"Hey! Malhotra!"
Rohan stood in the doorway, his face covered in soot, his clothes torn from the battle in the plaza. He was limping heavily, but in his hands, he held a massive, modified Aetheric rifle.
"You forgot about the rest of the city," Rohan said.
Before Devendra could react, Rohan pulled the trigger.
A massive beam of blue, high-voltage electricity shot from the rifle, striking the primary stabilizer on the left side of the Core. The machine shrieked, blue sparks exploding from the casing.
The magnetic field holding the Core began to flicker, and the gravitational pull dropped.
Devendra screamed in rage, the feedback from the stabilizer shooting through the cables on his back. He turned away from Vikram, raising his hand to blast Rohan.
"Rohan! Get out!" Vikram yelled.
But it was too late. Devendra threw a wave of solid shadow spikes. Rohan raised his rifle to block, but the force of the strike shattered the weapon and threw him back through the doorway, crashing onto the metal stairs.
"Rohan!" Vikram shrieked.
The anger flared in Vikram's chest, a sudden, hot fire that melted the frost in his veins. His Prana returned, surging through his nervous system like a lightning storm.