The air crackled with tension.
Celestine gripped her obsidian-forged blade, her heart pounding as the Council enforcers flooded into the Nexus Vault. The red glow of security alarms cast eerie shadows across the chamber, illuminating the Architect entity now standing at her side.
The guards hesitated. They had never seen anything like it.
Alistair moved first. With a swift motion, he drew his sword, the gleam of enchanted steel cutting through the dim light. "We don't have time for a standoff."
Elias smirked. "Good. I was getting bored." He threw a pulse dagger, and the first enforcer dropped before he could react.
Chaos erupted.
Celestine lunged forward, her blade clashing against a Council officer's staff. Sparks flew as she twisted, knocking him off balance before driving her knee into his ribs. Another enforcer raised a weapon—before he could fire, the Architect entity moved.
It raised its hand, and the very air around them rippled.
A pulse of raw energy exploded outward, sending the enforcers crashing into the walls. For a brief moment, time seemed to shudder.
Celestine felt it—a flicker of something ancient, powerful, and deeply familiar.
The entity turned to her, its silver eyes gleaming. "The path forward is open."
She didn't have time to question what it meant. More enforcers were coming.
Alistair pointed toward the vault's secondary exit, a heavily reinforced passageway. "That door leads straight into the lower city tunnels. If we can break through—"
"Then we disappear," Elias finished.
Celestine nodded. "Go."
They pushed forward. The Architect moved effortlessly, its form shifting between solid and energy, striking down any enforcers that dared approach.
The secondary exit loomed ahead. But before they could reach it—
A shadow stepped into their path.
Celestine froze.
A figure clad in Council regalia, his long cloak trailing behind him. But unlike the other enforcers, his presence was different.
Dread settled in her stomach.
Alistair tensed. "You."
Celestine knew his name before he even spoke.
Lord Regent Malrik Varos.
One of the highest-ranking members of the Council. And more than that—
The man responsible for the destruction of the Architects.
He smiled, slow and deliberate. "You have no idea what you've just awakened."
Celestine's grip tightened on her sword.
This was no longer just an escape.
This was a declaration of war.