Without hesitation, Starfania lunged into the shadow and grabbed the small copper sphere. Several guards immediately noticed the movement.
" DON'T MOVE!" one barked, tightening his grip around his spear. But Starfania never stopped. She threw it. The Fireball Flare spun violently through the air before clinking once against the metal floor. Then—BOOM!
A blinding eruption of light and sound exploded across the chamber. White-hot flashes consumed the room instantly with an ear-piercing screech through the air, hard enough to rattle the walls themselves. Guards screamed in shock as the explosion disoriented them completely. Some collapsed to their knees, clutching their eyes. Others dropped their weapons entirely in panic. The chamber dissolved into pure chaos.
" Cover your eyes!" Starfania shouted immediately. She, Aeron, and Lyam ducked behind nearby crates as brilliant flashes pulsed violently around them.
Metal clattered everywhere. Voices shouted blindly through the confusion. Smoke filled the air. The perfect opening.
" GO!" Lyam barked. At that exact moment, a VulcanFire guard bursts into the control center nearby. He froze instantly upon seeing the unconscious technicians sprawled across the floor. Then his eyes widened further at the chaos unfolding outside the chamber windows. Those are the intruders. The Dragon Savior. The sabotage. Realization struck immediately. Without hesitation, the guard slammed his hand against the launch console. Red warning lights suddenly flooded the fortress. A mechanical voice echoed across every hallway and chamber inside the compound.
" FINAL LAUNCH SEQUENCE INITIATED."
" ETERNAL SUN DEPLOYMENT COMMENCING."
" T-MINUS TEN MINUTES."
Starfania's blood ran cold. The group sprinted through the smoke-filled corridors while alarms blared overhead relentlessly.
" Damn it!" Lyam cursed sharply. He looked down at the antidote vial still clenched tightly in his hand. " There's no time anymore."
Aeron immediately understood.
" The cure won't spread through the system fast enough," he realized aloud. Lyam nodded grimly. " Which means we have to inject it directly into the rocket itself."
Starfania's stomach twisted violently. That meant getting dangerously close to the launch rage. To the poison core itself. They exchanged quick nods anyway. There was no other option left.
The three of them pushed forward through the compound while guards continued flooding into the corridors from every direction. Steel clashed violently against steel. Aeron fought beside Lyam flawlessly despite the chaos, their blades cutting through attackers while Starfania stayed close behind, searching desperately for an opening toward the rocket chamber. But the guards kept coming. Endless. Relentless. VulcanFire soldiers poured through the halls like a tide determined to drown them completely. The mechanical voice echoed again overhead.
" T-MINUS EIGHT MINUTES."
Time was disappearing far too quickly.
Suddenly, a guard lunged from the shadows and slammed directly into Lyam's side. The force sent him stumbling hard across the metal floor. He caught himself just before crashing completely. But another guard immediately appeared behind him with a raised blade, ready to strike. Lyam never saw it coming. Starfania reacted instantly. She spun sharply, drawing Cosmry in one fluid motion before blocking the attack at the last second. Sparks exploded across the corridor as steel collided violently. Aeron joined immediately after, driving another attacker backward with brutal force. Yet despite everything—more guards kept arriving. More weapons. More soldiers. Time continues to slip away.
Lyam quickly realised it. They couldn't all make it. Someone had to reach the rocket now. Before it was too late. He grabbed Starfania's arm suddenly and shoved the antidote vial into her hands.
" Take it," he ordered firmly. Starfania's eyes widened. " Lyam—"
" GO!" he snapped. Aeron immediately moved beside Lyam, raising his sword defensively against the incoming soldiers.
" We'll hold them off," Aeron said firmly. " You have to finish this."
Starfania looked between them both for only a second. Fear. Trust. Determination. Then she nodded sharply. " I'll get it there."
And she ran.
Starfania sprinted through the fortress corridors as alarms screamed overhead relentlessly. The eclipse's shadow had nearly swallowed the sun completely now, plunging the compound into eerie darkness lit only by emergency lights and molten fire. Her armor clanged with every desperate step. The antidote vial remained clenched tightly in her hand. The rocket chamber loomed just ahead. She was close. So close. Then suddenly—a massive shadow dropped directly in front of her path. Starfania skidded to a halt instantly. The Golden Hunter stood before the entrance to the rocket chamber like an executioner waiting patiently for his prey. Silent. Motionless. Terrifying.
His dragon landed behind him with enough force to shake the entire platform. Emerald cracked pulsed violently beneath its fake-gold scales. Then the creature opened its jaws. Fire exploded toward her. Starfania barely reacted in time. She dove sideways behind a nearby support structure as scorching flames tore across the platform hard enough to melt sections of steel instantly. Even through her armor, she could feel the unbearable heat licking against her skin. The speaker system echoed again above the chaos.
" T-MINUS SIX MINUTES."
Starfania pressed herself against the metal cover, breathing heavily as fire reflected across the dark visor of her helmet. Then slowly—she tightened her grip around Cosmry with one hand…and the antidote vial with the other. The Golden Hunter stepped forward through the flames. Blocking the only path to the rocket.