The Aether-Weavers shimmered around Alex and Verwel, their silent shrieks a constant assault on Alex's Mental Fortitude. Knowing that the Grey Anchor was the true target, Alex adapted his tactics. He couldn't waste Energy on these fleeting shadows. He needed to get through them, to the heart of the storm.
"Verwel, defense!" Alex ordered, activating Energy Push in broad, sweeping motions, creating localized bursts of concussive force that disrupted the Aether-Weavers' approach, forcing them to flicker and reform. He wasn't trying to damage them, just to keep them at bay, to create momentary openings.
[Energy: 2/10]
The chaotic winds of Zephyr's Nexus intensified as they pushed deeper, battering them from all sides. Jagged rock shards, pulled from the collapsing islands, became more numerous, forcing Alex to weave and dodge, his Dexterity pushed to its limits. He used his Core Resonance to predict the shifts in anti-gravity pockets, timing his jumps and Energy Push anchors with a dancer's precision, leaping from one unstable outcropping to another.
The Aether-Weavers, however, were relentless. They swarmed, their psionic disruptions making Alex's head pound, his vision flickering at the edges. He knew he couldn't keep fighting defensively. He needed to be surgical.
He spotted a lull, a momentary thinning in the swirling grey aether around Zephyr's form, a brief window into the eye of the storm. The Grey Anchor pulsed faintly within, radiating pure malevolence.
"Now or never," Alex muttered. He pulled out the Glacial Shard (Pure) that Frost had given him. It was a potent, focused burst of untainted elemental power, perfect for disrupting elemental constructs or energy forms. While the Weavers weren't strictly ice-based, their reliance on distorted aether might make them vulnerable to a sudden, untainted elemental shock.
He launched the Glacial Shard (Pure) into the closest cluster of Aether-Weavers.
[Glacial Shard (Pure) Activated! Energy -10 (All remaining Energy consumed for activation!)]
The shard exploded in a blinding flash of pure blue, unleashing a localized wave of super-chilling, purifying ice. The Aether-Weavers caught in its radius shrieked, their shadowy forms freezing solid for a horrifying second before shattering like brittle glass, their essences dispersing into harmless mist.
[Aether-Weavers (Corrupted Elemental Mimic) x 15 Neutralized!]
[Experience Gained: 750 XP!]
The momentary disruption gave them the precious seconds they needed. Alex, momentarily drained of Energy, still pushed forward, leaping through the newly cleared path, Verwel a blur at his heels. They plunged into the heart of Zephyr's spiraling Nexus, the air thick with raw, untamed wind and lightning.
The Grey Anchor pulsed before them, a dark, festering wound within Zephyr's untainted essence. It was a physical manifestation of the parasitic corruption, a shard of pure Grey that was slowly consuming and twisting the Guardian's immense power. It pulsed with an insidious gravitational pull, trying to draw Alex into its malevolent core.
He knew what he had to do. This wasn't about brute force. It was about purification. He channeled his Core Resonance, focusing all his intent into Grey Purify, aiming directly at the Grey Anchor. He had to overwhelm its corruption with pure, untainted energy.
[Energy: 0/10 (Initial). Consumed 2 Grey Shards (Minor) - Energy: 2/10]
[Grey Purify Active! Focusing on Grey Anchor (Parasitic)!]
As Alex unleashed Grey Purify, the Grey Anchor pulsed violently, fighting back. Tendrils of dark aether lashed out, trying to ensnare him, to infect his own Core Resonance. Zephyr's uncontrolled roars intensified, the vortex around them growing more chaotic, threatening to tear Alex apart before he could finish.
He pushed harder, drawing on his Mental Fortitude, resisting the corrupting influence. He felt a burning sensation in his Core Resonance, a clash of immense powers. The Grey Anchor began to crack, thin fissures appearing in its dark surface, leaking wisps of untainted energy that were immediately reabsorbed by Zephyr's Nexus.
[Energy: 2/10... 1/10... 0/10!]
Alex poured his very will into the Grey Purify, sacrificing his last reserves. The Grey Anchor shrieked, a soundless scream of pure agony, and with a final, violent tremor, it shattered. Its fragments dissolved into harmless, purified aether, dissipating into Zephyr's Nexus like a dark stain being washed away.
[Grey Anchor (Parasitic) Neutralized!]
[Guardian Alert: Zephyr - Nexus Integrity Stabilized! Core Corruption Purified!]
[Experience Gained: 2000 XP (Guardian Corruption Purified Bonus)!]
The turbulent winds around them began to calm, the chaotic roars of Zephyr subsiding into a deep, powerful hum. The gravitational distortions smoothed out. Zephyr himself, the towering elemental being, slowly began to stabilize, his form coalescing, the shimmering grey chains fading from his ethereal body.
Alex collapsed, utterly drained, but a profound sense of accomplishment washed over him. He had done it. He had helped Zephyr.