It Won't Be Long - Season 9

BA - NA - NA - NA NA!
Roger Glipglorp: “Good evening… This is Roger Glipglorp, signing in."
Roger Glipglorp: "It has been three weeks since the Dream Team were reported to have perished at their home in Ezorod, after a freak accident involving the bubble city’s planar confluence with Night. Valentina Terris still holds that their deaths are not confirmed, but as more Daemons spread across the Pact Worlds, many have begun to lose hope for our once-time heroes."
Roger Glipglorp: "In a related story, the Starfinder Society continues to return in waves from the Scoured Stars, including the return of Jadnura, who has returned to his official role as First Seeker. The interim leader of the Society, Luwazi Elsebo, has stepped down from her position, and will lead the Second Seekers faction in support of her old mentor."
Roger Glipglorp: "As her last act as First Seeker, Luwazi has returned the SS Iron Drake to its station at the bubble city of Noma, where it is protected by the sentient AI onboard the Dream Team’s starship, the Aga Jain. It refuses to believe its crew has perished, and has brought the study of Noma to a standstill with his constant manipulation of the Protocites there, who seem to be crafting something out of the sun’s newly-discovered portal network."
Roger Glipglorp: "On Akiton, a rogue fiend known as the 'Dread Walker' has been defeated, after attempting to dig its way into the very core of the world. Authorities are unclear of what the creature was attempting to do — but more alarmingly, who killed it. Citizens on scene reported two beams of light lancing across the planet from miles away, piercing the creature through both the head and heart like a celestial sniper rifle. No credible sources have made claim to the kill, but this victory gives the planet a small moment of peace before the next fiend descends."
Roger Glipglorp: "In other news, the Children of the Forge have reported that the Azlanti Star Empire has fallen, with their capital planet of New Thespera having been severed by what many believe to be an aspect of the Devourer. The Children have been successful in pulling a group of refugees from the crossfire around the Aristia system, but their representative Leto Xhao admits that the Empire’s attempts to evacuate its citizens were a disaster. Billions are presumed dead, as another light flutters into the dark. Now, we go to a press conference led by Lin Camulan, who has prepared a statement on the troubling return of the Swarm…"
There is a warble in the transmission, and for a moment, we step outside this vision entirely, and go somewhere beyond… A vision full of god kings, plummets from grace, and the cycles of Apotheosis and Nadir.
We go first to a place we’ve seen once before — on the border between the Godswood and Paradise — a forested glade now ravaged by fire. The ground is charred like the plains of Varos, smoke rising in all directions, stopped only by a swirl of existence, a blip of time that shields Paradise from what could have been. Crow stares into it, head tilted in a semblance of amusement, their fingers pressed against a barrier beyond our vision.
Crow: “Impressive. But it will not hold for long… And I have other targets.”
Crow turns, wading back into the Godswood, flame licking at their heels. But the vision does not follow them, and instead wheels into the barrier, the camera rocking as it passes through. We see Abelina Tremont and Anastasia, furiously digging through triage bags in the grass, applying bandages to the smoldering corpse that lies between them. The sigil of Sin still glows on his chest, his eyes still white with power, but every other surface is black and broken, bones bent at alarming angles, flesh ripped away in chunks. We slide towards Chamas, hovering into his vision, where a quest pop-up stands prominent in his view. Quest — Three Minutes. Stall Crow long enough for Annabell to reach the hourglass. Reward: A Chance. Below the quest UI, a timer blinks back and forth, having once counted down from three, and now flashing happily at zero.
We cut, following not the route of dreams, but where the System itself takes hold, crawling down the electric lines that spread through the whole of this Petal. We see Absalom on fire. The center of the city has caved in, tumbling into the depths below, revealing miles of subterranean tunnels and more still going further into the dark. Goblins and orcs run through the streets, shouting demonic war cries in the name of their queen. From the depths, a massive figure pulls forth, blood and debris staining every inch, as the Tarrasque screams to the sky, which is now completely covered by cloud and ash.
We zoom backwards, to a high wall on the southeastern corner of the city, where a lone figure watches the terror unfold. Higri smiles, soaking in the Tarrasque’s screeching, as it blends into the undertone that is the Song of Spheres. In a flash, we see the duality of his faces – that of an old man from the slums, another a young man in golden light, surrounded by songbirds. Then he looks back — and the camera rotates with him — towards the last remaining bastion in the region. Beset by swarms of goblins, refugees fleeing in terror towards the walls, the lighthouse of Starwatch Keep shines true against the darkness, waiting for a spark of hope.
Then we fade, pulling up again somewhere new — a location that oft eluded the Dreamer, but holds no challenge for Sara No-Name, here where she is All and the One. We see Sara, facing four figures that fade from the background of the Void. The Dark Walkers, led by Tommen, the outline of a massive worm forming in the sky above him.
Tommen: “You led him astray, Shepherd.”
Sara: “I showed him another path. He walks where he wills.”
Tommen offers no reply, instead shaking his head, signaling to his companions with one hand. Only David seems somber, slowly drawing his blade over the back of his arm, his stance resolute.
David: “It’s time, Sara. Rest now. Give us Azkhrumdar.”
Sara shook her head, and with a flick of her wrist, an ax appeared in her hand. It was old, wood made of the sacred tree, the metal forged in the great smithies of Draemyre. Magitech runes were carved into nearly every surface, and the great intelligence could be felt within them, almost as if it were staring back.
Sara: “Come and get it.”
Tommen: “Kill her.”
The Dark Walkers descend, Apocalypse howling on their heels, and the vision ends.