The midday sun glinted from low in the sky and touched the quiet village of Willowbrook in golden light. Following their discovery, Kael and Lira stood at the cliff of the crumbling stone walls of the temple they had found. Fringed with moss and ivy, the walls held testimony to tiny faded carvings, the fruits of the passage of time, minting secrets in its wake.
Kael got Starforged Blade strapped across his back and watched the black silhouette over the portal way in front of them. "This place feels... different," he muttered, his voice low.
Lira arched an eyebrow. Such as "This may be the solution", or "We're about to walk right into a death trap", right?
Kael allowed himself a faint smile. "Can't it be both?"
Lira chuckled, drawing her dagger. "Fair enough. Lead the way, star-child."
But within the temple, it was a cool, damp air which, though uncomfortably so, was full of smells of earth and time. Penetrating light rays fell down through the breaks in the joists, bathing the broken sculptures and scattered objects lying on the floor. Kael moved with just a couple of inches of caution, the hum of Starforged Blade radiating from his back like a whispered acclamation to the power within the room.
[Analysis: Celestial Nexus is a prison of the anomalies of rift. Data from history suggests that it was used by the Starborne for gatekeeping the dimension border. Anomalies present. Proceed with caution.]
"Great," Lira muttered, her sharp eyes darting around. "Your system's warnings always make me feel so safe."
Kael shot her a sidelong glance. "I think that's the point."
They reached the chamber's interior, and on the platform in the centre sat a colossal, hemispherical pedestal on which the intricate engraved runes waited. The carvings shined a faint continuous glow the same as the humming of the Starforged Blade. Kael's heart quickened as the system spoke again.
[Structure identified: Celestial Nexus. Purpose: Repository of ancient knowledge. Warning: Activation may trigger defensive protocols. Recommendation: Prepare for engagement.]
Defensive measures," Kael said, with a hint of humour in his voice. Isn't its code a representation of "something" is about to shoot us directly in the forehead?
Lira sighed, twirling her dagger. "At least it's consistent."
One more step forward Kael, approached the pedestals, and the light increasing as he did so. He took hold of his hand and paused, and then, cautiously, stroked the stone's rough surface with the tip of his finger. Out of the chamber the exhale broke, a soft buzz and the luminescence of the runes flared and the moving, altering silhouettes on the wall shimmered.
A soft rumble reverberated through the chamber, and a noise of stone upon stone could be heard. In the circle, Kael and Lira observed, as and the three remaining statues to the right of them along the floor (behind them) and the three remaining statues to the left of them along the floor (behind them) began to move. The once inanimate figures—towering stone constructs with glowing eyes and jagged weapons—came to life, their heavy footsteps shaking the ground.
"Of course," Lira muttered, raising her dagger. "It's never easy, is it?"
Kael indeed carved the Starforged Blade, its shaft radiated with an ethereal light, which left like a beam of light. "System, any advice?"
[Threat assessment: Defensive constructs. Vulnerabilities detected: Core mechanisms located in the chest. Recommendation: Target cores to disable. Host synchronization increased by 2%. Adaptive combat protocol refined.]
Kael looked and placed himself between the constructs and the pedestal. "Aim for their chests," he called to Lira. "That's their weak spot."
"Got it," Lira replied, already moving. She nimbly pulled around the construction site with the usual grace and cut through the fleshy belly of the hulking beast. Sparks flew, her blacksmithing making them men far beyond legal, resistance met resistance, but the craft did not hold, and came to stall.
Kael stood toe to toe with another construct, the Starforged Blade pulsating with force. Evading a sweeping swing of its massive, stony sword, and actions on the system's response arm succeeded, making it run very fast. His hand blade worked precisely, cutting through the arm of the mechanism and penetrating its body at a great depth. Sounds of objects being spoken aloud produced a deep sound and then bang into a pile of rocks.
"One down," Kael muttered, turning to assist Lira. She had broken the spell of the second construct (and its sickly heart turned the earth into a nauseating pallid complexion). On their own, they tested the highest construct, its behavior more violent as it swung a massive mallet in wide arcs.
"We've run out of room here," Lira said, barely getting away when a blow sent the earth she had been standing on to pizza dough.
Kael's gaze darted to the pedestal, an idea forming. "Keep it distracted," he said. "I've got a plan."
Lira winced, rolled her eyes, but in the end complied, sneered the machine as she flew just beyond the machine's view. At the same time, Kael drew an encirclement at the rear of the animal right as blade Starforged illuminated across Kael while absorbing all its power at the base of the blade. He waited and then lunged, driving the blade toward the back of the build. Leach of bearing thrust from the blade impinged into the structure overran its center. With a deafening crack, it crumbled to the ground.
The chamber fell silent, except for the barely audible. whrring of the pedestal. Kael and Lira gazed into each other's eyes and breathed in unison, uneasy breathing, joyous breathing.
"So," Lira said, brushing dust from her armor. "What's next? Another deadly trap? It could be a game we can be switched off and creamed out if we mess up.
Kael chuckled, turning back to the pedestal. "Let's find out."
He placed both hands upon the luminous glyphs and light trapped him. Figures and signs burst into his vision, with pieces of an alien speech sound.
[Accessing celestial archives. Data retrieved. The fall of the star and the rifts are part of an ancient war between the Starborne and the Fallen Ones. The nexus points across the land hold the key to unlocking the full potential of the celestial system and stabilizing the rifts. Warning: The Order of the Veil will try to tap into this power for their own purposes.]
The Society of the Veil tries to harness this power.
Kael staggered back, the vision fading. His mind raced with fragments of the vision. The ancient war, the Starborne, the Veil—it all felt overwhelming. Was he ready now for the weight of this legacy? Lira caught his arm, steadying him.
"What did you see?" she asked, her tone serious.
Kael's expression hardened. "The star, the rifts, the Order... it's all connected. But if we don't knock them out of the game the price will be for the world.
"Okay," Lira smiled–infrequent for years out of the habit of a sneer–but not so dark this time with a hard expression in her eyes," etc. "Then we'd better get moving. However, and the less desirable outcome, if the power is to be seized by the Order that power then must be won by us."
Kael gripped the Starforged Blade with a firm hand in the face of his most steeled will. "Agreed. Let's finish this."
Their fight was far from over.