The guardian's roar shook the desert.
The sound rolled across the battlefield as violet light surged violently through the fractures in its armor. Lucien had barely regained his footing when the creature staggered backward. Its chest cavity pulsed, and the exposed core flickered like a dying star.
Orion's voice came from behind them. "Direct hit confirmed."
Lucien tightened his grip on his blade. "Not enough."
The guardian roared again. Then something strange happened. The skeletons surrounding the battlefield stopped moving. All of them. Even the ones currently locked in combat with Regulated Order froze mid-motion.
Caelum frowned. "...That's new."
Helena stepped back slightly, spear lowering. "They're not attacking."
Viktor's eyes narrowed. "Watch."
The skeletons began to shake. Then—they shattered. Thousands of bone fragments burst into the air across the desert. For a moment it looked like a storm of white dust. Then the fragments began moving toward the guardian.
Mira stared. "...Oh, that's really bad."
The bone fragments slammed into the guardian's body, one after another. The creature absorbed them. Its already massive frame expanded; the bone plating thickened. Cracks spread across its armor as the unstable energy within it grew stronger. The violet glow inside the creature brightened violently.
Orion whispered from behind them. "...Mutation."
The guardian roared again. This time the sound was deeper. Stronger. The ground trembled as it stepped forward.
Lucien looked up at it. "...Final phase."
Above them, the sky continued to fracture. The cracks had widened into open splits across the violet heavens. Small fragments of the artificial sky began falling. A shard crashed into the desert nearby, shattering like glass on impact. The gate itself was breaking apart.
Elias looked upward briefly. "We're running out of time."
Another tremor shook the battlefield—this one stronger. Garrick slammed his shield into the sand again. Stone surged outward, stabilizing the terrain beneath the group.
"Ground's collapsing!" he warned.
Mira quickly traced another summoning circle. Two spectral wolves appeared beside him, bracing against the unstable sand. "Temporary platforms!" she shouted.
Seris moved through the formation, golden light stabilizing their energy. "Stay close!"
Kaida's shadows surged outward again. They wrapped around the guardian's leg, binding its movement briefly. "Don't let it move freely," she said.
The creature roared and ripped the shadows apart. Then it inhaled, the violet light inside its chest surged outward.
Elias stepped forward. His gaze remained fixed on the guardian. "...The core is destabilizing."
Lucien didn't look away from the creature. "Meaning?"
"If the core ruptures before we kill it," Elias said calmly, "the gate collapses instantly."
Lucien exhaled slowly. "Then we kill it before that happens."
Lightning erupted again across the battlefield as Caelum drove forward. "Works for me!" His strike crashed into the guardian's side. The impact staggered the creature briefly.
Viktor followed immediately. His crimson blade carved a deep arc across the creature's leg. Bone shattered outward. Helena moved beside them, her spear striking the same damaged point, widening the opening.
From behind them, Orion fired again. Three arrows of moonlight streaked toward the exposed chest cavity. One struck the core directly.
The guardian screamed. The sound shook the entire gate.
Above them—the fractured sky split wider.
Nox watched it happen. The world trembled around them. Something about this moment felt wrong. In the timeline he remembered, the guardian had never mutated like this. Which meant something else was also true: the future he knew was no longer reliable.
Lucien stepped forward again. Golden wings ignited brighter than before. "Everyone." He raised his blade toward the guardian. "We finish this now."
The mutated guardian roared. And the dying gate began to collapse around them.