The sanctum roared with chaos. Aiden stood firm, his body blazing with intertwined light and shadow, dark lightning sparking from his form. His eyes locked onto Lila—no, the Core—its malevolence pouring through her every movement.
"I'm not choosing," Aiden declared, his voice steady and filled with iron resolve. "I won't kill Sylva, and I won't destroy Lila. I'll end this another way."
The Core's laughter reverberated through the sanctum, layered and mocking. "Ah, Aiden. So predictable. You cling to hope like a drowning man clings to air. But hope won't save you. It won't save her."
Lila stepped forward, her movements unnervingly fluid, her shadow blade emanating raw unbridled rage with every step. "You still think you can fix this?" she asked, her voice dripping with mockery. "You don't even understand what I am."
Aiden answered with action, his own weapon shifting into a massive hammer of twilight energy—its form inspired by the Sentinel's brutal strength, but altered with radiant veins of light woven into the dark construct. He brought it crashing down, the ground beneath them trembling with the impact.
Lila twisted aside, tossing her blade aside for dual daggers from her belt. "Oh, I see what you're doing," she said, her voice sweetly taunting. "Borrowing from him, aren't you? Taking pieces of his style and making them your own." Her eyes gleamed with a cruel edge. "thats not much better than what you claim I do, Aiden. A patchwork of stolen pieces."
"I'm nothing like you!" Aiden retorted, his hammer shifting into a whisp of light. It lashed out, flashing in Lila's eyes blinding her. Aiden ran forward reaching out for lilas hand yanking hard, pulling her toward him, but she spun mid-air, brushing his hand away and landing gracefully.
"Really?" she asked, tilting her head. Her grin widened as she blurred forward, striking with one dagger while the other arced toward his side. Aiden dissolved into mist, her blade slicing harmlessly through the air.
But before he could counter, Lila pivoted and thrust her palm into his chest with shocking speed. A burst of energy exploded from the impact, sending Aiden hurtling backward. He crashed into a jagged root, his mist form disrupted as he gasped for air.
"That move," Lila said, her voice tinged with delight. "Came from one of the other Lilas I devoured. She practiced kung fu. Sweet girl, really. Too bad she didn't last long."
"Aiden!" Sylva called, her voice sharp with concern. She glided toward him, her roots extending to envelop him in a faint, shimmering glow. The pulse of her healing energy soothed his battered form, closing cuts and stabilizing the cracks in his constructs.
"Thanks," Aiden muttered, his voice tight as he pushed himself back to his feet. "But don't waste your energy on me. Amara and Kieran need you."
Sylva hesitated, her luminous eyes flickering toward Amara's crumpled form on the ground. She nodded, her voice quiet but resolute. "Hold her back," she said, her roots retreating as she floated toward Amara and Kieran. "I'll do what I can."
"You're not going anywhere," the Core hissed through Lila's mouth. It darted toward Sylva, its daggers dissolving into a tendril of crimson energy aimed directly at her.
Aiden intercepted, his construct shifting into a towering shield of twilight. The tendril struck with a deafening crack, sparks flying as Aiden dug his heels into the ground, holding firm. "You're fighting me," he said, his voice low and determined. "Leave them out of this."
The Core's grin widened, its twisted pleasure radiating through Lila's stolen features. Her hand calling her 2 handed sword back to her. "You're so protective, Aiden. So predictable. It's almost charming how much you think you can save everyone." It lunged forward, slashing at him with renewed ferocity.
Meanwhile, Sylva knelt beside Amara, her roots spreading like a gentle canopy. A soft, golden light enveloped the wounded fighter as Sylva's energy seeped into her, mending fractured bones and soothing her ragged breaths. "Stay still," Sylva murmured, her tone soothing. "You'll be all right."
Amara groaned, her eyes fluttering open. She reached for her discarded sniper, but Sylva placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Not yet," she said. "Let me finish."
Across the battlefield, Aiden shifted tactics. His shield dissolved into twin blades, their edges shimmering with intertwining strands of light and shadow. He struck with precision, forcing Lila back step by step. "Stop hiding behind her face!" he shouted, his voice echoing with frustration.
