Marcus reacted instantly, dropping the array and raising his staff. A shield of blue light formed around them just as the dark energy struck. The impact sent vibrations through the shield, making it flicker dangerously.
"I can't hold this for long," Marcus grunted, strain evident in his voice. "The array—can you modify it to affect the Stalker?"
Alan was already working on it, rearranging crystals with frantic speed. "Its energy signature is fundamentally different—more coherent, more controlled. I need to create a more complex interference pattern."
The Stalker launched another attack, this one causing Marcus's shield to crack visibly. "Quickly, Dr. Chen!"
Alan connected the final wire in his new configuration and placed both hands on the central crystal, pouring all his concentration into activating the modified array. The crystals flared with intense light, and the humming rose to a pitch that was almost painful.
A wave of energy burst outward from the array, different from before—where the previous pattern had been focused and directional, this one expanded in all directions like a ripple in a pond. When it reached the Stalker, the entity seemed to freeze in place, its form vibrating rapidly.
For a moment, Alan thought they had succeeded. Then, with a sound like shattering glass, the Stalker broke free of the effect and dove toward them with frightening speed.
"Run!" Marcus shouted, his shield collapsing as he grabbed Alan's arm, pulling him away from the array.
They barely made it ten steps before the Stalker reached the crystal array. Instead of destroying it, however, the entity hovered over it, seeming to study the configuration. Then, to Alan's horror, it began to absorb the energy from the crystals, drawing it into its core, which grew brighter with each passing second.
"It's using our own energy against us," Marcus said, pulling Alan behind a nearby cart for cover. "This is why Void entities are so dangerous—they learn, adapt, and incorporate."
The Stalker finished draining the array, the crystals now dark and lifeless. Its core pulsed with renewed energy, and it turned toward them with what felt like malevolent intent.
"What now?" Alan asked, his mind racing for a solution.
Before Marcus could answer, a flash of silver-white light streaked past them, striking the Stalker directly. The entity recoiled, its form destabilizing momentarily.
"Move away from it!" called a familiar voice. Lyra Starcrest stood on a nearby rooftop, her hands glowing with the same silver-white energy she had just projected. "It's drawn to complex energy patterns—your device made you a beacon!"
She leapt down with surprising grace, landing near them. "The evacuation is nearly complete. We need to go now!"
The Stalker had recovered and was advancing again. Lyra raised her hands, creating a barrier of swirling silver energy between them and the entity.
"Your magic won't hold it for long," Marcus warned.
"It doesn't need to," she replied, her focus unwavering. "Just long enough for us to reach the forest edge. The trees are warded."
They retreated steadily, Lyra maintaining the barrier as they moved. The Stalker tested it repeatedly, each impact making the silver energy flicker, but it held.
"How did you know to find us?" Marcus asked as they backed toward the forest line visible at the end of the road.
"I followed the energy disruption," Lyra answered, not taking her eyes off the Stalker. "No one in Clayton could have created that interference pattern. It had to be your visitor." She glanced briefly at Alan. "The Academy would be very interested in how an untrained outsider managed that."
"The Academy will have to wait," Marcus said firmly. "Our priority is survival."
They had almost reached the forest edge when the Stalker suddenly rose higher, then dove directly at Lyra's barrier with tremendous force. The silver energy shattered, and Lyra was thrown backward by the backlash, landing hard several yards away.
The Stalker, momentarily disoriented by its own attack, hovered erratically. Marcus rushed to Lyra's side while Alan stood frozen, watching the entity begin to recover and reorient toward them.
In that moment, something clicked in Alan's scientific mind. The Stalker had absorbed the energy from their crystal array, incorporating it into its own pattern. That meant it now contained elements of the interference pattern they had created—a potential weakness.
Acting on instinct, Alan pulled out the single tuning crystal he had kept in his pocket. Focusing his concentration as he had before, he activated it—but this time, he visualized a pattern that would resonate with, rather than oppose, the energy the Stalker had absorbed.
The crystal began to vibrate intensely in his hand, emitting a tone that seemed to cut through the air. The Stalker froze, its form rippling as the sound reached it. The energy at its core began to pulse erratically, as if caught in a feedback loop.
"What are you doing?" Marcus called, supporting a dazed Lyra.
"Creating a resonance cascade!" Alan shouted back, maintaining his focus on the crystal. "If it absorbed our interference pattern, then it's vulnerable to harmonic amplification!"
The Stalker's form was now pulsating wildly, expanding and contracting as the resonance from Alan's crystal forced its absorbed energy to amplify beyond stability. With a silent explosion, the entity burst apart, dissipating into wisps of dark energy that quickly faded.
Alan lowered the crystal, which had grown hot in his hand. He was breathing heavily, as much from the mental exertion as from the adrenaline.
Marcus and Lyra stared at him in astonishment.
"That was... unconventional," Marcus said finally.
"Impossible," Lyra corrected, her violet eyes wide. "No single practitioner should be able to disrupt a Void Stalker, especially not with a basic tuning crystal."