Dawn's mist curled around our ranks as the silhouette of Black Spire rose before us—jagged stone crowned with flickering green ley‑line lights. My heart pounded in my ears as Lilith, Seraphina, Yuria, Valmira, Astraea, and I took our places at the head of the assault.
"Remember your training," Lilith's voice cut through the hush. "Focus on the nexus beyond those gates."
Yuria cracked her knuckles, lightning flickering along her arms. "Let's fry some rebels."
Seraphina's frost shaped into crystalline armor around her shoulders. "Stay sharp. Their traps are cunning."
Valmira flipped through her tome, runes glowing. "I'll seal any dark wards we encounter."
Astraea drew her spear, frost swirling at its tip. "Follow me. I know a hidden path."
I gripped the Heart Shard's warmth in my palm. "Architect leads the way."
At Astraea's signal, we slipped through a narrow ravine. Stone gargoyles perched overhead like silent sentinels. Yuria moved ahead, blasting the first line of shadow archers with electric arcs. I called on the shard's glow to bolster our wards, weaving golden light into the air.
Inside the Spire's gate, rebel forces surged—dozens of horned warriors wielding jagged blades. Seraphina summoned a swirling blizzard that froze the front ranks in place. Valmira's ink‑black sigils sprouted beneath feet, trapping opponents in shadow‑bound runes. Lilith's thorned vines erupted from the ground, snaring soldiers by their ankles.
I advanced alongside Astraea, her spear meeting my glaive in synchronized rhythm. Each strike forced a step back, each parry bought another second. The heart of the Spire's chamber lay above us—its nexus glowing emerald—and we had to reach it before more rebels flocked in.
A tremor shook the floor—the nexus was unstable. We raced up twisting stairs as the fortress groaned. Ahead, we found the ley‑line core: a crystalline lattice pulsing with emerald energy.
"Seal it," Lilith commanded.
Yuria and Seraphina formed a circle of storm and frost; Valmira traced binding glyphs in the air. I pressed my palm to the lattice. The shard flared, bridging my warmth into the ley lines. A surge of light rippled outward, silencing the core's wild pulse.
With a final crack, the lattice locked. The nexus's glow steadied. Outside, the rebel sirens cut off abruptly. Silence reigned.
We descended the stairs through cheering forces—Black Spire reclaimed.