Elias and Lyra scaled the outer walls of the Cathedral ruins, using specialized climbing gear to position themselves above the main entrance. Kaelen and his three assassins had just vanished into the crumbling structure.
Elias had calculated the risk: they couldn't fight Kaelen's team head-on, especially on Kaelen's turf. They had to strike first, fast, and silently.
"The roof will be structurally unsound," Elias whispered. "Lyra, you locate the Blade's chamber—it will be near the center, guarded by Sky-Weaver runes. I will create the diversion."
Be careful, my love, Lyra projected, the term of endearment slipping effortlessly through the link. I feel his rage. Kaelen is ready to kill you.
Elias moved across the fractured roof, ignoring the agony in his shoulder. He found a weak point above the main hall and dropped a small, focused explosive charge. The charge detonated, tearing a gaping hole in the roof and showering the interior in rubble and light.
Diversion initiated!
Elias dropped through the hole, landing amidst the dust and debris. Kaelen's assassins immediately turned, firing wildly. Elias engaged them, using the confusion to his advantage, his training taking over. He moved with brutal economy, disabling two assassins with expertly thrown neuro-darts before they could track his movement.
Lyra raced through the shadowed corridors of the Cathedral, using her knowledge of Ascendant arcane architecture to find the center chamber. She found the room—a circular stone chamber, glowing faintly with soft, white light, protected by a simple, ancient rune lock.
Kaelen was already inside. He was standing before a simple stone pedestal, on which rested the object of their quest: the Nullifier Blade.
The Blade was beautiful and terrifying: a meter-long sword of shimmering, milky-white crystal, emanating a cold, palpable aura of profound emptiness.
Kaelen turned, his disruptor rifle aimed at the pedestal. "You were always chasing shadows, Ghost. Did you think I wouldn't track the movement of a weapon capable of neutralizing Aether energy? This thing is a threat to my revolution. It dies here."
Lyra stepped forward. "Kaelen, don't! We have the Memory-Crystal! We can expose Solstus without violence! This Blade is our only way to ensure the Arcane Council listens to reason!"
"Reason!" Kaelen scoffed. "Reason only speaks to power. You are compromised by her blood, Elias. And you," he spat at Lyra, "are a necessary sacrifice for the freedom of Ironwood!"
Elias burst into the chamber, panting from the exertion. He saw Kaelen aiming at the Blade, and he saw Lyra standing directly in the line of fire.
"Kaelen, stop!" Elias roared.
Kaelen fired the disruptor rifle—not at the Blade, but at Lyra. The focused Aether blast shot toward her.
Elias lunged, intercepting the blast. The Aether energy slammed into his chest, circumventing his meager armor. The pain was immediate, crushing, and searing.
The pain—raw, agonizing, life-threatening—hit Lyra like a physical hammer. She screamed, clutching her own chest, stumbling backward. The shock forced her to drop the Memory-Crystal.
Kaelen took advantage of their mutual paralysis. He raised the rifle to shatter the Blade.
But Lyra, fueled by the agonizing pain of Elias's sacrifice and the shared, desperate will to live, moved faster. With a final, desperate surge of will, she lunged forward, not at Kaelen, but at the Nullifier Blade.
She ripped the white crystal sword from the pedestal just as Kaelen's shot hit the stone where it had been resting.
Kaelen froze, stunned. He had failed to destroy the Blade.
Lyra, still reeling from the debilitating pain of the shared blast, held the Blade high. Its cold, neutralizing aura immediately began to damp the Aether-charge in Kaelen's disruptor rifle. The weapon sputtered and died.
Kaelen roared in frustration and lunged for the Blade.
"Get out!" Elias screamed, pushing Lyra toward a crumbling exit, his body shielding her from Kaelen's charge.
Lyra didn't argue. She felt Elias's body trembling with pain and determination. She fled the chamber, the Nullifier Blade gripped tightly in her hand, the agonizing, life-threatening bond with Elias a screaming testimony to his love and sacrifice.