The mag-rail groaned to life, its ancient engines sputtering for a moment before fully activating. A pulse of energy surged through the dormant system, and the dim tunnel lights flickered awake as the train's power core stabilized. The entire structure shook as the train's mechanisms engaged, and for the first time in centuries, the Vanguard transit system began to move.
Elias exhaled, stepping into the lead car with the others. The control panels were covered in dust, but the interfaces still functioned, displaying real-time data as the train picked up speed. Marco tapped at his console, running diagnostics. "Alright, we're looking good. Train's stabilizing, thrusters are cycling up—we are officially on our way to the Genesis Vault."
Lira leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. "And how long until the Academy realizes we're on their back door?"
Marco checked the external scanners. "Well, assuming they haven't figured out we activated a Vanguard transit system, we might have a couple of hours before they catch on."
Reinhardt chuckled. "Which means we'll have company before long."
Ivy sighed, checking her quiver. "Doesn't it always?"
Elias sat down at one of the control seats, his gauntlet still humming from the fight with the trial warden. The aftereffects of the battle still lingered in his bones, but he pushed through the fatigue. The trial had been a test of leadership—and now, like it or not, the system had recognized him as a Vanguard commander. That came with responsibilities he wasn't sure he was ready for.
Cecilia walked in, watching him for a moment before smirking. "You okay, commander?"
Elias groaned. "Please don't start calling me that."
Cecilia grinned. "What? It fits."
Lira rolled her eyes. "Let him process his existential crisis in peace."
Varian, standing near the window, watched the tunnel blur past. His golden eyes reflected the dim emergency lighting. "The trial warden was no ordinary construct. The fact that it recognized you… That means the Vanguard's old systems still function at some level."
Elias rubbed his temple. "Great. That means I get to inherit a dead civilization's problems, too."
Marco leaned over from the console. "Oh, yeah. Speaking of problems? I've got a new one for you."
Elias looked up. "Do I even want to know?"
Marco turned his screen toward them. A blinking red alert flashed across the interface. "We've got an unknown signal piggybacking on the transit network."
Ivy frowned. "Is it the Academy?"
Marco shook his head. "No. It's not from the surface. It's coming from the tunnels."
Reinhardt's smirk faded. "We're not alone down here."
Elias stood, feeling that familiar tension coil in his gut. "Pull up visuals."
Marco activated the train's forward scanners, and the external cameras flickered to life, displaying the tunnel ahead. At first, there was nothing but darkness. Then—
A shape moved.
It was fast. Too fast.
The image distorted as something large and serpentine slithered through the shadows along the tunnel walls.
Cecilia stiffened. "Tell me that's just a glitch."
Marco zoomed in. "I wish."
Elias clenched his fists. "What the hell is that?"
Varian's voice was calm but firm. "Something the Vanguard failed to contain."
The train lurched, a violent tremor rocking the entire structure as something massive slammed against the side. Sparks erupted from the rail lines, and Marco cursed, gripping onto the control panel.
"We just took a hit! Something's trying to derail us!"
Ivy grabbed her bow. "Then let's make sure it doesn't!"
Lira was already moving. "Where's the biggest gun we have?!"
Elias bolted toward the nearest cargo hatch, pulling open the weapon storage. Inside were old Vanguard railguns, pulse rifles, and experimental gear that had probably been buried for a reason.
He grabbed the biggest one.
"Alright," Elias muttered, hoisting the railgun onto his shoulder. "Let's make some bad decisions."
Reinhardt grinned. "That's the spirit!"
They rushed toward the rear car, where the external ramp led to the side railing. The moment Elias stepped outside, the air whipped around him, the tunnel walls rushing past at blinding speeds. The roar of the mag-rail filled his ears as he braced against the wind.
And then he saw it.
A colossal, biomechanical horror, its body snaking along the tunnel like a nightmare made of steel and flesh. Glowing blue veins pulsed along its metallic exoskeleton, its body covered in twisted remnants of old Vanguard plating—as if it had grown around the ruins left behind.
Marco's voice crackled through comms. "Uh, I think I figured out what happened to the last train that came through here."
Cecilia muttered, "Well, that's comforting."
The creature opened its mouth, revealing a core of swirling energy, and then—
It fired.
A beam of raw arcane force ripped through the tunnel, barely missing the train as Elias dove for cover. The entire rail car shook violently, metal screeching under the impact.
Lira shouted, "WE NEED A PLAN!"
Elias gritted his teeth. "Working on it!"
Reinhardt leaped onto the side railing, his hammer crackling with energy. "I say we hit it until it stops moving!"
Ivy loosed a volley of enchanted arrows, striking the creature's glowing veins, but the impacts barely phased it. The thing was shielded, its body reinforced with ancient tech fused into its hide.
Elias scanned it with his visor, searching for weak points.
There.
A power relay embedded along its spine—old Vanguard machinery, still connected to its nervous system. If he could overload it—
"Lira, Cecilia!" Elias shouted. "Get to its flank! Aim for the spinal relay!"
Cecilia phased out, vanishing into the shadows, while Lira sprinted along the railing, her daggers pulsing with static charge.
Reinhardt charged head-on, slamming his hammer into its jaw, forcing the beast to reel back. Ivy kept up cover fire, drawing its attention away from the others.
Elias lined up his railgun shot.
The creature roared, its body writhing violently, its veins pulsing faster as it prepared another attack.
"NOW!" Elias shouted.
Lira and Cecilia struck simultaneously, their blades piercing into the relay core—electricity surged through the creature's body, its energy matrix destabilizing.
Elias pulled the trigger.
The railgun blast ripped through the air, striking dead center into the exposed relay.
A shockwave of golden light erupted, sending ripples through the entire tunnel. The creature let out one final screech, its body convulsing before—
It collapsed.
Its massive frame crashed against the tunnel wall, sparks flying as the train sped past its falling corpse.
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
Then Marco's voice crackled in. "I… I think we just killed a Vanguard-era experimental war beast."
Lira wiped sweat from her brow. "You mean you didn't know what it was before we fought it?"
Marco scoffed. "Do I ever?"
Reinhardt laughed. "That was fun."
Ivy sighed. "You need therapy."
Elias sat down against the railing, exhaling.
They had survived.
But something about that creature… something about the technology embedded into it unsettled him.
This wasn't just some old experiment gone wrong.
It was a warning.
Whatever was in that vault…
It wasn't meant to be found.
And yet, they were heading straight for it.