Chloe moved with practiced precision, adapting instantly to the shifting battlefield. She leaped between floating platforms, her twin plasma rifles humming as she fired mid-air. The bolts streaked toward Magzorha, each shot calculated for impact.
He caught them effortlessly, condensing their energy into a singular black sphere. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled it back at her.
Chloe barely evaded, twisting in midair as the sphere struck the platform where she had been. The structure didn't shatter—it simply ceased to exist.
"What the hell is this guy?" she muttered, breath short, hands steady as she reloaded.
Ethan Reyes saw an opportunity in the chaos. He lunged, an energy blade flickering in his grip, his strike aimed directly at a weak point in Magzorha's armor.
Magzorha didn't bother turning.
With a flick of his wrist, he caught the blade between two fingers. Energy crackled uselessly against his grip.
"Pathetic," he murmured, voice devoid of emotion.
Then, with brutal precision, Magzorha twisted his fingers. The blade—crafted to cut through warship hulls—shattered into dust.
Before Ethan could react, Magzorha's fist crashed into his chest. The force sent him careening backward, slamming into a floating structure hard enough to fracture its surface.
Ethan collapsed, gasping for breath, blood pooling at the corner of his mouth.
Across the battlefield, Maya Patel worked frantically at her portable console, analyzing the rippling distortions around them.
"His connection to Khatia isn't just technological," she shouted. "It's fundamental. He's bending the laws of physics—rewriting them inside this space!"
Gray Nakamura dodged debris as he sprinted between platforms. "So how do we beat something that can literally change the rules?"
Liam Hayes was already working through tactical overlays, scanning energy fluctuations in real-time. "These disruptions aren't random," he said, adjusting his wrist console. "There's a pattern—he's operating within specific frequency shifts. If we disrupt the intervals, we might destabilize his control."
Chloe quickly adjusted her rifle calibration. "So we don't hit him directly," she muttered. "We attack the rhythm of the battlefield itself."
Dr. Emma Forrest stood in the center of the chaos, untouched by Magzorha's control. Her WoodDust energy spiraled around her form, responding not just to her actions, but her understanding. She wasn't fighting him—she was **challenging** his very idea of control.
Magzorha turned fully to face her, no longer indifferent.
"Interesting," he murmured, his gaze cold, detached. "You wield the essence I seek. How… inefficient. Such power, constrained by organic limitations."
Forrest met his stare with unwavering resolve. "You see limitations," she said. "I see life."
Magzorha tilted his head slightly. "Life is disorder. Imperfection. Waste. I have transcended such flaws."
Forrest raised her hands, golden energy threading through the air. "Have you?" she challenged. "Or have you simply forgotten what it means to truly exist?"