A decade after the Cataclysm that enveloped the Milky Way in a destructive Mist, the portal that was left over from Sam’anar and Jack Chronis’s (the aspect of time) became active for the first time, releasing a fleet of demonic ships that engaged the orbiting Union-Synergy Garrison. This conflict spiralled into a series of events that landed Union forces on the surface of the hellish realm, where they were forced to fight for their very survival.
Invasion
The conflict began when the Garrison was suddenly engaged by a demonic fleet emerging from the Acheron portal. Simultaneously, demonic infantry portalled onto the stations thanks to brainwashed staff who had fallen to the gradual influence of red cosmic energy composing the portal and set up portal generators. Backup arrived in the form of additional Union and Synergy battleships as well as infantry being deployed onto these stations to regain control of them.
Eventually, the battle was won with the demonic fleet being destroyed and the stations being cleared of hostile forces. However soon after this, a second, larger fleet arrived which decimated what remained of the Garrison. A gravity beam suddenly shot out from the portal itself and dragged in the surviving ships and stations.
This happened at the same time as Gavin and
Kitty, along with their friends Ivo and Silas - all prime representatives of the
Invictus Coalition - portalling onto one of the stations after Gavin witnessed this attack in a premonition on Nightblood. They were consequently also dragged into the Acheron portal.
Stranded
Of the many Union forces that were dragged into Acheron, only a few survived. Those who managed to walk away from the crashes banded together and formed groups, however many of them were unfortunately swarmed and overwhelmed by the native demons. Two major groups that formed were led by Jeremiah and Michael respectively - both part of Fireteam Whiskey of the Union Elite Commandos who had been separated earlier.
Jeremiah’s group were surprised to find an intact GSU base, which they secured and held off against invading demons. In the process, they unexpectedly discovered a cryotube containing an Omega Legionnaire, referred to as Omega-098, who helped them clear out the base. At the same time, Michael’s group (which included El Fuerte) linked up with a surviving Knight and Marine, Ashira and Arthur Dumont respectively. They released an army of Wraiths - remnants of a lost civilisation that fell victim to Acheron a long time ago - who possessed some of Acheron’s demons and used them to form an army to help the Union forces. Through these Wraiths, they found out about a weapon called the Nullifier, something the Wraiths were working on but never got to finish, which would destroy the ArchDemon that controls Acheron: Mephistopheles.
Jeremiah’s group were also promised something similar when Gavin contacted their base and claimed to hold an entity that could kill Mephistopheles. The objectives were soon established: Michael’s group would procure the Nullifier while Jeremiah’s group would move to provide Gavin support.
The Forge
During the Garrison attack, the bounty hunter Xytan picked up the Union’s emergency transmission and arrived to find the Garrison already destroyed. However, upon picking up weak transmission signals from within the portal, he deduced that there were survivors there and formulated a plan to help them.
Having discovered a Santori Forge - a weapons-making platform left over from the extinct
Valor Santori faction - he enlisted the help of his friend Mathal from Arbor as well as several other bounty hunters including Egwene Tai. Together, they brought the Forge back online, created many different melee and ranged weapons (Egwene herself designing a specialised suit of armour made to combat the demons known as the Hellbuster) and departed for Acheron.
Arduous Battle
As Jeremiah’s group neared Gavin’s they were joined by Xytan’s group who provided much needed assistance and support to the exhausted soldiers. They then continued to battle their way towards Mephistopheles, while at the same time Michael’s group had successfully procured the Nullifier. Outside the portal, a Union backup fleet had arrived but they were engaged by the demonic fleet stationed outside the portal.
Once Union-Mercenary, Michael and Gavin’s groups met with each other, they had arrived at the very center of the Acheron realm where they bore witness to a planetoid rising out of a massive Well in the ground. Mephistopheles declared it to be the first among many of his warships which he would use to invade the galaxy. Gavin was subsequently captured by Mephistopheles and taken to a location nearby to be tortured.
They all followed him into a structure where they fought through demons before being subjected to nightmarish hallucinations where they were forced to contend with their worst fears. After breaking free from these hallucinations with the help of the Wraiths, the group arrived on a circular platform where they faced a Juggernaut demon and then later, Mephistopheles himself after Egwene fused her Hellbuster armour with the entity Gavin claimed could kill Mephistopheles to kill said Juggernaut.
The entity, known as the Rage, eventually proved to be too much for the Hellbuster to handle, and Egwene dragged Mephistopheles far into the sky before detonating in a miniature nuclear blast that seemingly killed them both. Mephistopheles had survived however, albeit now relying on a weaker body. The Elite Commando Landon then proceeded to use the Nullifier on the ArchDemon, weakening him even further and negating his red cosmic energy powers.
Kitty, Xytan, and a freed Gavin then engaged Mephistopheles in a three-on-one battle, which they almost lost until Gavin finally merged with the Rage that had fallen out of the sky. What emerged from the fusion was the restored Eternal, Ezekiel, who fought and killed Mephistopheles with a blast of blue cosmic energy.
Aftermath and Extinction
After Mephistopheles’ death, the portal began to close. The survivors escaped onboard Xytan’s ship, who warped to Nightblood. Kitty contacted the GSU to collect the soldiers who had arrived with them, while everyone rested and received medical attention. Gavin died soon after arriving on Nightblood and a funeral was held as well as a subsequent memorial for the others who had fallen during the battle. A GSU ship arrived and the Union personnel were taken back home.
Nothing could have prepared anyone for what came next however. The actions of the Rift King caused a sudden galactic extinction event that caused the deaths of all Celestial species. These individuals became petrified as they turned to rock, which slowly crumbled into dust in front of their comrades and friends. Magic also disappeared from the galaxy entirely, causing many blackouts across both Coalition and Union space as well as the loss of ships that had fallen into the atmosphere in much the same way as they had during the Cataclysm.
After the chaos had subsided, both sides started to rebuild what was lost. This proved to be the ultimate catalyst that caused the Union leadership to rebrand the faction into the Terran Empire.
