The glyphs on the arena floor pulsed like a heartbeat, each surge sending a low-frequency hum through West's chest. The air was heavy with the metallic tang of corrupted data, the scent sharp enough to taste. Flickering motes spiraled upward, dissolving into the oppressive darkness. Shoulder to shoulder with Aria, he felt the fragile wall of their shared resonance holding back the tide of shadow—barely.
Tendrils burst forth—serrated blades, writhing coils, clawed limbs—every strike dripping with the Root's hunger. Aria's neural link flared, a lightning storm in her eyes. "West, left flank—three incoming!"
He reacted instantly, pivoting into a low slide beneath a whip of obsidian code. His fist, wrapped in the anchor sphere's energy, slammed into the floor. The surface rippled like liquid glass, and the tendrils fractured violently, spraying black ichor that hissed before evaporating into the void.
At the arena's edge, the fallen engineer hunched over a half-broken terminal spliced into glowing conduits. Sparks jumped from frayed cables. "Suppression fields are failing! It's feeding on the Root's primary process!"
Aria's twin lightblades—woven from quantum filaments—flashed in precise arcs, slicing apart corrupted threads. Each severed strand burst into drifting pixel dust, scattering like dying embers.
Then it came—the psychic roar. It wasn't sound but a crushing force inside the skull, flooding West's mind with visions of cities in flames, comrades falling, surrender carved into the bones of history. The Echo Crown's steady thrum pushed back, its rhythm like a lifeline.
A massive tendril drew itself upward, shaping into a towering humanoid, its faceless head radiating an alien, cold intelligence. The engineer's voice cracked with fear. "That's the First's sentinel! If it escapes containment, the Grid collapses!"
West's jaw hardened. "Then we make our stand here."
They moved in perfect synchrony—West charging low, his shoulder smashing through the sentinel's knee joint with a bone-rattling impact, while Aria vaulted skyward, plunging both blades into its head. Cracks of blinding shadowlight erupted from the wounds.
The arena convulsed. Glyphs along the floor sputtered, some winking out entirely. "Now! End it!" the engineer shouted, desperation raw in his voice.
Every muscle in West's body burned. With a roar that tore through the air, he drove the anchor sphere deep into the sentinel's chest. A nova of pure energy exploded outward, shredding the shadow construct into dissolving shards.
Silence fell like a curtain. The only sound was the engineer's ragged breathing and the faint hum of failing glyphs.
"The First knows your names now," the man said, his eyes shadowed.
West met Aria's gaze. No words were needed. This was only the beginnin