The disruptor’s crystalline shard glimmered faintly in Clara’s grasp, but it felt heavier than its size would suggest. Kael led the way through the jagged terrain, the faint light of the Node’s glow casting eerie shadows across the cavern walls. The air was thick with tension, the hum of the Node intertwining with the dull roar of distant, unseen forces.

“We’re close,” Kael muttered, his voice barely audible over the oppressive silence. “The Node’s core is just beyond this chamber.”

Clara’s grip on the shard tightened. Every step toward the core seemed to amplify the Node’s presence in her mind. Whispered voices brushed against her consciousness, promises of power, pleas to stop. She shook her head, forcing herself to focus on the task ahead. The Node had to be destroyed—there was no other way.

As they entered the core chamber, the scale of the Node’s power became clear. The walls pulsed with radiant energy, the cavern alive with light and movement. At the center, the Node floated, a swirling mass of energy, its core an impossibly bright point of light.

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“This is it,” Kael said, his voice steady but his eyes betraying his unease. “Are you ready?”

Clara nodded. “Let’s end this.”

Kael handed her the vial, its liquid shifting and shimmering like molten metal. “You’ll have to pour this into the Node’s core to destabilize it. Once the disruption starts, we’ll have minutes to embed the shard. The moment the shard takes effect, we need to get out of here.”

Clara took a deep breath and approached the Node. The whispers grew louder, pleading now, bargaining. “I’m not listening,” she said through gritted teeth, her voice trembling but firm. She uncorked the vial and raised it above the Node.

The moment the liquid touched the Node, the chamber erupted in chaos. The ground shook violently, and the Node’s hum became a deafening roar. Clara stumbled back, clutching the shard as the Node’s energy lashed out, tearing through the cavern like a storm unleashed.

“Now, Clara!” Kael shouted, shielding his face from the blinding light.

Clara lunged forward, the shard in her hand. The Node fought back, its energy surging against her, but she pressed on, driven by sheer determination. With a final, desperate cry, she drove the shard into the Node’s core.

The world seemed to freeze. For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Then, with a blinding flash, the Node collapsed in on itself, its energy imploding and sending out a shockwave that knocked Clara and Kael off their feet.

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