They reached the edge of the zone.
The pulsing structure ahead didn't look like much. Just a fractured tower stitched from glitching tiles and fading memory. But Jaden knew what it was.
The anchor.
He stepped forward, heart steady but body lagging behind. That last fight had pulled more from him than he wanted to admit.
"It's here," he said. "This is the core."
The others followed him quietly.
No hesitation.
---
Inside, the space expanded.
Light streamed in from broken panels. The floor looked like it had been copied from five different places. A rooftop edge, a cracked hallway, the bunker, a street. Nothing stayed consistent. Jaden walked to the center.
The moment he stepped in, the ground beneath him lit up.
> System Lock Detected
Identity Anchor Sync in Progress
Warning: Core Integration May Trigger Defensive Protocols
"Of course it does," Rowan muttered.
---
Jaden dropped to one knee.
The sync pulled hard. His breathing slowed. Eyes dimmed.
"He's still here," Silas said, steadying him. "But the system's pulling him deeper."
"Then we hold the line," Aya said.
That was when the walls screamed.
---
Six forms blinked into existence.
Tall figures built from code and broken shape. Solid black, glowing with static along the joints. System failsafes. Designed not to correct, but erase.
Kael stepped forward, fire already rising in his hands. "More cleanup squads."
---
Two charged from the front.
Kael met them halfway. His right fist cracked into the first one's side, knocking it back. The second swung wide. He ducked and retaliated with a burst of flame, forcing it to retreat.
Above them, Silas's wings spread wide. Silver feathers shimmered as the air bent around him. His body lifted, casting soft light from his back in steady pulses.
He formed a lance of condensed light and hurled it. The impact shattered one of the failsafes in a flash that lit the room for a full second.
He hovered high, a calm radiance anchoring the fight from above.
---
From the left, another figure vaulted the edge of the platform.
Aya slammed her hand down.
A burst of roots exploded upward, snaring it midair. One strike from the construct cut a few tendrils, but the rest twisted tight around its limbs and yanked it into the ground.
She barely looked at it. Her eyes stayed on Jaden.
"Just keep syncing. We've got this."
---
Two more came around the back.
Rowan ran to intercept, tossing a scanning dart that attached to the closest one. It slowed, stuttering with electrical interference.
Niko stepped in beside him.
She raised her hand, eyes focused.
"Now."
A ring of illusion burst outward. Dozens of echo projections of her and the others sprinted past the creature.
The failsafe swung at phantoms.
That gave Rowan just enough time to place a pulse grenade beneath its feet. The explosion sent it reeling into Aya's vines.
Niko's voice stayed calm. "Stay confused."
---
The last construct climbed the wall above them.
It didn't leap.
It fell, straight toward Jaden.
Silas's wings flared wide. Feathers hardened into mirrored shards, refracting light. He launched upward in a clean arc and intercepted the creature mid-air.
Spinning once, he dragged it with him and slammed it into the ground hard enough to crack tile. A radiant shockwave rippled from the impact.
He landed beside Kael, light still flickering off his wings.
"Still dramatic," Kael said.
"Still effective," Silas replied.
---
Inside the dome of roots, Jaden's fingers twitched.
Not full motion.
But something.
Rowan knelt beside him. "He's stabilizing. We just have to buy a little more time."
---
The failsafes regrouped.
Three remained. They formed a triangle and began pacing the perimeter.
Aya's vines shifted into a lower stance, holding steady.
Kael wiped sweat from his brow and took a position at the center front.
Niko stood opposite him, illusions flickering at her sides like breath.
Rowan reloaded his last signal dart and waited.
Silas hovered slightly off the ground, a circle of soft light spinning behind him like a halo.
They didn't speak.
They didn't need to.
The constructs charged.
---
Kael struck first, flame coating his arms. He met the central unit with raw power, dragging it back.
Aya's vines trapped another. Not to crush, but to slow. She pivoted, reinforcing the ground beneath Jaden's feet so the sync wouldn't break.
Niko let her illusions scatter. This time she projected the memory of their first campfire. Every team member, side by side, laughing.
The construct paused.
Confused.
Rowan took the shot.
A clean pulse straight through its core.
---
Silas dropped into the final one with wings fully extended, cutting through it in a single arc. The sweep of light carried the force of a blade forged from memory and intention.
The construct split cleanly.
And didn't rise again.
---
Jaden inhaled.
His eyes opened.
Slow. Focused.
He blinked at the ceiling.
Then turned toward them.
"You're really loud when you're protecting someone."
Kael laughed. "Took you long enough."
"You good?" Rowan asked, catching his breath.
"Better than I've been in a while," Jaden said.
Aya let the vines relax.
Niko sat down, eyes tired. "All clear."
Silas landed beside Jaden, his wings folding quietly as the light around him dimmed. He offered his hand.
Jaden took it without hesitation.
---
> System Status: Core Anchor Stabilized
Role Confirmed: Variable
Status: Linked
---
The space brightened.
No glitching. No more errors.
Just silence.
And all of them, still standing.
---
End of Chapter 24
Author's Note :
"Jaden.exe is buffering… please do not unplug your emotionally unstable guardian angel."
Me writing this chapter:
🧠 "Okay let's give everyone balanced screen time."
Heart: "Let Silas fall from the sky like Sephiroth with feather particle effects."
Also me: "Add vines. More vines. Roots. Someone's gotta scream 'protect the core' in spirit."
Silas in this chapter:
☀️🕊️✨ "Behold, my war crimes but holy."
Niko: gaslights the enemy with illusions and childhood trauma
Kael: angrily punches every memory error like it insulted his cooking
Rowan: calculated support fire with 98% sarcasm
Aya: calmly gardens your grave
Jaden: is rebooting, please wait...