The figure that emerged from the shadows was unlike anything they had encountered. Its form flickered between solid and incorporeal, a silhouette of writhing smoke that seemed to absorb the light around it. Its voice echoed in their minds, layered and dissonant.
"You should not have come," it repeated, stepping closer.
Rae tightened her grip on her plasma cutter, her hands steady despite the fear crawling up her spine. "What are you? What do you want from us?"
The figure's head tilted unnaturally, its movements slow and deliberate. "You are intruders. This is not your domain. You awaken that which should remain dormant."
Alvarez stepped in front of Rae, his weapon raised. "If this isn't our domain, then whose is it? And what is that thing behind you?" He gestured toward the monolithic structure pulsing faintly in the center of the chamber.
The figure's form twisted violently, as if the questions provoked it. "It is our tether, our anchor to this place. You seek answers, but your kind always asks the wrong questions."
Above them, Eli's frantic voice cut through the comms. "Guys, the shadows are closing in fast! They're surrounding the outpost. If you don't find a way to stop this, we're all dead!"
Rae glanced at Alvarez. "We don't have time for a philosophy lesson. We need to shut this thing down."
The device at the center of the room began to hum louder, the symbols on its surface glowing brighter. The tendrils of shadow energy coiled tighter, feeding into the figure.
"Destroy it, and you sever us," the figure hissed, its voice venomous. "But you will not survive the cost."
Alvarez took a step forward, his weapon aimed at the device. "What cost?"
The figure didn't answer. Instead, it lunged, its form splitting into multiple shadowy tendrils that lashed out at them.
"Move!" Rae shouted, pushing Alvarez out of the way as a tendril struck where he had been standing. She fired her plasma cutter, the bright beam slicing through the tendrils. They recoiled but reformed almost instantly.
Alvarez scrambled to his feet. "We can't fight this thing! We need to figure out how to shut down the device!"
Rae dodged another tendril and shouted back, "Then figure it out fast!"
Eli's voice came through again, strained and panicked. "The shadows are… evolving. They're merging into something bigger. If you don't act now, there won't be a base to return to!"
Rae's eyes darted to the monolith. "It's feeding off that device! If we cut the power source, maybe we can weaken it!"
Alvarez nodded, running toward the device. He pulled a charge from his belt and attached it to the base of the monolith. The symbols on the device flared, and the tendrils shifted their attention toward him.
"Rae, cover me!" Alvarez shouted.
Rae unleashed a barrage of plasma shots, forcing the tendrils to retreat momentarily. Alvarez set the timer on the charge. "Ten seconds! Get ready to run!"
The figure screamed, its voice a deafening cacophony that reverberated through the chamber. "You do not understand! Without the tether, you will unleash the abyss!"
"Better than dying here!" Alvarez shot back, grabbing Rae's arm and pulling her toward the ladder.
The device pulsed one final time before the charge detonated, the explosion tearing through the chamber. The symbols on the monolith flickered and died, and the tendrils of shadow energy disintegrated. The figure let out a distorted wail as its form began to unravel, collapsing into the darkness.
The ground beneath them trembled, and cracks spiderwebbed across the walls. "The whole place is coming down!" Rae shouted, climbing the ladder as fast as she could.
Aboveground, Eli watched in horror as the shadows surrounding the outpost convulsed and writhed, their forms destabilizing. "Whatever you did, it's working! But the shadows are… they're collapsing into something else!"
As Rae and Alvarez emerged from the hatch, the ground beneath them heaved, and a massive fissure split the lunar surface. From the depths of the chasm, a new form began to rise—larger, more defined, and far more terrifying than before.
Eli's voice trembled. "Uh… guys? I think we just made things worse."
The team stood frozen, staring at the towering figure emerging from the void below. Its glowing eyes locked onto them, and its voice boomed, louder and more distinct.
"You have awakened the Primordial."