The heart of Xylos was a maelstrom of raw energy, a blinding vortex of light and shattering crystal. Jagged formations spun wildly, propelled by invisible forces, and the air crackled with enough power to fry a planet (probably). Sera, shielded by Bartholomew’s hastily conjured shadow barrier, pressed forward, the heat and pressure intensifying with every step.

  “This place feels… angry,” Bartholomew grunted, his shadow barrier flickering under the onslaught of energy blasts. “Like someone kicked a cosmic hornet’s nest.”

  “More like a cosmic crystal meth lab exploded,” Sera muttered, squinting through the swirling chaos. The Dimensional Scanner in her hand was going haywire, displaying readings that looked less like scientific data and more like abstract art.

  “Thorne, can you hear me?” Sera yelled into her communicator. “I’m approaching the core. Any more brilliant ideas besides ‘disrupt the resonance’?”

  Static crackled in response. “Sera… readings are… unstable… try… counter-frequency… harmonic… oscillation…” The voice dissolved into a burst of static.

  “Harmonic oscillation,” Sera repeated, feeling about as clueless as a goldfish in a sock drawer. “Great. Just great.”

  Then, she saw it. At the very center of the vortex, a colossal crystal pulsed with an unbearable intensity. It was the source of the energy storm, its chaotic rhythm tearing Xylos apart. Tendrils of pure energy snaked outwards, lashing at the surrounding crystal formations like whips of pure light.

  “That’s gotta be it,” Sera said, pointing towards the pulsating crystal. “The cosmic heartbreaker.”

  But getting to it was the problem. The space around the core was a chaotic ballet of energy blasts and razor-sharp crystal shards. Even with Bartholomew’s protection and her own shadow agility, navigating the storm felt like trying to cross a freeway blindfolded on a unicycle.

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  [Environmental Hazard Alert! Extreme Energy Fluctuations! Proceeding may result in spontaneous transmutation into a decorative paperweight!]

  “Well, that’s encouraging,” Sera muttered.

  Then, she remembered the whispers. The shadow tongues that had tried to sway her in Putt-Putt Paradise. They were still there, a faint undercurrent beneath the roaring chaos, but now they felt… different. Less seductive, more… informative.

  The core… responds to resonance… a mirror…

  The fragmented thoughts echoed in her mind. A mirror?

  Sera focused her shadow powers, not to attack, but to perceive. She let her senses expand, reaching out through the chaotic energy, trying to understand the crystal’s rhythm, its fundamental frequency.

  It was a chaotic pulse, a jagged, erratic beat. But within that chaos, Sera could sense a pattern, a fundamental oscillation.

  A mirror… reflect… the chaos… back…

  The whispers grew stronger, clearer. It wasn’t about brute force; it was about understanding the chaotic harmony and reflecting it back at its source.

  Sera closed her eyes, focusing on the chaotic rhythm of the crystal core. She let her shadow powers resonate with it, mimicking its erratic pulse, its jagged beat. Then, with a surge of will, she reversed the flow, projecting a mirrored chaotic energy back towards the core.

  It was like hitting a discordant note in a chaotic symphony. The core shuddered, its pulsating rhythm stuttering. The energy storm around them flickered, its intensity momentarily waning.

  [Environmental Interaction Bonus! Chaotic Reflection Initiated! The Crystal Core is Temporarily Disrupted!]

  “Now, Sera!” Bartholomew roared, his shadow barrier straining but holding. “While it’s stunned!”

  Sera didn’t need to be told twice. Propelled by a surge of adrenaline and a desperate hope, she launched herself towards the core, her shadow powers swirling around her like a chaotic shield.

  The core pulsed again, unleashing a blast of raw energy. But this time, Sera was ready. She channeled the reflected chaos, meeting the core’s attack with its own fractured rhythm. The two chaotic energies collided, creating a feedback loop, a destructive harmony that caused the core to groan and crack.

  With a final surge of shadow power, Sera slammed into the core. The crystal shrieked, its blinding light flickering and dying. The chaotic energy storm around them dissipated, leaving behind an eerie silence and the faint scent of ozone and shattered dreams.

  Xylos was still there. Broken, but not destroyed.

  And Sera had a very bad feeling about what that meant for Bumblebrook.