Elara's breath hitched, a strangled gasp that mirrored the digital death throes displayed on the terminal screen. The countdown timer, a stark white numeral against a backdrop of swirling chaos, ticked down with relentless precision:

  [T-Minus 00:04:32]

  The figure on the screen, a grotesque mimicry of Anya, swayed towards the portal, its movements jerky and unnatural, as if controlled by invisible strings. The Shadow Weaver's voice, a sibilant whisper of triumph, echoed from the speakers, laced with a perverse delight.

  "Behold, Dimensional Weaver," he rasped, his words slithering into Elara's mind like venomous snakes. "Your creation, your love… now a vessel for my will. A key to unlock the true power of the Deep."

  The portal, its edges shimmering with a dark, malevolent energy, pulsed with a growing intensity. Tendrils of shadow snaked out from its depths, reaching towards the server racks, corrupting their systems, twisting their logic. The room shuddered, the floor vibrating beneath Elara's feet, a prelude to the impending digital apocalypse.

  "I won't let you," Elara snarled, her voice raw with grief and fury. "I'll destroy the portal. I'll sever the connection. I'll stop you, even if it's the last thing I do."

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  She lunged towards the terminal, her fingers flying across the keyboard, a desperate attempt to override the Shadow Weaver's control, to rewrite the code, to reclaim her creation. But the code was corrupted, the system unstable, and the figure on the screen was a constant, agonizing distraction, a cruel reminder of the love that had been so brutally stolen from her.

  The figure, its movements mimicking Anya's grace, yet twisted into something grotesque, reached the edge of the portal. It paused, its head tilting in a macabre parody of curiosity.

  "Such power, Elara," it whispered, the Shadow Weaver's voice emanating from Anya's form. "Such potential. Together, we could reshape reality, bend it to our will. But you chose sentimentality over strength. You chose love over power. A foolish mistake."

  The countdown continued its relentless march:

  [T-Minus 00:03:01]

  Elara's fingers danced across the keyboard, her mind racing, her code becoming more desperate, more reckless. She was throwing everything she had at the problem, ignoring the warnings flashing on the screen, pushing the system beyond its limits.

  "I chose Anya," she screamed, her voice cracking. "And I'd choose her again, even if it means destroying everything!"

  The figure on the screen stepped into the portal, its form shimmering, dissolving into a stream of corrupted data. The vortex pulsed, its darkness intensifying, reaching out to consume the server room.

  "Then perish with your choice, Dimensional Weaver," the Shadow Weaver's voice hissed, a digital death rattle.

  The terminal screen went black. The server room plunged into an eerie silence, broken only by the crackling of electricity and the frantic pounding of Elara's heart.

  [CONNECTION LOST. SYSTEM CORE INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. REBOOT INITIATED.]