Limbo tightened his teeth, "Found you the Second Guardian."
The air shifted and grew. The fog began to take form, tall and multihanded, with armour made of stone and almost as if circuits. Its eyes were burning bright red and open.
Limbo summons his spear.
But the system pops up another notification,
[ Alert: multiple Signals detected. ]
[ Second entity: active - count>2. ]
Rin was looking with wide eyes. "I think it's not alone?"
As Limbo rotates his spear, tiny sparks started to erupt from its edge as they rubbed on the ground.
"Yeah, then let's see."
" How long are they going to hide?" Limbo said with full of energy.
But suddenly, the second guardian roared.
And the ground near the whole started to split open, itself.
The fog surrounding them spread across like water spread when lightning hits.
Limbo's system flickered wildly.
Lines of code appeared faster than flash.
[ Warning: signal feedback detected, energy wave unstable and rising continues. ]
[ Source: unknown entity detected underground. ]
This was not the response Limbo was expecting, "what the... It's not supposed to react like this." Limbo said.
He opened the console and tried commands.
He was hoping the Guardian would be trapped in his bait, but that energy, just...amplified.
Like something was feeding on it.
The whole forest shook with vibration, destroying the trees around. The earth split open, releasing a heavy, cold air that turned into mist.
The stone pillars around the hole lit up one by one in circles at once. The runes were burning brighter than any torch.
"Back off!... guys," Limbo shouted.
Rin reacted quickly.
She grabbed Gaja's shoulder. She pulled him away as the energy erupted.
From within the hole, a shadow rises.
First, it was looking formless, then it took a shape like a giant sculpted by shifting light.
Half stone, half shimmering mist, its outline kept changing, as if reality was trying to decide what it truly was.
A deep echo followed.
[ Core Guardian- phase || activated. ]
[ Sub- construct units - 3 active. ]
The smaller figures appear beside the Guardian. They were creatures unknown.
Moving in perfect rhythm with their master.
Gaja stepped forward, his hand was trembling.
The strange marks on his arm began glowing again, this time brighter, faster.
He tightened his first, trying to suppress the surge, but his veins shimmered like lightning.
"Gaja, stop don't do anything stupid," Limbo warned.
"I can handle it," Gaja replied while tightening his teeth, through his breath was sharp and uneven.
The Guardian raised its arm.
The air moved intensely, bending mist alongside.
Rin shoots her vines forward from a distance, but in an instant, they decay as they touch the guardian.
The ground was turning slowly black.
Mana disruption field, Limbo muttered. It's feeding on resonance energy.
He held his spear tightly, his eyes was scanning the system.
"System, trace output origin!"
[Tracing.... Failed. Signal overlapping by external energy. ]
"What the h.... ?" Limbo said while looking up. Gaja was engaging with Guardian, their aura was colliding and slowly...
Without any warning or signal, Gaja rushes forward. He drew his blade.
Your attack didn't have any effect on them.
Don't attack recklessly, Limbo shouted from behind.
Gaja took attack form, and started to slash through the haze, the steel pearce through black-silver energy.
When it connected, the guardian struggled back, for the first time.
He gets damaged.
Rin gasped, "It worked!"
Limbo wasn't happy.
He was analysing something else.
He was looking at the system reaction.
[ Resonance Sync Detected- host: Gaja. ]
[ Sync rate: 17%...25%... ]
The marking on Gaja's arm was spreading upward towards his chest, burning his clothes. Every time Gaja attacks, it spreads more.
"Stop it, Gaja!" Limbo shouted.
But Gaja ignores him, his eyes slowly glow faintly silver.
The Guardian slowed his movements, like he were trying to reflect his stance.
"Hey Gaja! Move back,"
"I think Guardian is trying to copy you." Rin grasped quickly. He was becoming more in sync with nature, and she was feeling every change around them.
Meanwhile, suddenly the system echoed in a low tone, deep and tense.
Like a beat of a heartbeat.
Limbo understands what it means.
"The Guardian was trying to use Gaja as a vessel," he realised.
"It's trying to sync he's core with him!"
Gaja has an ideal body, strong and healthy, that was nurtured by hard work and dedication.
The Guardian raised his hands, and runes around his body shifted.
Energy vines from the surrounding began to wrap around Gaja.
He screamed as his body was about to be taken over. The aura flickered. Another creature moved in.
And they surround him.
" Rin!" Limbo shouted. "Use your power and disrupt the pattern, bind those runes now!"
Rin slammed her hands on the ground. Roots burst out, wrapping around the glowing pillars.
The light dimmed slightly, but not enough.
[ System integrity 89%...78%.. ]
[ Interference level critical. ]
Limbo grind his teeth, "Fine, then we'll do it my way."
Limbo lists his spear and thrusts to the ground. And was filled with intense anger.
This time,
Force_Desync(Guardian.network, node=Gaja)
An energy burst with silver light erupted, while everything was frozen for a second.
The Guardian's body flickered, like a glitch in the screen.
Then ... It collapses.
Dust and red mist scattered everywhere, fading into quiet.
Gaja fell to his knees, and the glowing marks slowly started to fade. But the black mark remains.
The slow notification,
[Core Fragment obtained - 2/3 ]
[ Synchronisation progress 41% ]
Rin rushed to fallen Gaja's side.
"Hey!"
"Gaja! Can you hear me?"
He didn't respond, only breathing weakly. Even his breath was heavy and uneven.
His body was half chill, and half warm.
Limbo was looking at the stable window screen,
[Anomaly detected: external link remains active. ]
[ Unknown variable: GAJA... ]
He whispered, "What's this strange phenomenon happening..."
"What did you do in that cave? Brother..."
Limbo was trembling from the whole body.
With a tremble look he looks towards Gaja's arm. "Which was showing signs of a strange connection."
The system beeped again, faintly, but cold.
[ Warning: Distant Core Activation Detected. ]
Limbo looked up.
Far, far away...
Across the misty horizon, somewhere unknown, a red light blinked.
Like an eye Open in the dark...