The vial of golden-red blood pulsed in Shia's grip like a second heartbeat, its glow illuminating her face in the fractured darkness of the beacon's core. Time stretched into an excruciating pause as the battle raged around her. The dying screams of soldiers melded with the wet, tearing sounds of corruption taking hold in flesh. Yet all Shia could focus on was Reed's distorted face—half transformed into something alien, half clinging to humanity—and the impossible choice before her.
"Commander!" Krev shouted, his evolved goblin form holding back two corrupted defenders with inhuman strength. "We have no time! The structure is collapsing!"
As if to emphasize his point, a massive tremor shook the chamber. Crystalline growths shattered from the ceiling, impaling one of her elite guards with jagged, blood-red shards. His screams morphed into gurgles as corruption immediately spread from the wound, transforming his flesh before their eyes.
