The ground trembled beneath their feet as the towering figure emerged from the chasm. Its form was colossal, more defined than the shifting shadows they had encountered. Glowing, amber-like eyes pierced through the darkness, locking onto them with an intensity that made their breath hitch.
"What the hell is that?" Rae whispered, her voice barely audible over the rumbling.
Eli's panicked voice crackled through the comms. "Guys, I don't think this is just a shadow anymore. It's… something else. Something alive!"
The figure rose fully, its form composed of swirling shadows that condensed into a humanoid shape. Its body pulsed with an eerie rhythm, and the faint glow of the monolith's symbols flickered within its chest.
"You have destroyed the tether," the Primordial boomed, its voice resonating like a storm. "And in doing so, you have freed me."
Alvarez stepped forward, his weapon trembling in his hands. "Freed you? From what?"
The Primordial tilted its head, the motion unsettling in its precision. "From the prison your kind unwittingly built. For centuries, I have slumbered, bound by the chains of that device. Now, I will reclaim what was lost."
Rae raised her plasma cutter, her finger hovering over the trigger. "If you were imprisoned, there must've been a reason. Whatever you are, you're not walking out of here."
The Primordial let out a low, rumbling laugh. "You misunderstand, little one. I do not walk. I consume."
Before they could react, the shadows around the outpost surged toward the Primordial, merging with its form. Its body expanded, growing darker and more solid. The faint glow in its chest intensified, casting the surrounding area in an ominous light.
"Eli, what's happening?" Alvarez shouted into the comms.
Eli's voice was frantic. "The energy readings are off the charts! That thing's absorbing the shadows like… like it's feeding on them! You need to get out of there now!"
"Not an option," Alvarez muttered, his eyes fixed on the Primordial. "If we let this thing leave, it's game over for all of us."
Rae glanced at him, her expression grim. "Then what's the plan, fearless leader? Because shooting it doesn't seem like it'll do much."
Alvarez gritted his teeth, his mind racing. "The monolith's symbols—those weren't just markings. They were part of its prison. If we can figure out how to replicate them, maybe we can trap it again."
"Yeah, because we totally have time to decipher alien hieroglyphs while a goddamn shadow monster is trying to kill us," Rae snapped.
Alvarez ignored her, turning to Eli. "Pull up the scans from the monolith. Look for any patterns or sequences that repeat. There's got to be something we can use."
Eli hesitated, his voice wavering. "I… I'll try, but it's going to take time."
"Just do it," Alvarez barked.
The Primordial took a step forward, its massive form shaking the ground. "You are insignificant before me," it declared. "Your resistance is futile."
"Yeah? Let's see about that," Rae muttered, firing her plasma cutter at the creature. The beam struck its chest, but the energy dissipated harmlessly against the swirling shadows.
The Primordial barely acknowledged the attack. Instead, it raised a hand, and a wave of shadowy tendrils erupted from the ground, surging toward them.
"Move!" Alvarez shouted, diving out of the way. Rae followed, narrowly avoiding the tendrils as they lashed out, leaving deep gouges in the lunar surface.
"Eli, we're running out of time here!" Alvarez yelled.
"I'm working on it!" Eli shot back. "The symbols—there's a sequence that repeats. It looks like some kind of binding mechanism, but it's incomplete. I need more data!"
Alvarez glanced at the Primordial, which was advancing slowly but steadily. "You don't have more time. Send me what you've got. We'll improvise."
Eli hesitated, then relented. "Uploading now. But even if you recreate the symbols, you'll need a power source to activate them. A big one."
Alvarez's gaze shifted to the portable floodlights strapped to their suits. "We'll make it work."
Rae frowned. "You're seriously suggesting we play connect-the-dots with alien symbols while that thing tries to eat us?"
"Got a better idea?" Alvarez shot back.
Rae sighed. "Fine. But if we die, I'm haunting you."
The data from Eli's scans appeared on their helmet displays, a series of glowing symbols overlaid on their surroundings. Alvarez quickly began tracing the shapes into the ground with a plasma cutter, the intense heat carving the symbols into the lunar rock.
Rae kept her weapon trained on the Primordial, firing sporadically to keep its attention. "Hurry up, Alvarez. This thing's not gonna wait for us to finish our art project."
The Primordial stopped suddenly, its glowing eyes narrowing. "You seek to bind me again. Foolish mortals. I will not be caged."
It raised both arms, and a massive wave of shadow energy surged toward them.
"Get down!" Rae tackled Alvarez, the wave passing over them and slamming into the outpost behind them. The structure groaned, parts of it collapsing in a shower of debris.
"We're out of time!" Rae shouted.
Alvarez finished carving the last symbol and stepped back. "Eli, how do we power this thing?"
Eli's voice was barely audible over the commotion. "The floodlights—channel their energy into the symbols. It might work."
Rae nodded, unhooking the portable floodlights from her suit and positioning them around the symbols. Alvarez did the same, their movements hurried but precise.
As the lights activated, the symbols began to glow faintly, the same eerie light that had emanated from the monolith.
The Primordial let out a deafening roar, its form flickering as the light intensified. "You cannot contain me!"
"Watch us," Alvarez muttered, flipping the final switch.
The symbols flared to life, their glow merging into a circular barrier around the Primordial. The creature thrashed violently, its form destabilizing as the barrier tightened.
For a moment, it seemed as though they had succeeded. But then, the Primordial's eyes flared brighter, and it let out a guttural growl.
"You have made a grave mistake," it hissed.
The ground beneath them trembled violently, cracks spiderwebbing outward from the barrier.
"Alvarez," Rae said, her voice low. "What's it doing?"
"I don't know," Alvarez admitted, his heart pounding.
The Primordial smiled, a terrifying expression that sent chills down their spines. "If I cannot escape… then neither will you."
The ground gave way, and they plummeted into darkness.
To Be Continued...