The shadows crashed down like a flood, smothering every glimmer of light. Mukul's blade carved through the black tide, but for every strike, ten more clawed toward him. His chest heaved, his arms burned, and still the Warden loomed larger, as if the entire station had become his body.
Ansh stumbled back, his blade slipping from his bloody grip. Kavya fired arrow after arrow until her quiver was nearly empty. Even Raghav, who had been swinging wildly with sheer stubbornness, fell to one knee, gasping.
"Too… strong…" Kavya's voice cracked as the shadows swarmed closer.
The Warden's laughter echoed from all directions, hollow and merciless. "This is unity? Pathetic. You will scatter like ash."
A jagged claw slammed into the platform where Mukul had been standing, the shockwave hurling him into a wall. Pain screamed through his ribs, but he forced himself up. He couldn't fall. Not now.
Yet he could see it—his team was seconds away from breaking.
Priya, clutching her charms, stared at the storm of shadows swallowing her friends. Her hands trembled, not from fear but from the weight of choice. She knew what she had hidden away, a ritual too dangerous, a power she had sworn never to touch. It wasn't just forbidden—it was self-destructive.
But watching Ansh collapse, hearing Raghav's ragged breaths, seeing Mukul's blood staining the ground… she couldn't hold back anymore.
Her eyes hardened. "If he wants despair, I'll show him defiance."
She tore the last protective charm from her wrist and flung it aside. The paper burned in midair, releasing a surge of energy that rattled the walls. Then, without hesitation, she bit her lip and pressed her blood against the ancient sigil etched into her palm—a seal she had promised herself never to use.
"Priya, no!" Mukul's voice rang out, raw with fear. But it was too late.
Her body ignited in pale fire, her aura flaring brighter than ever before. The flames weren't normal—they shimmered silver, threaded with crimson, burning the shadows back with every flicker. The ground itself rejected the Warden's corruption, hissing and splitting where her light touched.
The Warden recoiled for the first time, his claws twitching, his voice sharp with anger. "What is this?!"
Priya stood tall, her hair whipping in the unnatural wind, her eyes glowing with that dangerous, otherworldly light. The ritual was consuming her strength with every breath, but she didn't waver.
"You said unity was weak," she shouted, her voice carrying like a blade through the storm. "Then face the strength born of sacrifice!"
She thrust her palms forward. The silver fire surged outward in a dome, slicing through the shadows. The faceless soldiers screamed as they disintegrated into smoke. The tidal wave of darkness shattered, peeled back, and for the first time, Mukul's team could breathe.
Ansh scrambled up, eyes wide. "Priya… what did you do?"
"Bought us a chance," she whispered, her body trembling violently.
The Warden's mask glowed with fury. He lashed out, claws striking the dome of light, but every strike burned him instead. Still, Priya staggered with each blow—her life force draining faster than she could endure.
Mukul rushed to her side, catching her arm. "Stop this, Priya. You'll destroy yourself."
Her lips curved into a faint, tired smile. "Better me than all of you."
The words hit him like a blade to the chest. He tightened his grip on her wrist, his heart pounding with a mix of rage and desperation.
"No," Mukul said, voice low and unshakable. "We fight together. Always."
The Warden roared again, shadows surging against the burning dome. The entire station trembled as the clash of light and dark reached its breaking point.
Priya's flames blazed brighter, the seal on her palm burning away into ash. Her knees buckled, her body swaying, but she held on, just long enough to force the Warden back.
For the first time, the masked monster faltered, stumbling a single step.
And that single step was all Mukul needed.