[Setting: Central Temple Antechamber, Kitezh]
The chamber erupted into absolute chaos. Konstantin, roaring with thwarted rage, engaged Lara's position, while the towering Deathless Commander—clad in gold-laced obsidian armor and wielding a massive, two-handed battle axe—charged straight toward Leo. The very air seemed to vibrate with the furious energy of the ancient warrior.
Leo didn't have time to fully aim The Phantom. He sidestepped the Commander's initial sweeping blow, the ancient battle axe slicing through the air where he'd been a millisecond before. The sheer force of the blow cracked the massive stone floor.
"Lara, focus on Konstantin! I'll hold the line!" Leo yelled, knowing she was the only one who could truly counter Konstantin's rifle and strategic mind.
Lara was already locked in a deadly, focused exchange with the two Elite Commandos and Konstantin. She used the high-caliber fire from Konstantin's heavy rifle to her advantage, diving and rolling, forcing the two Elite Commandos to break formation to avoid their leader's fire. She took advantage of the split-second gap, firing two precision Armor-Piercing Arrows that struck both Commandos in the unarmored lower neck, silencing them instantly.
[Trinity Elite Commandos (2/2) Neutralized!]
Now, it was one-on-one: Lara versus Konstantin, both fighting to reach the Divine Source pulsing on the dais.
Leo, meanwhile, was in a desperate, elemental fight for his life against the Deathless Commander. The Commander's power was monstrous, its armor impervious to Leo's best rounds. Leo realized the warrior was using a very specific, predictable rhythm—a consequence of its ancient, preserved fighting style.
Exploit the lag between swings.
The Commander raised the axe high for a devastating vertical strike. Leo calculated the precise moment, dropping his Phantom rifle to use both hands on his Pry Axe. He met the vertical strike with a desperate, two-handed parry. The axes met with a deafening CLANG! The shock traveled up Leo's arms, threatening to break his bones, but his maximized Strength (21) and Stamina (19) just barely held the line.
The force threw Leo backward, but he used the momentum to slide under the Commander's guard, drawing his combat knife. He stabbed desperately at the Commander's hip joint—a tiny gap in the ancient obsidian armor that his Anatomical Insight highlighted.
The blade found its mark, embedding itself deep in the joint. The Commander bellowed—a horrific, non-human sound—and its movement seized for a crucial half-second.
Leo wrenched his knife free and sprinted for the geothermal vent he had noticed earlier, feeding steam into the antechamber floor. He drove his Pry Axe into the pipe's main pressure valve, twisting it with every ounce of his strength.
A massive column of high-pressure, superheated steam erupted from the pipe, coating the Deathless Commander's face and ancient armor. The steam was not hot enough to melt the armor, but it was enough to momentarily destabilize the frozen, ethereal essence that animated the warrior.
As the Commander stumbled blindly through the steam, Leo seized the opportunity for a final, catastrophic move. He saw the massive, central chandelier hanging precariously above the dais, held by thick, ancient iron chains.
He scrambled onto the wall scaffolding, grabbing the thickest chain. He couldn't climb high enough to break it, so he did the only thing he could: he used his immense strength to swing his entire body weight, repeatedly, violently, against the chain's anchor point.
SNAP!
The chain anchor, already weakened by centuries, finally failed. The massive, iron chandelier—tons of ancient, ornate metal—plunged directly toward the dais.
The Deathless Commander, momentarily cleared of the steam, looked up and tried to move, but its immense size and momentum betrayed it. The chandelier struck the Commander with a devastating, final impact, crushing the gold-laced obsidian armor and sending the massive ancient axe skittering across the floor.
[Deathless Commander Neutralized! - Tier 4 Boss Defeated!]
The Final Showdown
The chamber was suddenly quiet, save for the furious exchange between Lara and Konstantin near the dais.
Konstantin, seeing his final protector destroyed, shifted his full attention to Lara. He abandoned the heavy rifle and drew a large, wicked combat knife, moving with unexpected, manic speed. "You've cost me everything, Lara! The map, the city... I'll destroy you before I take the Source!"
"You'll destroy yourself, Konstantin!" Lara yelled.
The fight between them was brutal, fueled by years of enmity and the ultimate moral conflict. Konstantin was huge, powerful, and driven by fanaticism. Lara was smaller, faster, and driven by trained discipline and ethical clarity.
Konstantin pinned Lara against the dais, his knife aimed at her throat. He was overwhelming her with sheer size.
Leo, recovering his rifle, saw the desperate situation. He couldn't risk a shot; they were too close. He sprinted, drawing his Pry Axe for the final melee.
Just as Konstantin brought the knife down, Lara utilized a desperate, final move. She slammed her heel down hard on the shattered pieces of the ATLAS fragment on the floor. The noise and the sudden impact caused Konstantin to flinch for a split-second.
Lara used the tiny window of opportunity, driving her Grapple-Axe deep into Konstantin's chest armor. The impact was not immediately lethal, but it stunned him. She wrenched the axe free and kicked him backward.
Konstantin stumbled toward the Divine Source, his face a mask of desperation and pain. He reached out one hand, his fingers brushing the crystalline cube.
"I will live! I will be healed!" he screamed.
Leo arrived, tackling Konstantin from behind, driving the man away from the dais. They rolled across the floor, Leo's exhaustion finally catching up to him, but his grip on Konstantin's arms was absolute.
Konstantin, realizing his power and time were gone, looked at Leo with a horrific, final realization. "You... you were the prophet all along! The one to stop the cycle!"
With a primal scream, Konstantin broke free from Leo's grip and lunged not at them, but toward the central column that supported the entire chamber—the True Source of the city's power. He pulled a massive, salvaged seismic charge from his belt.
"If I cannot have it, no one can!" Konstantin screamed, slapping the charge onto the column, his thumb pressing the detonation button. "I will bury you all!"
Leo and Lara sprinted toward the only exit. The entire temple began to shake violently. The final escape had begun.
Chapter End.