The sky above Crater Island roared like a collapsing celestial forge.
Inside the boiling vortex of the Sanctuary Saint-Vessel Melting Array, one hundred and fifty Sanctuary warships spun in a furious funnel of golden fire.
Hulls ground against hulls with earsplitting shrieks of tearing iron. Massive void-iron masts snapped like dry twigs, showering golden sparks across twenty miles of ocean.
On the allied flagship bridge, Princess Valeria held her communication horn to her lips, her voice steady and clear. “All allied vessels, maintain holding positions! Keep fifty cables clear of the thermal fallout zone!”
High at the center of the orbital lens, Ancestor Pyre and Ancestor Vesper realized that their former fleet had not arrived as reinforcements.
The flying dreadnoughts were a cage.
The three hundred thousand tons of void-iron and star-iron acted as magnetic induction coils. They conducted forty-three thousand times celestial heat directly into the primary control chamber.
Ancestor Pyre’s eyes burned with crazed, desperate fury.
