The Captain stood illuminated by the countdown timer's glow, her transformation complete. Black veins snaked beneath her skin, crystalline formations jutting from her extremities. Her uniform had begun fusing with her flesh at the wrists and ankles, the corruption most concentrated there. But it was her eyes that unsettled Elias most—pitch black and seemingly bottomless, like staring into an abyss.
The corruption had claimed more than just the Captain. Every surface of the bridge glistened with slick obsidian tendrils that refracted the dim light, making it difficult to gauge the room's dimensions. The once-pristine command center now resembled a grotesque cave, organic patterns having consumed the technological heart of the Heraclea.
The Chosen had gathered by the door while Markov stood behind the command console. The medical staff and injured crew members huddled against the opposite wall, their faces etched with terror. The red glow from the countdown timer cast everyone in a hellish light, highlighting the absolute desperation of their situation.
Keldric stepped forward, gently lowering Lyara's unconscious form to the floor. "Captain," he said, his voice carrying the weight of authority despite the circumstances, "what happened to you?"
"Corruption." Her voice fluctuated strangely, pitch shifting unpredictably like a damaged recording. "The Forgotten World has taken hold of me. My military training has helped me... stave off complete insanity, but I feel myself fading. A few minutes left... maybe."
Her body suddenly tensed as the corruption fought for control. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, face contorted in agony as her back arched unnaturally. Her fists clenched so tightly that the crystals cracked, oozing black ichor that pooled on the floor around her feet. The sight reminded Elias of the stories slum children would whisper about the monsters that came from beyond the barrier—of his memories of the eastern breach.
When the seizure subsided, her gaze fell upon the group. "You're not part of my crew." Her voice had changed, underscored by unnatural harmonics that resonated beneath her words like distant, discordant music. "You're a new batch of minions chosen by the Maw. The Architect has been a thorn in my side for centuries, but I finally have the key to his undoing within my grasp."
Elias noted every word, recognizing an opportunity. The more this entity spoke, the more they might learn. Without consulting the others, he made his decision, drawing on the calculated insolence that had kept him alive in the slums.
"I guess it's a good thing I'm a slum rat," he said with a smirk that didn't reach his eyes. "Escaping losers like you is what I do best."
The atmosphere changed instantly. White crystals materialized in the air as the temperature plummeted further, snow beginning to fall in the enclosed space. The cold cut through their clothing, biting at exposed skin with vicious intensity.
I must have hit a nerve, Elias thought, studying the reaction with clinical detachment.
"What can you do?" Markov's mouth contorted into an inhuman grin, stretching unnaturally wide until it seemed her face might split. "You have yet to complete the trials. Your power is fledgling and weak. Perhaps if you had completed the trials, your resistance would have been entertaining, but at this point, your death is..." she paused, savoring the moment, "inevitable."
A sickly, sinister chuckle formed in the back of her throat, the sound like glass being crushed underfoot.
Without warning, the back wall rippled as corrupted tendrils surged forward, enveloping the medical staff and injured crewmembers. The black mass moved with terrifying speed, consuming everything in its path.
"No!" Keldric moved instantly, his soldier's instincts taking over. Oathkeeper flashed brilliantly, blue-white flame illuminating every corner of the bridge and momentarily raising the temperature. But he was too late—the attack had been too swift, the groups too far apart. The crew's screams were mercifully brief yet soul-crushing, their terror cutting through Keldric like a blade.
Elias narrowed his eyes, unmoved by the crew's fate. His focus was elsewhere, analyzing rather than feeling. The wave... Did I see that right? The way it moved wasn't random.
Keldric roared, valor compelling him to avenge the fallen. "You'll pay for that!" His voice cracked with grief and rage as Oathkeeper whistled through the air. He lunged at Markov, the blade trailing blue light as it descended with righteous fury.
Elena raised her hand slowly, palm upward, a gesture of dismissive contempt. Keldric surged with pride, certain of victory. Only corruption-infused steel had withstood the Maw's gifts thus far; his blade would cleave the Captain in two—the only mercy left to offer.
Oathkeeper met obsidian with a small explosion, momentarily obscuring the figures in dust and smoke. As the air cleared, a hushed fear swept through the survivors.
The obsidian gleamed in the ethereal blue light, unmarked and pristine. Oathkeeper, however, bore a massive chip along its edge, the damage impossible yet undeniable. Keldric's eyes widened in shock, his confidence shattering like his blade.
"Impossible," he whispered.
Elena's lips curled in a cruel smile. "Quite possible." Her fist connected with his chest with inhuman force. His body folded, sailing across the room to slam against the wall with a sickening thud. He crumpled unconscious beside Lyara, both of them vulnerable in the chaos.
Crap! Elias thought as tendrils shot toward him from the walls. He slashed and defended, his movements precise and economical, wasting no energy. Each branch he cut turned to wisps of smoke that were absorbed into Sable Kiss, and each one provided a minimal but welcome surge of energy.
He wasn't alone in the onslaught. Corruption vines attacked everyone simultaneously, black tendrils lashing from every surface like a coordinated army.
