The guardians surged forward like a tide of molten steel, their footsteps shaking the cavern. The glowing rivers hissed and flared with each impact, as though feeding on the coming violence.
Jonas was the first to fire. His rifle thundered, bursts of plasma striking the lead guardian square in the chest. But instead of falling, the creature absorbed the shots, molten cracks spiderwebbing across its armor.
"Not good enough!" Jonas cursed, ejecting the overheated cartridge.
Mara darted into motion, blades flashing. She moved like lightning, carving glowing streaks across the guardian's legs. Sparks rained, but the thing barely faltered. Its blade swept down with a roar, missing her by inches as stone shattered where she had stood.
Liora nocked an arrow, her eyes glowing faintly as she whispered a prayer. The arrow shimmered with silver light before she let it fly. It struck the guardian's face, piercing through one burning socket. For the first time, the creature reeled, molten ichor spilling like liquid fire.
"Eyes!" she shouted. "Their weakness is the eyes!"
Eris staggered, clutching his chest. The pull of the rivers was almost unbearable, every beat of the cavern-heart dragging harder at his essence. The silver glow around him flared wildly, threatening to slip free.
"Eris!" Selene's voice cut through the chaos. She slammed her staff into the ground, weaving a barrier of radiant sigils around him. "Stay with us! If you give in now, the Heart will consume you!"
The second guardian swung its massive weapon, cleaving through Selene's barrier with brute force. The impact hurled her across the cavern, her staff clattering away as she hit the stone wall with a cry.
Eris's fury boiled. He surged forward, fists glowing with unrestrained energy. When the guardian's blade came down, he caught it in his bare hands. The molten edge seared his skin, but he refused to let go.
Silver light erupted from him, blasting through the cavern and driving the guardian backward. The molten rivers screamed as the light clashed with their essence.
But more guardians were rising. From every vein in the floor, new forms dragged themselves upward—ten, twenty, more than they could count.
Jonas swore under his breath. "We can't win this. Not here. Not against all of them."
Mara's face was grim, sweat streaming down her brow as she parried another strike. "Then we fight our way to the other side. Deeper into the Heart!"
Selene forced herself up, blood staining her lips, and retrieved her staff. Her voice rang with desperate resolve: "If we fall here, Eris falls with us. Retreat is survival."
The guardians closed in, their burning eyes fixed on Eris. Each step they took made the rivers flare brighter, as though the planet itself demanded his surrender.
And so the group began to fight—not for victory, but for escape.