As the tremors intensified, the walls of the chamber began to vibrate. Particles of dust and bits of metal flew in every direction as the golden light of the now destroyed Memory Core dimmed, leaving Vex and Nyx in an ominous half-light.
Nyx was the first to react. She advanced towards Vex, gun in hand and eyes making quick sweeps of the dark corners. "It's large, whatever is closing in." She alleged calmly contradictory to Vex's position which was tense in every way.
"Any guesses?" Vex was looking for a fight, readying the grip on his blade.
"Does it matter?" Nyx replied with a touch of sarcasm. "We either fight or die."
The menacing growl they had heard earlier came back, this time deeper and nearer. On the other side of the room, the ground opened up with an extremely loud bang. A colossal figure emerged, seemingly sculpted out of raw power and technology, a hybrid of flesh and furious metallic plates. The figure was built like a tank with a disfigured helmet of red, hot eyes glowing like a sun twin in a monstrous metallic lattice.
"It's a video game, where else would you find a mini-boss?" Vex cursed while readying himself against the wall.
The beast let out another roar, this time causing waves of disruption in the air. The Notification appeared in their HUD's:
Boss Encounter: The Sentinel — Adaptive AI Combatant
Danger Level: Extreme
"Adaptive?" Nyx read aloud, her tone beginning to show some panic. "That means it learns as it fights."
Vex smirked despite the tension, a spark of defiance appearing in his eyes. "Then we'll just have to be faster than it can learn."
The Sentinel lunged, its clawed hands thrusting down onto the floor with such power that shock-waves radiated outwards. Vex rolled to the side just in time in a bid to escape the strike while Nyx leapt in the other direction shooting off a few rounds at the monsters head.
The bullets hit, but the beast scarcely paid any mind. Most of it was contained within its armored casing, and the veins along its body glowed even more red as if it was absorbing the energy.
"Wonderful, it's a bloody tank," Nyx exclaimed in a whisper as she reloaded.
Vex charged and closed the distance, his blade aimed toward the invisible joints within the covering of the sentinel's legs. This time he did not miss, and his sword penetrated deep into the holes that were delicately protected with the colored metal. It let out a bellow of agony as it shook and staggered, but it lost no time in regaining its composure.
The remnants of the Sentinel tried to punch Vex with its outstretched arm forcing him to quickly backpedal. The action left him vulnerable, and the monster took advantage of the situation by dropping its other fist a few feet from where he was standing, into the floor. This sent him tumbling back, and his health indicator on his HUD turned red as the numbers decreased sharply.
"Vex!" Nyx screamed, her tonality slashing with acute worry.
"I'm good," he naturalized, attempting to raise himself. "But there has to be another approach. This creature will not go down without a struggle."
Nyx's eyes darted to the Sentinel's body, analyzing how it moved. "It's too well armored," she pronounced. "We should look for a way to disable it. Perhaps…"
She set her eyes on the broken pieces of the Memory Core, which lay right in the periphery of the room and were still sparking faintly. "I have a plan," she proclaimed and was already dashing towards the shattered sphere.
"Will you explain?" Vex answered as he narrowly avoided another swipe of the arm of the Sentinel.
"Just distract it," she shouted back.
Vex expended a breath in resignation. "No one has to be excited," he said under his breath.
The Sentinel let out another roar, its red pupils fixing on Vex. It launched itself at him, moving astonishingly fast for an animal of its size. Vex clenched his jaws and dodged the first lunge only to slash its uncovered flank. The beast growled and snapped at him again, but this time Vex bent down and tumbled below its enormous arm to launch another hit.
In the meantime, Nyx edged closer to the Memory Core, her fingers dancing over her wrist-mounted gadget as she browsed the residue of the device. The broken remains emitted a soft glow and lines of crooked code filled her head-up display.
"Come on," she muttered, brow furrowed in concentration. "Surely there's something useful in here…"
The Sentinel roared, moving more erratically than before, but this time, it was clear that its adaptive systems were assessing Vex's attack patterns, as every slashing of its claws seemed closer to a fatal strike.
"Faster, Nyx!" Vex yelled, sounds erupting from his throat as he tried to catch his breath.
"Almost there!" she snapped back, her fingers flying over the screen of her device.
At last, the fragments came to life, vibrating gently in unison. Nyx's astonished expression transformed into a mix of anxiety and excitement as she noticed the alert flashing on her HUD:
Override Protocol Unlocked: System Disruption Available
"Yes!" she seethed, hastily pressing a button to cancel the procedure.
The Memory Core shards surged for a split second, illuminating the room with an intense white light. The Sentinel halted in the middle of the attack, its body spasming as the energy attached to it interfered with its systems.
"Vex, now!" Nyx barked.
Without any delay, Vex ran straight, his sword emitting a faint glow as he activated one of his unique abilities: Reality Strike.
The sword was wreathed in a ghostly light, and in one smooth motion, he penetrated the chest of the Sentinel with his sword.
The beast uttered an earsplitting bellow, a series of electrical sparks flashing in and out over its contours as the energy flowed through the beast. With one last convulsion, it fell apart, reduced to streams of pixels.
Vex drew his head over the corpses, exhaling with difficulty, and saw on the HUD:
Boss Defeated: The Sentinel
Rewards Acquired: Adaptive Armor Fragment, XP Boost, System Key
Nyx came in and it was clear to see that she was both relieved and victorious. "Nice job, Ghost," she said with a small smile.
"You too," he said, his eyes momentarily fixed on her before turning onto the shining key that was now floating inside his inventory space.
"What is that?" Nyx asked, signaling towards it.
"Systems Key," Vex replied. "Would Presume That's Our Way Out Of This Mess."
Nyx nodded but her face lightened a bit with a frown. "Let's get out of here. That was not an inconspicuous display of power. Especially if there are more of those monsters…"
She did not require the completion of that sentence. Vex agreed, and the two of them hurried towards the next door, which was located in the opposite wall of the room they were in.
During this course, Vex's eyes fell on Nyx again. The questions he had ignored before came back. "You said something but never finished. Why did you come here, Nyx, in the first place? What is your goal?"
Nyx froze and slowed down a bit. For an instant, it looked like she would try to evade the issue once more, but then, she dropped her shoulders and let out a weary breath.
"I came because I have to take something from Echelon," she finally said. "Something rather… personal."
Vex lifted an eyebrow. "On a personal note?"
Nyx again fell silent, looking down. "There was somebody I loved – somebody who mattered to me – who went into Echelon several years back. They have not been seen or heard from since. I thought maybe in climbing my way to the very top I could find what happened to them."
Vex regarded her for a moment, something in his face easing. "I'm sorry, I didn't know," he said, almost a whisper.
"I was hoping you wouldn't," she retorted, bitterness creeping into her voice. "It's not really something one discusses with a mere acquaintance."
He acknowledged the point with a slight smile that almost appeared on his face. "That's alright. But… I understand where you're coming from. Everybody has something worth fighting for."
Nyx looked at him, and for a moment, her gaze became sweeter. "And you, what do you fight for?"
Vex paused for a moment, the subject threatening to make him self-reflect more than he cared for. "I have my own reasons, let's put it that way," he answered.
Nyx didn't insist, and they proceeded in silence, the distance between them gradually decreasing.
In front of them, another door was opened revealing a new corridor filled with a red glow. As they progressed through, a new alert appeared on Vex's HUD:
Next Trial: Initiation of Sacrifice.
Nyx and Vex locked eyes, and he clasped the hilt of his sword tighter. There was no doubt about it, whatever came next, the stakes were becoming higher. This time however, Vex did not feel total isolation.