Laurence "Windbreaker" Davidson

  They made it to the edge of the incursion in eight minutes. That was measured starting from the time Laurence first announced its existence, not the time they'd left the property. It was an excellent response time for a team of Tier 1 guardians, even as close as they were. It would have taken even less time if they hadn't fully geared up, but given their incredible head start and the active containment measures that were supposedly in place, Laurence made the call that they would be better off taking that extra couple of minutes to ensure they were as prepared as possible.

  But nothing could have prepared them for what they witnessed when they first arrived at the edge. They were all used to the sight of an incursion, even before becoming Guardians. In most ways, the region of forest ahead of them was exactly what you'd expect—which was to say, nothing particularly special. There was always the uncanny darkening of the ambient lighting and the glow of the violet streaks in the sky ahead, and at the boundary itself, you could pick out an invisible shimmering in the air.

  All of that was present. What was also present—and the cause of the entire team's shock—was an immense barrier of ethereal, cross-linked chains made of twisting, violet light. Not just a wall, Laurence realized, an entire dome. It only looked like a flat wall because of the immense scale. Someone is containing the entirety of the incursion itself with an esoteric ability.

  Any doubt they had about the rumors that a true Star Guardian was involved were washed away. Laurence had never personally witnessed a display of power even close to it before, and he was confident none of the other three had either. It might only be a Tier 1 incursion, but they were already keenly aware that the ability to handle an incursion wasn't the same as the ability to end it—and this was taking things more than a few steps further.

  Everyone says the rule of thumb is that you should count on needing anywhere between two thirds and a quarter of your maximum anima to shatter a full breach at the same tier. So how much would it take, not just to keep it locked down for minutes on end instead of shattering it, but while also spreading your ability out over who knows how many square miles?

  The scale of power alone would have been staggering. The fact that it was being used to lock down the entire incursion itself—not even just a breach—wasn't something Laurence had even thought possible.

  All four of them came to a complete stop just a few yards away from the barrier of shifting chains. "So this is what they meant by containing it. Holy crap." Maria, the team's only real support, was the one who said what they were all undoubtedly thinking. "Star Guardian indeed."

  "It looks so similar to the color of the breaches," Chloe observed. Usually quiet and reserved, their sustained damage specialist showed an uncharacteristic amount of curiosity. "That can't be a coincidence, right?"

  Undaunted, Kevin picked up a stick. Laurence's eyes narrowed as he watched his teammate casually flip the piece of wood over in one hand. "Anyone else wonder what happens when you try touching it?" Proving his commitment to embodying every strike specialist stereotype in existence, Kevin had the look of someone who would go stick his own hand in if there weren't any sticks readily available. "I'm betting on something cool."

  "You're not exactly wrong, but I wouldn't recommend trying it." The unfamiliar voice startled all four of them, but they recovered quickly. It took all of two seconds for Chloe to vanish from sight, for Laurence to erect a defensive wall of freezing wind around the remaining three, and for an eerier teal light to start slithering around Kevin's hand. It was with a small amount of amusement that Laurence noted his other hand was still holding the stick.

  "Woah. That was super professional for a Tier 1 team." The man didn't sound concerned. He didn't sound impressed or surprised, either, and the tone of the compliment was that of someone making a minor and relatively unimportant observation. "I suppose that makes sense," he continued, now speaking like he didn't mean to address any of them at all. Then, clapping his hands together, his attention refocused on the group. "Anyway. You are all Tier 1, which is good, because it means you're allowed to enter."

  Freezing winds stopped circulating around them, Kevin's light flickered out, and Chloe floated down from the trees to join the rest of them. "You're the Star Guardian, I presume?" Laurence had never met a Star Guardian before, and it was a little bit scary. He didn't think groveling was the right move in any situation, though, so he settled for 'awkwardly polite.' There was a chance his guess was wrong, but it seemed unlikely—even if the man was dressed like he was about to go golfing. Honestly, hanging around next to an active incursion while dressed like that does feel like the sort of shit someone powerful enough to lock down the whole thing would do.

  "Correct." The Star Guardian sounded bored. "You can go in, now. I'll make you an entrance."

  "Wait, hang on." Kevin held up his stick, then waggled it. "What would happen if we touched it?"

  Instead of answering, the powerful Star Guardian snatched the stick right out of Kevin's hand. He then proceeded to toss it at the dome of interlocking, violet chains. Upon striking the barrier, a violet flash lit up the entire stick, and it fell to the ground in two pieces. The cut was so clean that the inside almost looked glassy.

  Kevin whistled. "Noted."

  The Star Guardian gestured lazily, and a circular gap expanded across the surface of his strange ability. The edges were lined with an intense visual distortion, bending and scattering the light like fluid glass. For several seconds, they all just stared. The Star Guardian then cleared his throat, and, one by one, they stepped through. As soon as all four had reached the other side, the violet-lit, twilight effect of the incursion vanished. Wait, what?

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  The other side was teeming with Anathema. Well, 'teeming' might be an overstatement, but Laurence counted at least seven skinners nearby within the first second. So many Anathema at the very edge of an incursion was unusual—it probably has something to do with the whole thing being sealed with that guy's insane ability. Laurence also assumed it didn't look anything like an incursion anymore for the same reason. We have to be the first team to arrive, right? And even if we weren't, there's no way another team could have already shattered the breaches.

