Amira’s heart skipped a beat as the crystal shard flew toward her, its sharp edge gleaming in the faint light of the battle. Time seemed to stretch as she watched it coming, too fast, too inevitable. The air around her seemed to freeze, as though even the universe was holding its breath.
“Amira, duck!” Alex screamed, but the warning came a fraction of a second too late.
The shard pierced the air, cutting through it with the force of a lightning strike. Amira instinctively threw herself to the side, but the crystal shard grazed her arm, cutting a deep gash through her sleeve. The pain was immediate, sharp and hot, but the adrenaline rushing through her veins kept her from reacting to it.
She hit the ground hard, rolling to the side, narrowly avoiding the shard as it slammed into the ground where she had been standing. The earth trembled with the impact, dust and debris filling the air.
“Amira!” Alex shouted, rushing to her side.
She sat up, grimacing as she inspected the gash on her arm. Blood was dripping down her sleeve, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle. She shot Alex a quick glance. “I’m fine. I’ve had worse.”
Alex didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he turned his focus back to the crystal creature, which was now becoming more erratic. The cracks in its body had spread further, and the core at its center was pulsating with a fierce, red light. It was close to breaking, but the creature was far from done. Its movements were becoming unpredictable—slashing wildly with its sharp, jagged limbs, launching shards of crystal in every direction.
“We need to end this,” Amira said, gritting her teeth as she pushed herself up. “Now.”
“I’m with you,” Alex replied, his voice tight. “But that thing’s got some serious bite. How do we hit that core without getting skewered?”
Amira glanced around, spotting a jagged piece of debris nearby. “We use its own attack against it. The crystal shards. They’re flying everywhere, but some of them are getting lodged into the ground. We can use them as projectiles.”
Alex nodded, his expression grim. “Let’s do it.”
With renewed determination, Amira and Alex worked in unison. As the creature lunged forward once again, its claws slashing the air, Alex threw himself to the ground, rolling to avoid a blast of crystal shards. Meanwhile, Amira grabbed one of the larger shards stuck in the ground and hurled it directly at the creature’s core.
The shard struck the creature’s glowing center, and for a brief moment, the creature froze. The light of its core flickered, and it staggered back, disoriented. The cracks in its body deepened, but it wasn’t enough. The creature began to reform quickly, its body shifting to defend itself from the blow.
“Not fast enough!” Amira shouted, grabbing another shard and preparing for another throw.
Alex didn’t wait for her to act. He lunged forward, dodging another swipe from the creature, and used the momentum to grab a jagged boulder. With a grunt, he hurled it at the creature’s core with all his strength. The boulder struck with a loud crack, and the crystal creature let out an ear-piercing scream, its body cracking apart even further.
“That’s it!” Alex shouted, his eyes lighting up. “Keep going!”
Amira didn’t need another reminder. She rushed forward, her injured arm aching but her resolve stronger than ever. The moment was fleeting, and the creature was still alive. Every second they hesitated was another second it had to retaliate. The core was exposed, but not for long.
She hurled another shard. This time, it struck the core directly, and the creature’s body exploded in a burst of light, its jagged limbs falling apart as the energy from the core ripped through its body. The crystals shattered, raining down in a dazzling array of sharp edges and glowing light.
But the explosion wasn’t just a victory.
The shockwave sent them both flying. Amira slammed into the ground with a thud, her vision blurring for a moment. The air smelled of burnt stone and shattered crystal, but there was no time to rest. She forced herself up, her breath ragged, her mind still swimming from the force of the blast.
“A...Amira?!” Alex’s voice echoed, strained with panic.
She shook her head, clearing the haze. “I’m fine,” she muttered, but the truth was, she wasn’t sure. She could feel the blood on her arm soaking her sleeve, and her head was spinning from the fall. But they had to keep moving. 
The ground was still trembling as the last of the creature's energy dissipated, the crystal remnants scattering around them. But something was wrong. The air felt heavier. Thicker. As if the world itself was reacting to the creature’s defeat.
“We need to—” Alex started, but his words were cut off by a low rumble. The earth beneath them quaked violently, much harder than before. 
Amira’s eyes widened. “What the hell is that?”
The ground split open in front of them, and from the depths of the fissure, a new sound began to rise. It was a deep, guttural hum, like the sound of an ancient machine awakening. The air crackled with energy, and the ground seemed to pulse with life.
“We’ve got trouble,” Alex said, his voice tight.
The fissure in the ground widened, revealing a massive structure beneath them—metal, ancient, and alien in design. It was a labyrinth of twisting pipes, energy conduits, and massive gears that clicked and whirred to life as the creature’s death triggered something deep beneath the surface.
“Is that... is that what I think it is?” Amira asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Alex swallowed hard. “It’s a gateway. A portal.”
Before Amira could respond, the portal flared with a surge of energy, and a flood of light poured from the fissure, bathing them both in a blinding glow. It was like the very fabric of reality was unraveling in front of their eyes.
Then, from within the portal, a shadowy figure emerged.
It was tall, humanoid, and cloaked in an aura of darkness. Its eyes glowed with a red light, and the air seemed to warp around it, distorting reality. It stepped forward, the ground beneath it warping with every movement. A deep voice boomed out from the figure.
"You have destroyed the Echoes," it said, its voice cold and ancient. "But that was only the beginning."
Amira and Alex froze. The figure’s eyes locked onto them, and the ground trembled beneath their feet. 
“You’ve awakened the true threat to your world.”