled.

  The stranger squinted, studying him in the flickering glow. “Hmm...” he smiled thinly. “The name’s Vidrago. What’s yours?”

  “I’m Gira! And I’m feeling super sick and miserable. You know where I could get some food?”

  Vidrago nodded slowly. “Sure thing. Follow me...” His voice trailed into a whisper.

  “Huh? What? Say that again?” Gira called out, hurrying after him. “Hey!” But Vidrago was already disappearing into the gloom, and with nothing better to do, Gira followed—fading.

  Unaware that just beneath his feet, familiar horrors began to unfurl.

  Retrocosmic Intrusions and the leaking abyss.

  Trepidatio Artificialis and I’m currently working on one for this arc too.

  -L. Osric