The silence after the battle was almost worse than the fight itself. The Sentinels remained motionless, their golden eyes dimmed, their massive frames still bowed in submission. The air felt thicker, the weight of the past pressing down on them as Elias took a slow step forward, his gauntlet humming softly with residual energy.
The door ahead was fully open now, revealing a deep corridor stretching into darkness. Unlike the rest of the ruins, which were cracked and worn by time, this passage was pristine, untouched by decay. The walls were lined with symbols that pulsed faintly, reacting to their presence.
Lira flipped her dagger between her fingers, exhaling. "Alright. I don't like this. I'm just putting that out there."
Reinhardt crossed his arms. "You don't like anything."
"I like plenty of things," Lira shot back. "Not creepy ruins that literally welcomed us inside."
Cecilia smirked. "She's got a point. If statues start bowing when you walk into a room, either you're royalty, or you've just triggered something really bad."
Elias didn't argue. His instincts told him the same thing.
Varian, still studying the frozen Sentinels, finally spoke. "They did not see us as intruders."
Ivy frowned. "Then what did they see us as?"
Varian met Elias's gaze. "They saw him."
Silence.
Elias clenched his fists, his mind racing. The Vanguard Core inside him had reacted to the ruins, had synchronized with something older than the Vanguard itself.
But what?
Marco, who had been typing furiously into his console, finally cursed under his breath. "Okay, so remember how I was tracking the Academy? I have really bad news."
Reinhardt sighed. "Of course you do."
Marco pulled up a holo-projection. The Academy's forces had changed direction. They weren't just approaching the Ruined Depths anymore.
They were heading directly for the vault.
"Looks like Arvane wasn't just here for fun," Marco muttered. "He stalled us long enough for reinforcements to mobilize."
Lira groaned. "Oh, I hate that guy."
Elias tightened his grip. "How long?"
Marco's glasses flickered as he recalculated. "A few hours. Maybe less if they push their engines."
Ivy adjusted her quiver. "Then we need to move. Now."
Varian nodded. "Agreed. We cannot allow the Academy to uncover whatever lies within this vault."
Elias turned to the massive passage ahead. There was no more time for hesitation. Whatever secrets lay inside, whatever answers waited in the darkness—they had to get there first.
With a final breath, Elias stepped forward, leading his team into the unknown.
The corridor stretched endlessly, its smooth stone walls lined with strange metallic inlays, almost like circuitry. The symbols that pulsed along them weren't just decorative—they were guiding them, responding to their presence like a living system awakening after centuries of dormancy.
Marco's scanner beeped. "Energy readings just spiked again. The deeper we go, the stronger the signal."
Cecilia ran a hand along the wall. "This place doesn't feel abandoned."
Varian's expression was unreadable. "Because it is not."
Elias exhaled. "Then what is it?"
Varian glanced at him. "A tomb. A sanctuary. A weapon."
Lira muttered. "Those are all very different things."
Varian didn't answer.
The passage finally opened into a vast chamber, one so large that the ceiling was lost in shadows. Towers of black stone lined the sides, reaching toward the sky like fingers of a forgotten god. At the far end, embedded into the very rock itself, stood a massive throne.
And sitting upon it—
Was a body.
No—a figure encased in armor.
The armor was gold and black, similar to the old Vanguard design but more intricate, more advanced, covered in runes that still flickered with energy. The figure sat perfectly still, hands resting on the arms of the throne, head bowed slightly as if it had been waiting for eternity.
Reinhardt exhaled. "Okay. That's a dead guy, right? Please tell me that's a dead guy."
Marco checked his scanner. "...I don't know."
Ivy tensed. "What do you mean you don't know?"
Marco shook his head. "Because there's no life sign. No biological reading at all. But…" He hesitated.
Lira narrowed her eyes. "But what?"
Marco's voice was quiet.
"But it's watching us."
The words barely left his mouth before the figure moved.
A slow, deliberate motion, lifting its head.
The golden eyes beneath the helmet flickered to life.
A voice, deep and resonant, echoed through the chamber.
"Who seeks the throne of the Forgotten Kings?"
The team froze.
Cecilia muttered, "Oh. That's bad."
Elias stepped forward. His armor felt heavy, the Vanguard Core pulsing in rhythm with the throne.
"I am Elias Graham," he said, his voice steady. "And I came for answers."
The figure studied him. There was no hostility in its gaze, only something… measuring.
Then it spoke again.
"You are not of this world."
Elias clenched his fists. "No."
The figure tilted its head. "Yet you hold the Core."
Elias nodded. "I do."
Silence. Then—
The figure slowly stood.
The movement sent a pulse of energy through the chamber, shaking the very ground beneath them.
Varian's eyes widened. "Elias, step back."
Elias didn't move. "Tell me who you are."
The figure gazed down at him. "I am the last of the Forgotten Kings."
A pause.
Then the golden eyes narrowed.
"And you are not worthy."
The air exploded.
Elias barely had time to react before the throne room became a battlefield. The armor-clad figure moved faster than humanly possible, crossing the distance between them in a single step.
Elias raised his gauntlet, but the force of the impact sent him flying backward, crashing into a pillar. His suit's energy flickered, his vision momentarily blurring.
Ivy fired an arrow—the figure deflected it without looking.
Reinhardt charged, swinging his warhammer with all his strength.
The figure caught it mid-swing.
And then threw Reinhardt across the chamber like he weighed nothing.
Lira dashed forward, her daggers flashing—only for her blade to be blocked by an invisible force. She twisted away just in time to avoid a counterstrike that shattered the floor where she had been standing.
Marco shouted into comms, "Elias! Whatever that thing is—it's running on a power source older than anything we've ever seen!"
Elias gritted his teeth, pushing himself to his feet. His gauntlet flared as he prepared another strike.
The figure turned toward him.
"Prove yourself."
Elias exhaled.
And then, with every ounce of strength, he charged.