Elias studied Markov intently, scanning her form and taking advantage of his briefly enhanced perception. Her feet aren't moving, and the crystals around them are thick and fused to the console platform. She's anchored herself there—why?
"Spread out!" Maren shouted, her voice precise and analytical even in danger. Her Twilight Twins carved defensive sigils in the air, the mathematics of survival made manifest. "Get away from the Captain! Create distance between yourselves!"
Seems she noticed the same thing I did, Elias thought, acknowledging her tactical insight with a quick nod.
The chosen ones scattered across the bridge as corruption surged from every surface, turning the enclosed space into a deadly labyrinth. Nira's Harmony Blade sang with each strike, creating resonant frequencies that momentarily disrupted nearby corruption. Unlike the others' frantic movements, her strikes formed a fluid dance, each motion flowing into the next with musical precision.
"The corruption responds to sound!" she called out, her normally quiet voice strengthened by discovery. "It recoils from certain frequencies!"
Darius wielded Truth Seeker with practiced precision, his noble bearing evident even in combat. "They're connected to a common source," he shouted, severing links between tendrils. "Cut them at the root!"
Purple sigils from Maren's daggers created sonic booms that shattered the black obsidian, her analytical mind calculating each strike for maximum effect.
Rehala fought desperately despite not having found her artifact weapon. The mundane objects she wielded proved ineffective against the swarm, shattering on impact with the crystalline corruption. A band of white fabric covered her eyes but didn't impair her vision, somehow enhancing her awareness instead. She destroyed multiple tendrils before succumbing to their overwhelming numbers, her movements growing slower as exhaustion set in.
"Behind you!" Etta warned, but too late.
Tendrils pierced Rehala's body from multiple angles, hoisting her into the air like a macabre trophy. Blood mingled with black corruption at the entry points, her struggles weakening as life drained from her.
"No!" Darius moved with blinding speed, his body barely visible through the frost-covered air. He sliced through the tendrils holding Rehala and caught her as she fell, cradling her with unexpected gentleness for someone of his station. He continued moving, dodging attacks while trying to rouse her.
"Rehala! Stay with me!" His aristocratic reserve cracked, revealing genuine concern. He checked for signs of life, his expression falling. "She's gone," he announced, voice hollow.
Dead. She was dead. The first of them to fall.
There was no time to mourn. The attacks intensified, showing no respect for the fallen. If anything, Rehala's death seemed to embolden the corruption, the tendrils becoming more aggressive in their pursuit.
Elias reached his peak with each tendril he cut, essence flowing through Sable Kiss and sharpening his senses further. He focused on avoiding injury while analyzing the pattern of attacks. They weren't random—they surged, retreated, reconsolidated, and attacked again, like waves breaking on a shore.
What's the key? There's logic to these attacks if I could just see it! His mind raced, seeking the pattern that would give them an advantage.
"Careful!" Etta warned, her voice carrying the straightforward clarity of her farming background. Echo Hammer smashed through tendrils closing in on Maren, each impact causing the growth to shudder and slow as vibrations disturbed the obsidian forest. "They don't like the hammer's vibrations either!"
Maris lashed out with Mercy's Teeth, her aristocratic composure cracking under pressure. The whip-like weapon seemed to seek out corruption with predatory intelligence. "They keep getting stronger! I won't be able to hold them off much longer!" Fear and frustration edged her normally controlled voice.
Nira spun gracefully, Harmony Blade creating a perfect circle of sound around her.
Finally, Elias saw it—the crucial detail that might help them survive. The timing of the attacks. The closer someone is to Elena, the shorter the delay! His eyes darted around the room, confirming his theory as he watched tendrils strike near and far from the Captain.
A new question formed in his mind. What does it mean? Why do the attacks come more quickly the closer you get to the Captain? Is it trying to protect her?
THUD!
His thoughts were interrupted as a side panel near the far side of the bridge bulged, metal groaning under tremendous strain. Everything paused. Even Elena's attention was drawn to the crushing sound.
THUD!
Another impact, something slamming into the wall with enough force to make the floor tremble. The steel yielded further, buckling inward like paper.
"What now?" Etta growled, repositioning herself with Echo Hammer raised defensively.
THUD!
With the final crash, the wall gave way in an explosion of metal and corruption. A black mass rose from the floor, partially hidden by darkness but unmistakably massive. Surgical instruments embedded in its surface reflected an eerie rainbow of light—red from the countdown, purple from Maren's Twilight Twins, and royal blue from Truth Seeker.
As it emerged fully into the bridge, they could see it clearly: a monstrous amalgamation of medical equipment, human remains, and pure corruption. Three grotesque maws, dripping black ichor, moved out of sync with each other, opening and closing in a nauseating rhythm.
Multiple voices spoke simultaneously, underlaid with sounds of cracking glass and scraping steel. "Specimens that resist integration must be eliminated." The words echoed unnaturally, as though spoken from multiple throats. "Prepare for assimilation into the greater whole."
The cohort was already struggling against the tendrils and corrupted Captain. Now, faced with this new abomination, their situation had become truly desperate.
Elias gripped Sable Kiss tighter, mind racing for a solution. The pattern. There must be a way to use what I've learned.
0:00:45
Time was running out.