Chapter 6: Legacy Protocol
The Vaults of Arcforge Academy whispered in the dark.
Kael, Zaira, Rina, and Idran gathered at their secret meeting place beneath the east wing—an abandoned lecture hall littered with broken projectors and dusty, half-melted arcane glyphs.
On the cracked blackboard, Rina outlined the hidden map from her brother's pendant, connecting the dots to forgotten sectors of Arcforge's subterranean vaults.
"The Kestel Pact ties into the Obsidian Vow," she explained, voice steady despite the turmoil she felt. "My brother uncovered a relic—something critical. It's hidden beneath the academy itself."
"The Obsidian Vow," Ryven repeated thoughtfully from the shadows where he watched. "A secret faction during the Wraithborn War. Loyalists who protected dangerous knowledge."
Zaira frowned. "And if the Wraithborn are stirring again, they'll come for whatever was hidden."
Kael leaned forward. "Then we find it first."
---
The group prepared for the descent. Ryven provided them with encrypted glyph keys, forged documents, and prototype Ether-Resonance suits—sleek armor designed to shield against unstable mana fields.
As they equipped themselves, Kael caught Zaira's eye.
"You ready for this?" he asked quietly.
She smiled, fierce and sure. "Always."
---
Descent into the Forgotten Vaults
The entrance lay hidden behind an abandoned mecha hangar—a disguised service lift that plunged deep into the academy's underbelly. They descended in silence, the only sound the creak of ancient machinery and the low hum of their suits' power cores.
The vaults stretched endlessly below Arcforge's foundations. Towers of machinery older than memory, rivers of suspended mana flowing like ghostly veins through the dark.
Zaira shivered. "Feels like walking inside a giant's tomb."
Kael couldn't disagree.
Their path led to Vault C9—the map's final coordinate. Massive reinforced doors blocked the way, etched with warding glyphs so old they cracked and shimmered with instability.
Rina approached the control panel, pendant in hand. It reacted instantly, projecting a pulse of light into the lock mechanism.
The doors shuddered. Slowly, painfully, they opened.
Inside was a massive chamber, a stasis field flickering weakly at its center.
And floating within it—
A black sphere, covered in shifting arcane inscriptions. Around it hovered fragments of broken Spellmechs, as if orbiting a dead sun.
Ryven's voice crackled over their comms. "That's it. The Wraithcore Primordial. The first generation—before humanity learned to control the Wraithborn energies."
Zaira tightened her grip on her staff. "Why does it feel... alive?"
"Because it is," Ryven said grimly.
---
The Betrayal
A soft click echoed behind them.
Kael spun, hand on his blade's hilt—
And saw Idran, gun drawn.
"I'm sorry," Idran said, genuine regret in his eyes. "I didn't have a choice."
Behind him, a squad of black-armored figures emerged from the shadows—operatives bearing the sigil of the Obsidian Vow.
"Stand down," their leader commanded. She stepped forward, revealing a face eerily familiar.
Rina gasped. "Commander Selene Kestel."
Her aunt.
"You were never meant to find this," Selene said, voice hard. "The Wraithcore Primordial is too dangerous. We've guarded it for generations. And now, thanks to you, it's waking up."
Kael stood protectively in front of Zaira and Rina. "What do you want?"
"To contain it. To prevent the Wraithborn from rising again," Selene said. "But you, Kael... you're an anomaly. You carry the echoes of the Fallen Titan. You and your kind will only accelerate the disaster."
Her soldiers raised their weapons.
"Hand over the relic," she ordered. "Or we end this here."
---
Awakening
Before Kael could reply, the Wraithcore pulsed.
A wave of dark energy blasted outward. The black-armored operatives staggered, glyphs on their suits shorting out. Kael's mind reeled as visions flooded him—the final battle of Halcyon Reach, the fall of the Titans, Zaira's sacrifice.
And one more.
A vision of the future.
The academy in ruins. Mechs twisted by Wraithborn corruption. His friends, dead.
Unless he acted.
"No," Kael growled, forcing himself upright. "I won't let it happen again."
The Wraithcore responded.
It accepted him.
Energy surged into Valkryss, Kael's Spellmech—summoned through sheer will. The mech materialized beside him, its armor reforged in black and silver.
Zaira called forth her own: Astralara, her Spellmech, wings blazing with aetherfire.
Rina gritted her teeth and triggered her mech's emergency summon—a rugged unit, bearing her family's crest.
They stood together against the Obsidian Vow operatives.
Selene's expression twisted with anger and sorrow. "So be it."
---
The Battle for Legacy
Steel clashed with magic. Mechs battled in the confined vault, blasts of aetherlight and shadow ripping through the air.
Kael fought with a precision he didn't know he possessed—ancient instincts guiding every move. Valkryss danced like a predator, carving through enemy mechs with elegant brutality.
Zaira and Astralara fought back-to-back with him, weaving defensive wards and counterattacks.
Rina engaged her aunt directly, their duel brutal and personal.
"You betrayed us!" Rina shouted.
"I protected you!" Selene roared back. "From yourself!"
Their blades clashed, sparks and blood flying.
At the battle's height, the Wraithcore Primordial pulsed again, stronger.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the chamber walls. The vault would not hold much longer.
Kael realized their choice:
If they stayed, they'd all die. But if they left the Wraithcore unsealed, it could fall into the wrong hands.
"Zaira!" he shouted. "Can you lock it down?"
She nodded grimly. "But I need time!"
"We'll buy it."
---
Kael, Rina, and Idran (who had turned against the Vow mid-battle, guilt burning in his eyes) formed a defensive circle around Zaira as she worked.
Glyphs spun from her staff, wrapping the Wraithcore in layers of sealing magic.
The black sphere fought back, tendrils of corrupted mana lashing out. Kael took a hit across the chest—armor cracking—but stayed standing.
Finally, with a cry of effort, Zaira completed the seal.
The Wraithcore collapsed into a dormant crystal, hovering gently in place.
The vault groaned.
"Now!" Kael bellowed.
They grabbed the crystal and fled, the vault collapsing behind them.
---
Aftermath
Back in the Initiative safehouse, the survivors nursed wounds and stared at the crystal sitting innocently on the table.
"We're in deeper than ever," Idran muttered.
Kael smiled grimly. "Good. Means we're getting close."
Zaira placed her hand on the crystal, feeling its dormant heartbeat.
"This isn't just a relic," she said softly. "It's a beacon."
Kael met her gaze. "Then we'd better be ready for whoever's coming."
Outside, the skies above Arcforge darkened. In the far distance, hidden behind layers of spell-barriers, something ancient stirred.
The real war had only just begun.
---
Next: Chapter 7 – Shattered Horizons
The Vault Initiative regroups as Arcforge itself begins to fracture under hidden enemies' attacks. Old alliances will crumble—and new ones must be forged in fire.