The Core chuckled through Lila's lips. "I'm not hiding, I'm what you wish lila to be. Everything you're too weak to admit out loud."
"Even if that was true...," Aiden replied, his voice unwavering. "I would still be there for her, and everyone else no matter what."
The Core laughed, its voice layered with mockery and desperation. "You still believe in that nonsense? Hope? Love? They're chains, Aiden. You'll see that soon enough."
Aiden jumped back. His body flared with energy as his weapon morphed into a bow of unfathomable power, the edges glowing with twilight power. He pulled the notch back releasing a volley of atomic arrows, their paths curving unpredictably through the air. Lila dodged the first, but the second sliced across her arm, leaving a trail of black smoke in its wake.
"Is that all?" she sneered, even as her wound knit itself back together. "Do you really think you can reach me when you're too scared to hurt her?"
Sylva's voice rang out behind him, sharp and urgent. "Aiden, you can't kill the core! Remember—without both of us, both worlds will die!"
"I know!" Aiden replied, his voice strained but determined. "But what am I supposed to do, Sylva? Just watch her suffer?"
Lila grinned, her expression twisting into something feral. "You could end it right now," she purred. "Kill Sylva. She's the reason I exists at all. Take her out, and you'll have everything you need to destroy me."
Aiden hesitated, his grip faltering for a split second. Lila's expression softened, her voice trembling. "Aiden… help me…"
He froze. The Core lunged, its tendrils slamming into his side and sending him sprawling. Sylva's head snapped toward him, her glow intensifying as she finished healing Amara. "Aiden!" she called. "It's not her!"
Amara struggled to her feet, her sniper fan clutched tightly. "She's right," Amara rasped, her voice raw but determined. "You've cant keep falling for her tricks. I'm good now—focus on the fight."
Sylva floated toward Kieran, her roots weaving around his unconscious form. She glanced at Aiden, her voice urgent. "If we can't destroy the Core outright. You have to force it back—contain it!"
"And how do you expect me to do that?" Aiden growled, his weapons deflected another strike. "It's using her as a shield! Every time I get close, it just—"
"Crushes your hope?" the Core interjected, its voice gleeful. "Yes, I noticed. That's why you'll fail, Aiden. You'll always hesitate. You'll always choose weakness over what needs to be done."
"Shut up," Aiden charged, his blade shifting mid-swing into a long spear of entwined light and shadow. The weapon hummed with power as it drove toward Lila, who sidestepped with inhuman precision. Her shadow-forged blade parried his next strike, sparks flying as the weapons clashed."Sylva, what do I do? Tell me how to end this!"
Kieran stirred, groaning as Sylva's roots worked to heal him. Above them, Rowan coughed weakly, her throat straining against the roots binding her. Her voice broke through the din, hoarse but insistent. "Sylva… you… have to… do something."
Aiden's gaze flicked toward Rowan as she twisted against the roots binding her. "What does she mean?" he demanded, his voice tight with urgency. Dark mist armor quickly forming to block the Core's next strike. "Sylva, if there's something you can do—"
"It's not that simple!" Sylva shouted, her glow flickering with uncertainty. She floated back, her roots trembling as Rowan's bonds cracked and splintered.
"Do it!" Rowan rasped, her voice rising despite her pain. "You know what you have to do!"
The Core's laughter grew wild, its voice layered with mockery and glee. "Oh, Sylva," it crooned, its tone dripping with venomous delight. "Are you finally going to admit it? Are you finally going to break your precious rules?"
Sylva's luminous form flickered as her roots coiled and uncoiled. She turned to Aiden, her voice soft but resolute. "If I act… it will change everything. There will be no going back."
Lila lunged again, her movements erratic and wild. Aiden sidestepped, his blade hurling towards her. She deflected it, but the force sent her stumbling.
Aiden glanced back at Sylva, his expression unwavering. "Whatever it takes," he said firmly. "I trust you."
Sylva's glow intensified, the sanctum trembling under the weight of her decision. Her voice, steady but filled with sorrow, echoed through the battlefield. "Then so be it."
Aiden braced himself as the Core's laughter fades into an ominous silence.