Jonah's sudden appearance was nothing short of miraculous, though Luis had a hard time admitting it. Still panting from dodging the shadow creature, he staggered to where Amira was sprawled on the ground, half-conscious, and helped her sit up.
"You've got the timing of a bad action movie, Jonah," Luis called out, watching Jonah square off against the creature. "But I'll give you this—you know how to make an entrance!"
Jonah glanced back, his face grim but laced with his trademark confidence. "I was hoping for a bit more applause, but I'll take what I can get." He shifted his focus back to the massive, flickering creature before them. "Keep it busy while I set this thing up. It's… not exactly user-friendly."
"'Keep it busy,' he says," Luis muttered under his breath. "Sure, no problem. Let me just grab my shadow-monster taming kit."
Amira, now gripping the staff tightly, forced herself to her feet. Her body ached from the impact, but the sight of Jonah holding the disruptor filled her with a renewed sense of hope. "Jonah," she said, her voice hoarse. "What's the plan?"
He gave her a quick look. "The disruptor will destabilize the Nexus and the creature, but it's going to take a few minutes to power up. You'll need to hold it off until I'm ready."
"Minutes?" Alex asked, stumbling over from the other side of the battlefield, bruised but still standing. "We're running on seconds here!"
The creature roared again, its distorted form growing more erratic as the Nexus pulsed behind it. It lashed out with its tendrils, forcing the group to scatter.
"We don't have a choice!" Jonah snapped, ducking behind a jagged rock to shield himself. He began fiddling with the disruptor, its glowing core emitting a low, steady hum. "If this works, it'll sever the Nexus and collapse the Veil. But we need to keep it away from me, or we're toast."
"Great," Luis said, picking up a loose piece of debris and tossing it ineffectually at the creature. "So we're the bait. Love this plan."
Amira raised the staff again, its blue glow intensifying as she faced the creature. Despite her exhaustion, she stepped forward, her voice steady. "We can do this. Together."
The next few moments were a chaotic blur. The shadow creature, sensing the threat posed by Jonah and the disruptor, lunged toward him with terrifying speed. Amira intercepted its attack, the staff's light flaring as it clashed with the creature's tendrils.
The impact sent a shockwave through the chamber, forcing Luis and Alex to dive for cover.
"Amira, don't overdo it!" Alex shouted, his voice filled with worry.
"I'm fine!" she called back, though the strain was evident in her voice. Every clash with the creature drained her energy, but she refused to back down.
Luis scrambled to his feet, grabbing a sharp shard of Veil-infused rock. "If she's going all in, I guess I might as well join the party!" He hurled the shard at the creature, hitting one of its flickering limbs. The creature recoiled slightly, its form rippling as though it were struggling to maintain cohesion.
"Nice shot!" Alex yelled, following Luis's lead. He picked up another piece of debris and hurled it with all his strength.
The distraction was enough to buy Amira a moment of respite. She turned to Jonah, who was furiously working on the disruptor. "How much longer?"
"Almost there!" Jonah shouted back, his voice strained. The device in his hands was shaking violently, glowing brighter with each passing second. "But when this thing goes off, it's going to take everything with it. You've got to be ready to move."
Amira's stomach sank. "Everything?"
"The Nexus, the Veil, this entire place!" Jonah said, glancing up at her. "If we're not out of here when it collapses, we're not making it out at all!"
"Fantastic," Luis muttered, narrowly dodging another attack from the creature. "So now we're on a timer and fighting the end of the world. What's next, a musical number?"
As the disruptor's hum grew louder, the creature became more desperate. Its movements were erratic, its tendrils flailing wildly as it tried to reach Jonah. Amira, Luis, and Alex worked together to keep it at bay, their makeshift teamwork a fragile but effective barrier.
"Watch out!" Alex shouted as one of the creature's tendrils lashed out toward Amira. She barely managed to dodge, the staff's light flickering as she stumbled.
Luis rushed to her side, pulling her back to her feet. "Hey, no dying yet. That's my job, remember?"
Amira gave him a faint smile, though her focus remained on the creature. "Thanks."
Jonah's voice cut through the chaos. "It's ready!"
The group turned to see him holding the disruptor aloft, its core glowing so brightly it was almost blinding. The low hum had become a deafening whine, the energy within the device building to a critical point.
"Get back!" Jonah shouted. "I'm activating it!"
Amira, Luis, and Alex scrambled to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the disruptor. The creature, sensing the imminent threat, lunged toward Jonah with all its remaining strength.
But Jonah stood his ground. He pressed a series of buttons on the device, and with a final, piercing whine, the disruptor activated.
A wave of energy erupted from the device, slamming into the Nexus and the shadow creature simultaneously. The Nexus shuddered violently, its surface fracturing as the veins connecting it to the ground snapped one by one. The creature let out an earsplitting roar, its form flickering and distorting as the disruptor's energy tore through it.
The chamber began to collapse, the walls crumbling as the Veil's connection to the Nexus weakened.
"Run!" Jonah shouted, his voice barely audible over the deafening noise.
Amira grabbed the staff and ran, Luis and Alex close behind her. The ground beneath them cracked and shifted, forcing them to leap over chasms and dodge falling debris.
As they neared the exit, Amira glanced back to see Jonah still holding the disruptor, his face set with grim determination.
"Jonah, come on!" she screamed.
But he didn't move. Instead, he gave her a faint, bittersweet smile.
"Get out of here," he said, his voice barely audible. "I'll hold it off."
Before she could respond, another wave of energy erupted from the Nexus, engulfing Jonah and the shadow creature in blinding light.
Amira's heart clenched as Luis grabbed her arm, pulling her toward the exit.
"Amira, we have to go!" he shouted.
She stumbled after him, her mind racing as the chamber collapsed around them.
Behind them, the Nexus shattered, sending a final, blinding shockwave through the Veil.