The basement air grew thinner as the magical suppression field continued to drain energy from the surroundings. Elias collapsed against the stone wall, watching helplessly as the captured serpent's glow dimmed further. The system interface flickered erratically:
[MAGICAL SUPPRESSION FIELD DETECTED: 87% POWER]
[SYSTEM FUNCTIONALITY REDUCED TO 40%]
[HEALTH: 62% (CONTINUOUS DECREASE)]
[GUARDIAN SERPENT: 12% LIFE FORCE REMAINING]
Lena paced back and forth, her mechanical eye scanning the room for weaknesses in the Council's barricade. "The ventilation shaft," she said suddenly, pointing to a rusted metal grate in the ceiling. "It leads to the old mining tunnels. We could escape through there if we can reach it."
Elias followed her gaze, then shook his head. "It's too high. Even if we stood on each other's shoulders—" His words were cut off as the serpent let out a weak cry, its body convulsing.
[ESTABLISHED EMERGENCY MENTAL LINK]
[SERPENT MESSAGE: "THEY DRAIN US TO POWER THEIR MACHINES... ALL GUARDIANS DYING..."]
[VISION RECEIVED: SEVEN SERPENTS, EACH BOUND TO A TOWER, THEIR ENERGY FLOWING TO A CENTRAL LOCATION]
[REVELATION: COUNCIL PLANNING "GRAND ASCENSION" IN 72 HOURS]
"The Grand Ascension," Lena whispered, her face paling. " Brotherhood intelligence mentioned it but never knew what it was. They're going to activate all towers simultaneously."
A sudden shout from upstairs interrupted their conversation, followed by the sound of gunfire and breaking glass. Elias and Lena exchanged confused glances as the system interface provided unexpected news:
[DETECTED: MULTIPLE COMBAT SIGNATURES ABOVE]
[ALLIED FORCES IDENTIFIED: BROTHERHOOD RAID TEAM (ESTIMATED STRENGTH: 15)]
[ENEMY FORCES: 8 COUNCIL SOLDIERS, 1 MAGE]
The basement door burst open, revealing a Council soldier aiming his rifle—then collapsed as a throwing knife embedded itself in his neck. A young man in Brotherhood uniform stepped through the doorway, gesturing for them to follow.
"Hurry!" he whispered. "Kyle Vorn, engineering division.瓦伦 sent me when we lost contact with the safe house."
Elias hesitated, staring at the man's Brotherhood insignia. "How do we know we can trust you?"
Kyle pulled up his sleeve, revealing a mechanical arm—similar to瓦伦's work, but cruder, obviously homemade. "Council took my sister's magic in one of their experiments. I joined to make them pay." He nodded at the dying serpent. "We need to move before the mage upstairs realizes what's happening."
[MENTAL LINK WITH SERPENT: "HURRY... USE MY REMAINING ENERGY..."]
[WARNING: SERPENT WILL DIE WITHIN 10 MINUTES]
[NEW OPTION: SACRIFICE GUARDIAN TO BREAK SUPPRESSION FIELD]
[RESULT: TEMPORARY SYSTEM OVERDRIVE, ESCAPE WINDOW: 3 MINUTES]
[CONSEQUENCE: PERMANENT LOSS OF GUARDIAN LINEAGE]
Elias placed his hand on the serpent's head, tears in his eyes as he felt its fading consciousness. "There must be another way."
[SERPENT MESSAGE: "THIS IS OUR PURPOSE... BALANCE MUST BE RESTORED..."]
[FINAL VISION: SYSTEM CREATOR KISSING A SERPENT'S FOREHEAD, WHISPERING "THANK YOU"]
"I'm sorry," he whispered, then nodded to Kyle. "Do it."
The engineer produced a small device from his pack, pressing it against the suppression field generator. "This will channel the serpent's energy directly into the generator's core. When it overloads, the field will collapse for exactly 180 seconds."
Lena helped Elias move the serpent closer to the generator as Kyle made the final adjustments. "Ready when you are," he said, stepping back.
Elias closed his eyes and activated the last mental link with the serpent, feeling its remaining life force flow into him and then into the generator. The device began to hum, its lights flashing red as it reached critical mass.
[GUARDIAN SERPENT LIFE FORCE: 0%]
[SUPPRESSION FIELD COLLAPSING IN 10... 9...]
"Now!" Kyle shouted, grabbing the ventilation grate and pulling it free with his mechanical arm. The generator exploded behind them as they scrambled into the shaft, the concussive force sending them tumbling forward into darkness.
[SYSTEM OVERDRIVE ACTIVATED]
[ALL FUNCTIONS RESTORED FOR 178 SECONDS]
[HEALTH: 70% (RAISED BY SERPENT ENERGY TRANSFER)]
[NEW ABILITY: FIELD NEGATION (TEMPORARY)]
They crawled through the narrow shaft for what felt like hours, emerging onto a ledge overlooking a vast canyon. In the distance, the first tower glowed with unnatural light as its activation sequence began. Elias felt a sharp pain in his chest as the system registered the consequences:
[GLOBAL MAGICAL ENERGY DROPPED TO 32%]
[DETECTION: WILDLIFE MASS DEATH NEAR TOWER LOCATION]
[SYSTEM OVERDRIVE REMAINING: 45 SECONDS]
Lena collapsed beside him, her mechanical eye zooming in on the tower. "Three down, four to go," she said grimly. "But we're running out of time."
As they watched, a figure appeared on the tower's observation deck—Councilor Marcus, holding what appeared to be another crystal fragment. He looked directly toward their hiding spot, as if somehow sensing their presence, and raised the fragment in a mocking salute.
[WARNING: DETECTED REMOTE SURVEILLANCE THROUGH CRYSTAL LINK]
[INTRUDER IDENTIFIED: COUNCILOR MARCUS]
[ALERT: ENEMY KNOWS YOUR LOCATION]
Elias felt the system interface spike with a final warning before Overdrive mode ended:
[CRITICAL INFORMATION UNLOCKED]
[SYSTEM CREATOR STATUS: AWAKENING]
[ESTIMATED TIME UNTIL REEMERGENCE: 7 DAYS]
[WARNING: CREATOR'S INTENTIONS UNKNOWN]
The tower's light pulsed once, brighter than before, as the first wave of magical depletion rippled across the landscape below. Elias and Lena watched in horror as trees withered and rivers dried up in the span of seconds.
"We need to reach the next tower in the Crystal Desert," Lena said, helping Elias to his feet. "If Marcus activates another one, it might be too late to stop him."
As they began the treacherous descent into the canyon, Elias couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched—not just by Marcus, but by something older, something awakened by the serpent's sacrifice.
Somewhere in the recesses of his mind, a voice whispered: "The pieces are in motion, Chosen One. But are you prepared for what happens when I return?"
The real battle was just beginning.