THE PRICE OF TRUST

Dawn in the Altverse tinged the sky a pale purple over the fragmented silhouettes of the Ruins of Dawn. The air smelled of ancient dust and ozone.

The group split up at the main entrance, a giant stone archway covered in weathered runes. — Mitsu, you and your men secure the outlying towers — the Gray Dawn leader ordered. — We will activate the main core here. Keep the messenger crystals active. —

Mitsu nodded with an arrogant smile. -Don't all die before the main entertainment arrives. — he said, before disappearing into the rubble with his team. —

His team was now complete: The Clan Chief, Ikel, Noelia, Karen, Luce, Lyra and himself. Karen, the dark-haired guide, pointed into the depths of the ruins. — The road to the core is full of containment traps. They are old and unpredictable. Stay alert. —

They moved forward in a more robust formation. Ikel and Luce, their two melee powerhouses, were in the lead. Noelia and Karen flanked them, their senses alert. And in the center, protected, were Lyra and him, the supporting rearguard. The Chief moved among them all, supervising.

The first trap consisted of a series of camouflaged holes. Ikel jumped back just as the ground gave way. — Heh, that's what they need something better to take me down for! — he joked, but his voice sounded strained. Luce, with incredible agility, used the falling slabs as makeshift steps to leap to the other side, securing a rope for the rest.

The second was a narrow corridor that fired poisoned darts. Noelia erected an ice shield, but the tips of the darts sizzled with corrosive magic. — The ice won't hold — he said.

— You don't have to — Lyra replied with her usual calm. With a gesture, a pale light enveloped them — [Aura of Purification]. The poison will be neutralized on contact. Run. —

They overcame each obstacle like a well-oiled team. His green fire served to blind a magic sensor, giving Luce just enough time to dismantle a tripwire mechanism.

Finally, they arrived at the central chamber. It was a vast circular room where a gem the size of a human torso floated, pulsing with a cyan light.  — The core of the defense — Karen whispered.

The Chief stepped forward, observing her. — It's older than I thought. These ruins... have been here since the dawn of the Altverse. — He turned to them, his face serious. — It's just a theory, but this could mean that the Void... is not the first time it has threatened this world. It is a cycle. A plague that returns again and again. —

A cycle. The word struck him with an icy familiarity, as if his very existence were living proof of that terrible truth.

The Chief extended his hand toward the gem. — Let's activate it. Perhaps it contains answers... —

Just as his fingers were about to touch it, a figure materialized behind him. It was the shadow, condensing into a deadly form. A guardian in black, angular armor, faceless, without insignia. It moved with obscene speed.

The Chief barely had time to turn around. The blade pierced him with a wet crunch. A muffled scream, and his body vanished in a swirl of gray pixels.

The boss had been eliminated

— NO! — roared Ikel.

The guardian did not stop. His next lunge was towards Noelia, who blocked it with a wall of ice that shattered instantly.

— He's too fast! — shouted Karen, the only one whose reflexes allowed her to stop some of his blows.

— Luce, with me, flank! Ikel, frontal pressure! Lyra, keep us alive! Asimil, suppressive fire on his head, don't let him lock on a target! Karen, find the armor seams! —

The orders were born of fear, but they forged an instant plan. Ikel roared, a comet on fire. Luce became a blur, her punches and kicks slamming into the guardian's legs to unsettle him. Asimil threw orbs of green fire that exploded in front of his dark helmet.

Karen turned into a silver specter, looking for the opening. But it was Lyra who was the true pillar. With absolute calm, she channeled waves of healing, her hands glowing as she closed the cuts that appeared on Ikel and Luce.

— [Potentiator: Piercing Edge] —aid Lyra, her voice monotone. A golden light enveloped Karen's sword.

The guardian, enraged by the harassment, unloaded a downward slash. Karen slipped under its shadow, spun and, her sword now glowing with the power Lyra had bestowed upon it, plunged it into the creature's armpit.

A purple burst, evil and blinding, erupted from the wound. The guardian let out an inhuman roar before collapsing, his steel body crumbling like scrap metal.

The silence was brutal. They had won, but their leader was gone.  — God... — sighed Ikel, leaning on his knees.

A crimson glow pierced the runic metal of the communicator. The mirror vibrated with a harsh hum, so urgent it chilled their blood. Mitsu's image formed fuzzy, trembling as if the rune could barely withstand the transmission. His voice lacked its usual arrogance: it was charged with panic.

— ARE YOU THERE?! ANSWER ME, DAMN IT! —

Noelia leaned toward the mirror, her voice trembling.  — Mitsu, what's wrong? The Chief... has fallen. We finished off the guardian. —

— NO MATTER! — he roared, the rune cracked with the vibration of his shout, — FORGET IT ALL! LEAVE THE MISSION! GET AWAY FROM THERE NOW! —

The channel was filled with magical interference, like a roar of a thousand overlapping voices, and among them the metallic echoes of combat.  — W-what's wrong? Are you under attack? — Ikel asked, swallowing his breath.

Mitsu's voice came back, barely a distorted whisper, laden with horror.

— Worse! The towers... the peripheral towers... were sabotaged. From the inside. We were... we were set up. The Void isn't the only enemy here... —

The mirror flickered, its surface trembling like churning water. A heartbreaking silence hung over them until Mitsu returned, with a scream that no longer sounded human.  — There is a traitor among you! Trust no one! Run away...! —

The metal snapped in two, shutting down the connection. Only an absolute emptiness remained, more oppressive than the roar of combat.

They looked at each other: Asimil, Ikel, Noelia, Karen, Luce and Lyra. Cold sweat ran down their skin. The same silent question was reflected in everyone's eyes. 

Victory had evaporated like smoke. All that remained now... was the shadow of betrayal. And it was too close.