"Rix! Shield!" Kaelen shouted.
Rix slammed her mechanical arm into the ground. She hacked the local physics engine. [Override: Dome_Shield.exe] A hexagonal barrier sprang up, blocking Valen's fire.
"I can hold it for thirty seconds!" Rix screamed, her arm sparking. "Do something!"
Kaelen looked at Ren. "Help us!"
Ren shook his head. "I am chained. I have no mana."
"You don't need mana," Kaelen said. "You have Time."
Kaelen ran to Ren. He didn't use the Key to unlock the chains. He grabbed the blue System chains with his bare hands. [Aspect: Decay.]
He rotted the code. The blue chains flickered and snapped.
Ren gasped. For the first time in eons, he was disconnected from the System. The lights in the cavern dimmed. Above, in the city, the sun flickered.
"You fool!" Valen roared. "You unplugged the world!"
Ren stood up. He stretched. His bones cracked like thunder. "Ah," Ren whispered. "Silence."
Ren looked at Valen. "You used me for five thousand years, Administrator. Now... pay rent."
Ren raised a hand. [Aspect: Stasis.] He didn't freeze Valen. He froze the space around Valen. Valen froze in mid-air, trapped in a cube of stopped time.
"Is... is it over?" Rix panted, the shield dropping.
"No," Ren said, looking up. "The backup generator is coming."