THE FURY OF THE ECHO

After Noelia's revelation, a silence charged with a new understanding had accompanied them through the tunnels. They were no longer four individuals, but a unit, moving with a shared purpose. Finally, they reached their destination: an immense circular cavern, as large as a coliseum. In the center, on an obsidian throne, sat a golem figure of stone and metal, motionless. The Guardian of the Pit.

But they were not alone.

— Congratulations on arriving, losers. — The voice, charged with venomous arrogance, echoed from a high ledge. There, bathed in light from the ceiling glass, stood Spectro and his team.

— The show has been mediocre, but your perseverance is... adorable - Spectro continued with a smirk - As a reward for making it this far, we'll give you a front row seat for the real finale of the event. —

He held aloft an object pulsing with a sickly purple light. A shard of dark glass, identical to those in the caverns, but writhing as if something evil lived inside.

— That object, there's something strange about it! — Sacres warned, adopting a defensive posture.

— Strange, enhanced... are just words — said Spectro — I prefer to call it... a corruption enhancement —

With a theatrical gesture, he threw the crystal. The shard flew through the air and embedded itself in the Trench Guardian's chest.

The effect was instantaneous and horrifying.

The golem, which had been motionless, shuddered violently. Veins of purple energy and black-colored slime coursed through its stone body, like a virus taking over its being. The rock cracked and reconfigured, growing in size. Twisted metal spines sprouted from its back and its once empty eyes flared with a red, angry light. A roar, half mechanical, half the scream of a thousand tortured souls, shook the cavern. The boss, who should have been a normal challenge, was now a nightmarish beast, a Corrupted Echo.

— Have fun — said Spectro, before he and his team faded into the shadows to observe their handiwork.

The monster charged. The fight was desperate from the first second. The beast was incredibly fast and its blows, imbued with corrupted energy, ignored some of the armor.

—We can't face it head-on! — Sacres shouted, his shield crackling under an impact that knocked him back several meters. — Spread out! —

At first, it was chaos. Ikel was trying to land blows, but the creature was too fast. Noelia's ice spears barely slowed it down. Asimil's green flames were like mosquito bites.

—This isn't working! — gasped Ikel, dodging a punch that pulverized the rock he was standing on. — We need a plan! —

It was Sacres who took command. — Stop attacking! Synchronize your movements with me! Noelia, don't attack him, control him! Freeze the ground in his path, guide him to me! —

Noelia nodded, her face concentrated. She stopped throwing projectiles and began weaving patterns of ice on the ground. Every time the monster tried to charge, its feet slipped, forcing it to move in a slower, more predictable manner, straight toward Sacres.

— Ikel! — continued Sacres. — Don't attack wildly! Wait for my signal! Hit the joints when he's off balance! —

— Got it! — growled Ikel, restraining his impulse.

— Assimil, don't try to hurt it. Your fire is weak. Use it to blind him! When he's about to attack, hit him in the eyes! — Asimil swallowed saliva, but nodded.

And then, the ballet began.

Noelia created a slippery ice path. The corrupted boss, roaring with fury, was sliding down it, straight towards Sacres, who was waiting for him with his shield planted on the ground. The beast raised its gigantic fist to crush him.

— NOW, ASSIMIL! — roared Sacres.

Asimil launched a green fireball, not at the body, but directly at the monster's red eyes. The flare, though weak, erupted in a blinding flash. The monster blinked for a split second, its blow deflected slightly.

That instant was enough. The golem's fist hit Sacres's shield, but not full on. The impact caused the monster to lose his balance on the ice.

—  IKEL! — was Noelia's shout

Ikel was already on the move. He lunged toward the unprotected knee of the unbalanced monster, his flaming fists impacting with the force of a piston. A crunch of rock echoed, and a deep crack appeared in the guardian's leg.

For an instant, it looked like they might win. They repeated the timing over and over again: Noelia's ice, Sacres' bait, Asimil's blindness, Ikel's strike. Each depended on the other, moving in perfect harmony born of desperation. The Corrupted boss was covered in cracks, moving slower and slower.

— One more blow! — shouted Ikel, preparing a final attack.

But the creature had not exhausted its tricks. The corrupted energy in its chest began to glow with terrifying intensity. It was gathering power for an area attack that would annihilate everything around it.

— We can't stop that! — Noelia shouted, her face pale.

They prepared for the end. Sacres planted himself in front of them, his shield his last vain defense. Ikel stood at his side, ready to go down fighting. Asimil and Noelia looked at each other, and in their eyes was a silent understanding, a respect forged in fire.

Just as the monster was about to unleash the explosion, the cavern was flooded with a golden light.

Figures wrapped in golden armor and auras of immense power materialized in the room. They were players of a level that Asimil did not even know existed. With a single gesture, one of them created a barrier that absorbed the corrupted boss' blast. Another moved at an imperceptible speed and, with a single clean slash of his light sword, decapitated the beast.

The monster fell with a deafening roar, vanishing in a shower of rocks.

The boys had been saved.

Back in town, the event was in chaos. The event administrators were making excuses that it was part of the tournament, that they had high expectations of the players and were handing out consolation prizes. Spectro and his team had vanished without a trace.

Asimil's team was in a quiet corner of the square, away from the commotion. They were covered in wounds, their armor shattered, their mana resources nearly empty. They had not won the event. They had failed in their primary objective.

But as they looked at each other, there was no recrimination. Ikel was not angry. Noelia was not arrogant. Sacres had a rare, small smile of pride on his face. And Asimil... Asimil didn't feel like a failure.

They had faced the impossible and survived. Not as individuals, but as a unit. They had lost the prize, but they had gained something infinitely more valuable: mutual respect.

They had succeeded in becoming a team.