Titan struggled to his feet, eyes fixed on the shadowy crystal throbbing with dark energy. It radiated a sinister pulse, warping the very air around it.
Kaela fired, but her shots dissolved into nothingness before reaching it.
Lira's voice was tense. "The crystal is shielding itself with a quantum field. Conventional weapons won't penetrate."
Merek's face was grim beneath his mask. "We need to disrupt its energy source—there's a control node nearby."
Titan nodded, signaling Kaela to cover him. Sprinting through the chamber, he dodged tendrils of shadow that lashed out like living weapons.
Reaching the control node, he began hacking into it, sweat beading on his forehead.
Suddenly, a booming voice echoed through the chamber—an eerie mix of human and alien tones.
"You seek to destroy what is evolution's next step."
The crystal pulsed violently, and from its core, a monstrous Voidborn guardian emerged, towering and furious.
Titan gripped his blade tighter. The fight for the colony—and the fate of countless worlds—had just become a battle against something beyond comprehension.