[Setting: Central Temple Antechamber, Kitezh - Seconds after Seismic Charge Activation]
The final moments within the Central Temple were not a battle, but a frantic, deafening collapse. The seismic charge Konstantin had detonated sent continuous, devastating tremors through the bedrock, causing the massive, centuries-old ice and stone structure to tear itself apart. Leo and Lara were thrown against the heaving floor, the air thick with pulverized dust and the shriek of metal and groaning rock. The only light was the frantic, terminal blue pulse of the Divine Source on the dais.
Leo, always the first to react physically, fought the vertigo and the pain of impact, snatching up The Phantom rifle. He saw Konstantin, bloodied from Lara's previous strike, scramble toward the main support column, his eyes blazing with a horrifying blend of pain and zealotry.
"He's going to ensure nothing remains! We have to get to the Source, Lara!" Leo roared, his voice nearly lost in the geological storm.
Lara was already moving, but her focus was not on the crumbling exit, but on the crystalline cube. "The Source is reacting to the destruction! If that power is unleashed when the city breaks, the energy surge will be catastrophic, Leo! We must seal it!"
A shadow separated itself from the falling debris behind the dais. It was Jacob, the Prophet. He was gravely injured, likely having been caught in an earlier skirmish with Konstantin's men, but his ancient eyes, though full of sorrow, were completely lucid. He moved with a terrible, slow purpose toward the pulsing artifact.
"Lara!" Jacob commanded, his voice unnaturally clear, carrying over the roar of the collapse. "You must hear me!"
Konstantin, seeing Jacob, shrieked one last time, pulling his large combat knife. "Get away from it, old man! You failed centuries ago, you fail now!"
Jacob ignored the physical threat, his eyes fixed on the Source. "The ritual is broken, but the power itself remains volatile! Lara, the cold warrior who stands with you..." He glanced at Leo, acknowledging the silent, formidable presence. "...must protect you. The Source must be neutralized. This is the only way to save my people."
Konstantin lunged, tackling Jacob. The two men, representing the opposing sides of the millennium-old conflict—the faithful guardian and the fanatical usurper—crashed to the collapsing stone floor, struggling violently in the blue light of the artifact.
Leo, seeing the intimate, deadly brawl, knew a direct shot would risk hitting Lara's essential ally. He aimed The Phantom with pinpoint accuracy at the heavily rusted support chain of a massive, decorative iron ceiling fixture. The chain snapped, and the tons of ornate metal crashed down, narrowly missing both men, but forcing a separation.
Konstantin, pinned momentarily and realizing he was defeated in every way—the map destroyed, the Prophet active, and the temple falling—made a final, tactical retreat. He broke free, scrambled over the broken fixture, and plunged into a fissure, escaping into the pitch-black subterranean tunnels. His survival instinct had, for the moment, overruled his fanaticism.
Jacob lay crushed beneath the heavy fixture, his ancient body broken by the force of the fall. Lara rushed to him, frantically attempting to heave the metal off his chest. "Jacob! We need to move! Please!"
Jacob looked up at her, a profound look of peace finally settling on his face. "No, Lara. My journey ends here. The freedom I have desired for so long is finally within reach." He gripped her hand, his remaining energy focused entirely on this final message. "My immortality... it is a tether to this city and this crystal. If I escape, the Source will merely lie dormant, waiting for the next fanatic to find it. I cannot allow my people to live under that eternal threat."
He looked past her again at Leo, his voice strengthening with authority. "Warrior. The strength you possess must now guard her. Her spirit is the key." He turned back to Lara, his final will absolute. "You must touch it. The Divine Source will attempt to heal the injury, but if you, the outsider, channel that power back into the crystal, it will consume its own essence. It will destroy the curse it created."
Jacob gave a sudden, shuddering exhale, the light fading from his eyes. "I am... free."
The deep wound on his side, which had always closed instantly due to the Source's healing power, remained open, mortal, and final. Jacob, the Prophet, was dead. The burden of a thousand years had been shed.
The ground beneath them gave way with a sickening groan. A massive section of the ceiling, hundreds of tons of ice, detached and crashed nearby.
"Leo! Now! There's no time left!" Lara screamed, pushing herself to the stone table.
Leo moved instantly, shielding her position, ignoring the spray of rock dust and the threat of the total collapse. He kept his rifle ready, covering the area against any final Trinity ambush.
Lara placed her hand on the Divine Source.
A blinding white light erupted, filling the entire, crumbling chamber. It was not a violent explosion, but a sudden, terrifying implosion. The energy of the crystal was violently drawn inward, consuming its own core power. The light vanished as quickly as it appeared. The crystal on the dais went instantly dull, opaque, and lifeless—a mere piece of stone.
The Divine Source was neutralized.
The consequences were instantaneous and devastating. The subtle, ancient stabilization the Source provided to the city was gone. The geological pressure from the glacier above was immediately unleashed.
The floor beneath them bucked violently, throwing Leo and Lara against the wall. The entire temple began to shear apart.
"Get out! Now!" Leo grabbed Lara, pulling her toward the maintenance shaft exit as the dais and the inert Source plunged into a massive, bottomless chasm.
They fell into the vertical shaft, buffeted by freezing water and chunks of falling debris. Leo fought for every inch of control, securing his grip on Lara and forcing his descent. He found a temporary, small anchor point and slammed his body against a pipe, forcing a moment's stability. He reached for his radio.
The signal was faint, but a voice cut through: Sofia, sounding strained and terrified.
"Leo! Lara! The mountain is swallowing the valley! We are trying to climb, but the path to the main tunnel is gone! We're pinned down by Deathless that somehow survived the flood! What is happening?"
Leo fought to maintain his composure, shouting into the transmission. "Sofia, listen! The city is gone! The Deathless cannot survive the seismic damage—they will be crushed! Your focus is survival! Climb the North Ridge! Use the back paths to the Abandoned Mines! Get your people out of the valley floor! The mountain will win!"
"I understand! We are moving! We will not fail him!" Sofia's voice cracked with a fierce, final resolution.
Leo's grip on the radio was lost as the pipe he was using as an anchor snapped. He and Lara plummeted into the darkness, slamming into the flooded maintenance room where Ana was waiting. The final phase of the escape had begun—a brutal, cross-country flight across a dying mountain, racing to meet the allies who were now depending entirely on them.
Chapter End.