Kaelen moved closer to the core, fighting against the overwhelming sensation that threatened to consume him. Every step felt like a battle, as if the ship itself was trying to draw him into its embrace.
"Kaelen, stop!" Mira shouted, grabbing his arm. "Don't go any further!"
But Kaelen couldn't stop. The signal had already reached deep inside of him, filling every crevice of his mind. He could feel the entity's consciousness entwining with his own.
"Kaelen, listen to me!" Mira's voice broke through the fog in his mind. "We can still fight this. We can't let it win."
But the voice of the entity was louder now, drowning out all other thoughts.
You are part of us. You cannot fight what you already are.
Kaelen gritted his teeth, pulling away from Mira. He had to reach the core. He had to do whatever it took to stop the entity.
Suddenly, the ship's alarms blared. "Warning: core destabilization imminent. Core breach in T-minus 30 minutes."
"We don't have much time," Kaelen said, his voice low. He turned to Laz. "Can you do it? Can you shut it down?"
Laz stared at the core, his eyes full of doubt. "If we do this, we may destroy the ship completely. There's no way to know if we can sever the connection without triggering a full-scale meltdown."
"We don't have a choice," Kaelen said firmly. "We have to do it."
Laz nodded grimly, turning to the control panel.