The corrupted core pulsed in the center of the workshop, its twisted light casting jagged shadows across the walls. Shen Mu stared at it, the system's interface flickering warnings he no longer needed to read. The air hummed with a low, dissonant frequency, like the growl of a caged beast.
"It's awake," Granny Wen said, her voice barely above a whisper. She stood at the edge of the room, her tools clutched tightly in her hands. "I can feel it… watching."
Shen Mu didn't respond. The core's energy resonated with the same hollow cadence as the Apostle's voice—a reminder of the Devourer God's reach. They'd brought the cursed thing back to the fortress out of necessity, but now it felt like a blade hovering over their throats.
"We should've left it buried in the Spire," Zhao Ling muttered, her rifle slung across her back. She leaned against the doorway, her eyes never leaving the core. "This isn't a tool. It's a trap."
"Maybe," Shen Mu said. "But it's the only advantage we have left."
The quantum cannon lay in ruins, the teleportation module was draining the fortress's reserves, and the northern horizon still bore the faintest scar from the Endless Maw's assault. Without the core's unstable energy, they had no way to reignite their defenses.
Luo Qi strode into the workshop, his gauntlet hissing as he flexed his fingers. "The scouts reported movement near the Spire. Shadows. Thin, like smoke, but… alive."
"The Devourers are testing the Veil again," Shen Mu said. "They're probing for weakness."
"And we're just going to sit here?" Luo Qi's voice sharpened. "Let them pick us apart?"
"No." Shen Mu turned to the core, his reflection fractured in its warped surface. "We're going to fight fire with fire."
---
The plan was reckless. Insane. Necessary.
Granny Wen rigged the corrupted core to the fortress's power grid, her hands steady despite the tremor in her voice. "If this works, we'll have enough energy to reactivate the turrets and shields. If it doesn't…"
"We'll all be glowing shadows," Zhao Ling finished flatly.
Shen Mu ignored her, his focus locked on the system's interface. The core's energy spiked as Granny Wen initiated the connection, its light flooding the room with a sickly green hue.
[Warning: Foreign Energy Signature Detected.]
[Integration Risk: 82%.]
The fortress shuddered, the walls groaning as power surged through dormant circuits. Turrets whirred to life, their barrels glowing faintly. The energy shield flickered, then stabilized—a fragile barrier against the gathering storm.
"It's working," Luo Qi said, a grin splitting his face.
"For now," Zhao Ling countered. "How long until that thing decides to eat us alive?"
As if in answer, the core pulsed violently. A static-filled whisper slithered through the room, echoing the Apostle's mocking tone.
Fortress Lord… You cannot outrun the storm.
Shen Mu's jaw tightened. "Shut it down."
Granny Wen hesitated. "The shields will collapse."
"Do it."
The core's light dimmed, its hum fading to a dull growl. The shield wavered but held—barely.
"We need a permanent solution," Shen Mu said. "Not a time bomb."
---
Night fell like a shroud.
Shen Mu stood atop the wall, his gaze fixed on the horizon. The scar in the sky had deepened, its edges fraying into tendrils of shadow. The system's warnings buzzed incessantly, but he'd long since learned to tune them out.
Zhao Ling joined him, her rifle cradled in her arms. "The scouts are restless. They're saying the shadows are getting closer. Smarter."
"They're adapting," Shen Mu said. "The Devourers learn from every attack."
"And we're running out of tricks."
Before he could respond, the air split with a scream.
A survivor staggered into the courtyard, his eyes wide and unseeing. Black veins crawled across his skin, pulsing in time with the corrupted core's rhythm.
"It's in my head!" he wailed. "It's talking!"
Luo Qi tackled him, pinning him to the ground as Granny Wen rushed forward with a syringe of sedative. The man thrashed, his voice rising to a guttural snarl.
*You cannot hide… We see you…*
The voice wasn't the survivor's.
Shen Mu knelt beside him, gripping his trembling shoulders. "Fight it. Whatever it's saying—fight."
The man's eyes cleared for a heartbeat, his voice desperate. "They're coming. Through the core. They're—"
His body convulsed, the black veins surging. Then he fell still.
Granny Wen checked his pulse and shook her head. "Gone."
Silence settled over the courtyard, heavy and suffocating.
"The core's a conduit," Zhao Ling said. "The Devourers are using it to get inside our heads."
Shen Mu rose, his hands clenched. "Then we cut the connection."
---
The corrupted core's chamber felt colder now, its light dimmer. Shen Mu stood before it, the system's interface overlaying schematics he didn't need to read.
"We can't destroy it," Granny Wen said. "Not without collapsing the shield."
"Then we bury it," Luo Qi said. "Drop it into the Spire's ruins and seal the damn thing underground."
"And lose our only power source?" Zhao Ling crossed her arms. "We'd be defenseless."
"We're already defenseless!" Luo Qi shot back. "That thing's turning us against each other!"
Shen Mu placed a hand on the core's surface. The energy beneath his palm writhed, hungry and alive.
*Join us… Embrace the storm…*
He yanked his hand back, his skin burning. "We use it. One last time."
Granny Wen frowned. "What are you planning?"
"The teleportation module," Shen Mu said. "We amplify its range with the core's energy. Hit the Devourers where they're gathering—before they strike."
"The feedback could tear the fortress apart," Zhao Ling warned.
Shen Mu met her gaze. "Then we make sure it's worth it."
---
The horizon cracked at dawn.
Shadows poured from the rift, their forms solidifying into nightmares—jagged, half-formed creatures with glowing eyes and serrated claws. The corrupted core surged, its light flooding the fortress as Shen Mu activated the teleportation module.