The air inside the central chamber was thick with the hum of unstable energy, the Unity Engine's glow casting eerie, flickering shadows across the smooth metallic walls. Elaine's fingers tightened around the hilt of her blade as she stepped forward, her eyes fixed on the massive crystal at the room's center.
The shard in her satchel pulsed erratically, its resonance with the Unity Engine growing stronger with each step.
"That thing doesn't look stable," Ferran muttered, his voice low.
"It's not," Ardyn said, her expression grim. "The Convergence forced it to work. If we don't stop it, it'll collapse—and take everything around it with it."
Kael scanned the room, his bow drawn. "Guards on the upper levels. At least a dozen."
Elaine nodded, her voice steady. "We stick to the plan. Lira, get to the conduits and start shutting them down. Kael and Ferran, cover her. Ardyn and I will handle the crystal."
"Understood," Kael said, already moving into position.
Lira adjusted her satchel, her face pale but determined. "Let's get this over with."
Sabotaging the Conduits
Lira worked quickly, her tools sparking faintly as she disrupted the first of the power conduits feeding energy into the Unity Engine. The air around her vibrated with tension as she adjusted the runes etched into the machinery, her hands moving with practiced precision.
Kael loosed an arrow, striking a guard on the upper walkway before they could raise the alarm.
"Nice shot," Ferran said, his blade flashing as he deflected a strike from an approaching soldier.
"Keep them off Lira," Elaine called, her blade cutting through another attacker as she and Ardyn moved toward the crystal.
The Unity Engine's glow intensified as another conduit shut down, its energy destabilizing with each disruption. The hum in the air grew louder, the vibrations rattling the walls of the chamber.
"They know what we're doing!" Kael shouted. "They're moving reinforcements in!"
The Constructs Awaken
A deafening roar echoed through the chamber as the Convergence operatives activated a series of dormant constructs positioned around the room. The massive, jagged figures came to life, their crystalline forms glowing with unstable energy as they moved with mechanical precision.
"You didn't mention these," Ferran growled, dodging a strike that shattered the floor where he'd stood moments before.
"I told you they had defenses," Ardyn snapped, her blade clashing against one of the constructs' glowing limbs.
Elaine ducked beneath a sweeping strike, her blade flashing as she drove it into the construct's core. The impact sent a surge of energy through her arms, but the construct barely faltered, its jagged body reassembling almost instantly.
"They're feeding off the Unity Engine!" Lira shouted. "We have to shut it down!"
A Desperate Push
Elaine pressed forward, her movements quick and deliberate as she weaved between the constructs' attacks. Ardyn fought beside her, her strikes precise and methodical as she worked to distract their enemies.
"Get to the core!" Ardyn called, deflecting another strike. "I'll cover you!"
Elaine nodded, her focus narrowing as she approached the glowing crystal at the Unity Engine's center. The shard in her satchel pulsed violently, its energy resonating with the unstable core.
The crystal's surface was jagged and cracked, its glow flickering erratically as the sabotaged conduits weakened its power.
"Lira, how much longer?" Elaine shouted.
"Two more conduits!" Lira called back, her hands moving frantically over the next set of controls.
Kael fired another arrow, his shot striking a construct's exposed core and sending it collapsing to the ground. "Hurry!"
Confronting the Core
As Elaine reached the Unity Engine, the shard's energy surged through her, its resonance amplifying the vibrations in the air. Her vision blurred for a moment, the hum of the core filling her mind with fragmented images—faces she didn't recognize, places she'd never seen, and a voice she couldn't quite place.
"Elaine!" Ardyn's voice snapped her back to reality. "Focus!"
Elaine gritted her teeth, raising the shard toward the core. Its glow intensified, the two energies colliding in a burst of light that sent shockwaves through the chamber.
The Unity Engine shuddered, its power fluctuating wildly as cracks spread across its surface.
"It's working!" Elaine called, her voice straining against the vibrations. "Keep going!"
The Collapse
With a final burst of energy, Lira shut down the last conduit, the Unity Engine's glow dimming as its power destabilized completely. The constructs faltered, their movements growing sluggish before they collapsed into lifeless heaps.
The crystal at the core began to fracture, its energy spiraling out of control.
"We need to move!" Kael shouted, pulling Lira away from the controls.
Elaine and Ardyn retreated from the core as the chamber began to collapse, the walls trembling under the force of the crystal's destruction.
"This way!" Ardyn called, leading the group toward a hidden exit she'd shown them earlier.
Aftermath
The group emerged from the facility just as the Unity Engine detonated, the shockwave tearing through the structure and sending a plume of dust and debris into the sky.
Elaine collapsed onto the ground, her chest heaving as she clutched the shard in her hand. Its light was faint now, its energy nearly drained.
"That was too close," Ferran said, leaning on his sword as he caught his breath.
Kael scanned the horizon, his bow still in hand. "We've got to keep moving. If any of them survived, they'll come after us."
Lira nodded, though her face was pale. "We destroyed the Engine, but there are more fragments out there. This isn't over."
Elaine pushed herself to her feet, her resolve hardening. "We've set them back, but the Convergence won't stop. Neither will we."
Ardyn stepped forward, her expression unreadable. "You've got their attention now. If you want to finish this, you'll need to go deeper—to the heart of their operation."
Elaine met her gaze, determination blazing in her eyes. "Then that's where we're going."
As the group disappeared into the wilderness, the shards pulsed faintly in Elaine's satchel, their energy guiding them toward the next step in their journey—and the growing shadow of the Convergence's ambitions.