Cracked Pillars of Fate

Chapter 20: The Beating Heart

"Dylan!"

Archen’s massive hand snatched Dylan’s jacket collar just as the bridge of light vanished into gray particles. With a powerful jerk of gravity, Archen pulled Dylan’s body back onto the remaining crystal platform. Dylan panted, his heart pounding so hard he could feel it in the back of his throat.

"Thank you," Dylan whispered. He immediately adjusted his cracked glasses.

El Joe stood before them, his energy sword glowing with a sharp green light. Before them, the silver sky seemed to boil, churning like liquid metal spun by a cosmic storm. Beneath their feet, the System Central Structure stretched out wide. It was a giant fortress composed of thousands of layers of transparent data crystals emitting an ear-piercing static hum.

"Don't let your guard down," Joe warned, his eyes narrowing at the vortex above them. "The bridge didn't collapse because of our weight. Something is sucking its energy."

From behind the churning clumps of silver sky, a creature glided down with lightning speed. Its body was long, resembling a dragon, but its entire surface consisted of jagged crystals that constantly grew and shattered. It was the Crystallizing Leviathan. Every time it flicked its tail, the surrounding air suddenly froze, turning the vacuum into brittle blocks of glass.

"Analysis!" Joe commanded.

Dylan immediately touched the crystal device on his arm. "It's not ordinary ice! It's advanced data freezing. If we touch it, our consciousness will be permanently locked in crystal form. We will become part of this building's structure forever. Don't stop moving!"

The Leviathan roared, the sound erupting from its mouth in a high frequency that made Archen’s ears bleed. The creature opened its jaws, spewing a wave of pale blue mist that instantly turned the platform floor into frozen crystal.

"Get back!" Archen pushed Dylan and Joe in opposite directions.

Archen slammed his fist into the floor, creating a gravity wave to halt the progress of the crystals creeping rapidly toward his feet. However, the crystals didn't stop. They began to crawl up Archen’s boots, turning fabric and leather into hard, translucent matter.

"Damn, this is heavy!" Archen growled. He felt his legs starting to go numb.

"Archen, don't fight it with pure strength!" Dylan shouted. "Joe, you have to divert the energy flow through the ground. Archen, concentrate gravity at a single point under your feet to break its atomic bonds!"

Joe immediately plunged his energy sword into the platform's surface. His green aura seeped into the gaps between the crystals, trying to find a crack in the data architecture. "I need time to open the path! Dylan, give me the coordinates of the weak point!"

"Three meters in front of you, under that Leviathan's third fin!" Dylan pointed toward the creature, which was now gliding back for a second attack. "Its energy core pulses every time it spews mist. That's the only time its shield is open!"

The Leviathan lunged low, targeting Joe. Archen, who had managed to free his legs with a micro-gravity blast, jumped into the creature's path.

"You won't touch my commander!" Archen roared.

Archen caught one of the Leviathan's crystal fins. His hands immediately felt frozen, but he ignored the pain. With the power of the pillar now fused with his soul, Archen pulled the giant body down. His gravitational mass doubled, forcing the creature to slam into the crystal floor with a thud that shook the entire structure.

"Joe, now!" Archen shouted, the veins in his neck bulging as he held the monster's weight.

Joe dashed forward. With his Commander Vision enhanced by Dylan's data, he saw a small pulsing point of light beneath the monster's crystal scales. Joe did not strike with great force, but with lethal precision.

Joe's green sword pierced right into the core.

The Leviathan let out a terrible shriek. Its crystal body began to crack, but it did not give up easily. In a final effort, the creature detonated all its energy, creating a massive crystallization storm that swept in all directions.

"Sinergy! Quick!" Joe ordered.

The three of them drew close, grasping each other's arms in the middle of the freezing storm. Dylan formulated a logic shield, Joe directed environmental adaptation to neutralize the temperature, and Archen built a gravity wall as physical support. A tri-colored light—black, blue, and green—exploded from them, forming a protective dome that withstood the Leviathan's attack.

The space around them seemed to stop beating. They could feel each other's heartbeats, a frequency that was now perfectly synchronized. Amidst the death that threatened to turn them into eternal displays, their trust reached its peak. They were no longer three stranded men, but a single, unshakable pillar.

The storm slowly subsided. The Crystallizing Leviathan shattered into millions of beautiful but no longer dangerous shards of light dust. Archen released his grip, his breath coming in gasps, while Dylan nearly fell if not for Joe catching him.

"We're still alive," Dylan murmured, staring at his hands, which were still shaking slightly.

"We almost became crystal statues," Archen smirked thinly, though his face was pale.

Joe looked ahead, toward where the Leviathan's body had been. There, amidst the remnants of light dust, a massive gate made of white gold slowly appeared. The gate had no doors, only a black hole filled with slowly swirling stars.

The atmosphere around them suddenly changed. The static hum that had been agonizing now turned into a grand yet eerie symphony of whispers. The air no longer smelled of ozone, but of the scent of withered flowers.

"The Central Structure has been surpassed," a formless voice echoed from all directions. The voice sounded like a combination of thousands of human voices speaking at once.

Joe stepped forward, leading his two companions toward the gate. "That's the goal."

"Arena of Destiny," Dylan read the lines of code appearing above the gate. "This is the place where Earth's reality will truly be decided. If we step inside, there is no turning back."

Archen clenched his fists, letting his gravity energy pulse slowly. "I've already forgotten how to walk backward. Let's finish this."

As they stood on the threshold of the gate, a violent tremor once again shook the platform. The silver sky above them suddenly shattered, revealing a view of millions of other dimensions clashing and crumbling in the distance. A giant shadow darker than night began to form behind the gate, awaiting their arrival.

"Welcome, little heroes," the mysterious voice spoke again, this time with a clear tone of mockery. "Let us see if your pillars are strong enough to withstand the weight of all nothingness."

Joe took a deep breath, looking at Archen and Dylan one last time before they stepped inside. The black light from the gate began to pull their bodies, swallowing them into the ultimate uncertainty.

The world behind them slowly faded, leaving only the void waiting to be filled by a new destiny.