Emma exhaled slowly, the last traces of heat fading from her skin as she leaned heavily against Julian's side. Her voice was tired but carried that familiar spark of defiance.
"What the hell was up with that mutant? Thing just wouldn't die. Toughest one we've fought in a while."
Julian released her only long enough to crouch at the edge of the glassy crater. Below, the core pulsed faintly—once, twice—then stilled completely. He extended his hand, and shadows coiled downward, retrieving the crystalline object with careful precision. It was warm to the touch, humming with residual energy.
He turned it over in his palm once, twice, committing its every detail to memory. Then, with a thought, it vanished into the void of his Inventory skill.
"A new type, perhaps," he murmured, straightening. "Or an evolution we haven't documented. The Eclipse's experiments are producing results we can't yet categorize."
