The cold night air hit them as soon as they emerged from the ruins, the sharp contrast between the suffocating battlefield below and the open world above almost disorienting. The outpost stood before them, nestled against the mountain like a forgotten relic, its jagged metal structures rusted from centuries of neglect. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. For now, at least, it was a place to breathe.
Elias didn't have time to appreciate it. His gauntlet was still flickering with warning signs, his energy reserves were at critical levels, and his body ached from the last encounter with Arvane. He had pushed himself too hard. Again. But exhaustion could wait. Right now, survival came first.
Marco was the first to break the silence, hunched over his console as he scanned the perimeter. "Alright, let's see… No immediate pursuers, no drones pinging us yet, and—wow—somehow, we're not dead. That's gotta be a personal best."
Lira shot him a look. "Oh, shut up. We're not safe yet."
Reinhardt cracked his neck, looking way too comfortable for someone who just got thrown across a battlefield by an overpowered space wizard. "Let 'em come. I've got energy to burn."
Ivy wasn't convinced. "Maybe let's not invite another fight for once? Just a thought."
Varian, standing slightly apart from the group, ran his hand over the corroded wall of the outpost. His golden eyes studied the old Vanguard insignia barely visible beneath the layers of rust and decay. Elias recognized the look. It was the same one Varian had when he was remembering something painful.
"The past lingers," Varian murmured, almost to himself.
Elias stepped up beside him. "Think we can use this place?"
Varian considered it for a long moment before nodding. "Possibly. If it still functions."
Cecilia sighed. "That's a big if."
Elias turned to Marco. "Tell me you can get the systems running."
Marco cracked his knuckles. "I don't even know what half of this stuff is, but give me an hour, and I'll make it work."
Elias nodded. "Good. Because we need a base. And we need it now."
Everyone spread out, falling into their usual rhythm of making something out of nothing. Marco dove into the outpost's systems, trying to get power running with whatever salvageable parts remained. Ivy and Lira worked on setting up defenses, laying traps at the perimeter in case the Academy found them. Reinhardt and Cecilia went deeper into the structure, looking for anything useful—food, weapons, old Vanguard schematics. Varian remained in the control room, examining whatever archives were still accessible, searching for anything on Project Genesis.
Elias took a breath and focused on his own work. His suit was still running emergency protocols, barely holding together after the fight with Arvane. He linked his gauntlet to the outpost's data core, feeding what little energy he could siphon into its systems to stabilize his armor. He needed more than just repairs—he needed efficiency. Arvane had fought like a force of nature, bending gravity and reality itself. If Elias was going to survive another encounter, he had to be ready.
Lira passed by, watching him work. "So, what, making sure your fancy toys don't explode next time?"
Elias didn't look up. "Making sure I don't die the next time Arvane decides to fold reality on top of me."
She smirked. "Fair enough."
Marco's voice suddenly crackled through the comms. "Hey, boss? You might wanna see this."
Elias frowned but didn't waste time. He followed Marco into the main control room, where old monitors flickered to life, casting a dim glow over the dust-covered consoles. Whatever Marco found had his usual smugness replaced with something much more serious.
"What did you find?" Elias asked.
Marco tapped a few keys, bringing up a grainy video log. The date marking it was centuries old.
A scientist appeared on screen, wearing the old Vanguard insignia. His uniform was crisp, but his expression was grim. He looked exhausted. Desperate.
The man exhaled. "This is Research Log 048. If you are seeing this… then you have found one of our last strongholds."
Elias felt a cold weight settle in his chest.
The scientist continued, his voice quieter now. "The war against the Academy… It was never supposed to be like this. We weren't fighting to conquer. We were fighting to survive."
Marco muttered, "I hate when dead people leave cryptic messages."
The scientist's eyes darted toward something off-screen. In the background, a distant warning klaxon blared. He turned back to the camera, urgency clear in his tone.
"They think they've won. They think they've erased the past. But the real war is still coming."
Elias's breath hitched.
The scientist pressed a final command into his console. "This is the last known location of Project Genesis. If we fail, it falls to those who come after."
The video cut out.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Cecilia finally broke the silence. "Okay. That was ominous."
Lira crossed her arms. "So let me get this straight. The Academy wiped out the Vanguard. And now you're telling me the Vanguard wasn't even fighting them to begin with?"
Varian's expression was unreadable, but there was something dangerous in his eyes. "No. We were fighting something worse."
Ivy frowned. "Then why did the Academy cover it up?"
Elias clenched his fists. "Because if people knew the truth, the Academy wouldn't be in power. They built their rule on erasing history—and now we know why."
Marco pulled up a map overlay, tracing old Vanguard coordinates. "So, uh, where exactly is this Project Genesis vault?"
The screen shifted, highlighting a massive location buried beneath a dead zone far from any known city or Academy outpost.
It pulsed with red.
"Right there," Marco said. "And guess what? The Academy is already moving toward it."
Ivy exhaled sharply. "We need to get there first."
Reinhardt grinned. "Finally, a plan I like."
Lira shook her head. "No, see, this is where normal people don't rush toward the thing marked in ominous red!"
Cecilia smirked. "Good thing none of us are normal."
Elias studied the map, his mind already racing with possibilities. The Academy wasn't going to stop. Whatever was in that vault, it was important enough that the Vanguard had tried to hide it from everyone—including themselves. The real war wasn't between him and the Academy.
It was something bigger. Something older.
And it was coming.
Elias cracked his knuckles, eyes burning with determination. "Then we better get moving."