  "Huh. That was way sooner than I expected." Laurence's heart sank. Stepping up beside them was the Star Guardian himself. The man looked around, eyes sliding right over the dozen Anathema heading towards them, instead focusing off somewhere in the distance. "This is definitely promising."

  The fact that someone else had already stopped the incursion was disappointing, but they still had a job to do. There were ten skinners and two scuttlers converging on their position. As the team's core defense specialist, it was Laurence's job to keep them occupied until Chloe could start negating the effects of their regeneration, at which point Kevin would transition from strategically chosen small strikes to overwhelming destructive power. The last member of their team, Maria, would also help obstruct the attacking Anathema and fill in for the other two member's roles as well, depending on what was needed.

  Their team competition had been effective, so far, but they suffered from not having a Guardian well-suited for an offensive frontline role. And, to a lesser degree, a lack of flexibility. Their effectiveness was entirely dependent on the ability of Kevin and Laurence himself to synchronize into a two-Guardian replica of one of the core roles they were missing. It worked, but it also put a lot of pressure on Chloe while leaving her totally exposed, diluted Laurence's ability to properly defend, and hinged on Kevin timing the pace of combat to the point that Laurence was amazed nothing had gone horribly wrong yet.

  The simultaneously potent and delicate nature of their team meant they'd put more work into group discipline than most Tier 1 teams. It also meant that they were well-prepared for the unexpected onslaught and able to push aside the ongoing emotional rollercoaster.

  It turned out, though, that they didn't need to.

  In one quick, fluid motion, the Star Guardian yanked at the air itself with both hands. With one of them, he pulled free a long, translucent blade, like a sword entirely made of a strange, violet-edged glass. When the man first conjured it, Laurence experienced a moment where he felt like he was seeing someone rip a solid chunk straight out of reality itself. With the other hand—well, Laurence wasn't quite sure what happened. All he knew was that, in the same motion, the man flicked the glass-like blade in a downward cut.

  It didn't just cut straight through the skinner in front of him, though. It cut through all of them. Every Anathema within sight fell apart into neat, severed pieces. Laurence remained tense for several more seconds—but absolutely none of them showed any signs of regenerating.

  This—what tier is he? Laurence of course knew that there was a substantial difference between a regular Guardian like himself and the dramatically rarer Star Guardians. That being said, the former could still become truly powerful at the higher tiers. Likewise, the little he knew about the latter suggested that they also had to work their way upwards. Still, he has to be a Tier 6, right? Or even 7? The man hadn't even acted like any of it was a big deal. It was all so casual, as if everything he'd done was the most ordinary and unimpressive application of his power.

  None of them said anything. The whole team just stared, all trying to process what they'd just witnessed. Star Guardians tended to be relatively secretive, and that included a reluctance to widely publicize their powers. That only made people more curious—but the fact remained that there wasn't much footage of high tier Star Guardians going all out. Now that the initial shock was passing, Laurence was starting to feel incredibly lucky. Hell, I'd probably take this instead of the tier 1 breach if I had a choice to do it over again. It would only be so long before all of them shattered their first breach. Witnessing a powerful Star Guardian use their abilities up close like this was something he might not get to see ever again.

  After a moment of staring off in that same direction again, the Star Guardian seemed to remember their presence. Turning around, he briefly looked each of them over. "I really wasn't expecting this to happen." He paused, as if thinking. "This one must have turned out remarkably well. Huh. And about time, too, since it took sitting back and letting literal cultists—eh." He shook his head, then seemed to remember he had company again. "Oh, yeah, you four. You were still the first group to arrive, so, uh—follow me around for a bit and I'll figure out something cool to give you?"

  He sounds... weirdly unsure about that, Laurence thought. Also, wait. What was that about cultists? Like Anathema cultists? That sounds bad, also sounds way out of our own scope at the moment.

  "Alright." The Star Guardian raised his translucent sword again, and, like before, brought it down in front of him. The difference was that there weren't any Anathema nearby for him to chop. Instead, the tip of the blade scored a thin violet line vertically through the air. It just hung there—a perfectly straight, razor thin cut upon the skin of the world. Instead of bleeding thick, red liquid, it bled a radiant purple light. Like a breach, but orderly instead of chaotic, Laurence thought.

  Then, jamming both hands through the middle of the slit, he yanked the curtains of the very world apart.

  He started to step though, but then stopped. Looking back, he raised an immaculate blond eyebrow at the four stunned, Tier 1 Guardians. "Are you coming? I have a fascinating project nearby that I need to check on. If you don't want to come, that's fine, but I'm not going to bother searching for any of you afterwards." He then stepped all the way through without providing any additional explanation.

  The four of them shared a silent look. Then, Kevin shrugged, hopped over, and stepped through. Laurence sighed. What did we get into, here? A part of him was tempted to let Kevin deal with the craziness alone. But they were a team, and he couldn't deny he was also curious as to what awaited them on the other end.

  One by one, the remaining three followed their teammate through the gash.

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