At the heart of the ruins lay a pedestal, and atop it rested a shard of crystal that seemed to pulse with its own light.
"That's it," Liora said, awe in her voice.
As she reached for it, the ground trembled, and an ancient construct emerged from the shadows—a towering guardian of stone and metal.
"Get back!" Darian shouted, drawing his sword.
Elias scrambled to activate a gadget he had been working on. "Keep it busy!"
Darian dodged the construct's massive strikes, his movements precise and calculated. Meanwhile, Liora deciphered runes on the pedestal.
"I've got it!" she shouted, pressing a sequence of symbols. The construct froze, then collapsed into rubble.
Elias handed her the shard, grinning. "First one down."
Liora held it up, its light reflecting in her eyes. "And just the beginning."
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