Story 399: The Final Stand

The walls shook violently as Zara sprinted through the collapsing chamber, smoke and debris filling the air. Behind her, the Core's destruction roared like a living beast, its fiery remnants splintering into waves of chaos. She barely registered the sound of the Warden’s enraged screams fading into the devastation.

Her lungs burned, but she didn’t stop. Zara burst through a metal door and into a long corridor just as the blast wave hit. She dove forward, the force of the explosion launching her down the hall. She crashed into the ground, sliding against the cold steel as rubble clattered behind her. Silence followed—brief, ominous silence.

Zara groaned and pushed herself up, her ears ringing. “Not dead yet,” she muttered, staggering to her feet.