Silence hung in the air.
Kain studied the blueprints on the screen, his pulse steady but his instincts screaming. Everything about this was wrong.
The vault wasn't just big—it was ancient. Layers of security systems, some more advanced than anything he'd ever seen, others so old they looked prehistoric.
And beneath it all… something moved.
The Architect tapped the screen again, zooming in on the vault's core.
"There's a chamber at the very bottom. That's where it's kept." His voice was calm, but there was something behind it—something carefully restrained. Fear.
Kain crossed his arms. "What are we dealing with?"
The Architect exhaled. "Something that was never supposed to wake up."
The Wraith scoffed. "Yeah, you said that already. What is it?"
The Architect studied them for a long moment, then…
He smiled.
And that's what made Kain's stomach sink.
He wasn't smiling out of amusement. He was smiling because he didn't think they'd make it back.
---
The Lower Levels
The elevator groaned as it descended, old gears grinding in protest. The walls around them were thick—reinforced steel, laced with something stronger.
Kain checked his belt. No weapons.
The Architect had returned their basic gear, but anything lethal? Gone.
The Wraith leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "He didn't tell us everything."
Kain nodded. "Of course he didn't."
They were being thrown into a sealed-off vault with something dangerous. The Architect needed them alive—but for how long?
A flickering red light illuminated the control panel. Floor numbers ticked downward.
-21… -22… -23…
Kain checked his comms. No signal.
The further they went, the colder it became. The air turned heavy, like something unseen was pressing against their lungs.
The Wraith shifted. "Feel that?"
Kain nodded. He felt it.
Not just the temperature drop—the pressure. The weight of something watching.
The elevator slowed. A mechanical voice crackled to life.
"LEVEL 25. SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED."
A pause. Then, the doors creaked open.
---
The Forgotten Chamber
The hallway stretched before them—dark, lined with broken lights, wires dangling from the ceiling. A thin mist clung to the floor, pooling around their boots.
Kain's fingers twitched toward where his gun should have been.
The Wraith exhaled. "Stay close."
They moved forward.
The deeper they went, the worse the air became. Not just cold—wrong. Like it had been left untouched for centuries.
And then… they saw it.
The vault door.
Massive. Layers of metal and arcane-looking symbols carved into its surface.
And in the center…
A crack.
Thin, barely noticeable—but pulsing with something dark.
The Wraith whispered. "That wasn't in the blueprints."
Kain took a step closer. He could feel it now. A hum beneath his skin.
The vault wasn't just broken.
It was bleeding.
And whatever was inside… was awake.