The path to the Ivory Spire was treacherous.
Nestled deep within the Ashen Expanse, a region scarred by ancient Nexus ruptures, the land rippled with unpredictable pulses of temporal distortion. Aiden's team moved carefully—avoiding sinkholes where time accelerated uncontrollably and patches of frozen terrain where even light moved sluggishly.
Each hour brought them closer to the edge of comprehension—and deeper into Nexus influence.
[Zone Transition: Outer Perimeter – Ivory Spire Wastes]
Warning: Class-5 Temporal Flux Detected
Calibrating: Chrono-Stabilizer Core... Success.
"System says we're holding stable, but the distortions are increasing," Aiden muttered, adjusting the stabilizer belt on his waist.
Kaela nodded, her fingers wrapped tightly around her staff. "The flow of mana here is twisted. Ancient, but still active."
Brant eyed the desolate horizon, where crumbled towers jutted like broken teeth from the earth. "Looks like a graveyard. This the place?"
Aiden's visor displayed a shifting overlay. A massive construct lay ahead—half-sunken into the fractured terrain. Obsidian walls formed a vertical labyrinth, spiraling toward a central spire, scorched white by constant exposure to raw energy.
"The Ivory Spire," Aiden confirmed. "Once a research fortress for pre-collapse Wardens. Nexus interface cores, relic weapon schematics, and if the rumors are true… direct archives from the Nexus Seed itself."
They approached the gate—a monolithic arch fused with crystalline nodes. Glyphs sparked as they neared, scanning each of them.
[Warden Signature Detected: Active]
[Identity: Aiden Rael – ChronoForge Variant]
[Authorization Level: Provisionally Accepted – Access Granted]
The door split with a low hum, revealing a tunnel that led downward, carved in clean geometric lines.
As they entered, the air thickened. Kaela's breath caught.
"It's humming… like something is alive."
Brant grunted. "Reminds me of the Nexus chamber, only worse."
Inside, data nodes flickered along the walls. Holographic interfaces tried to boot, stuttering as they attempted to connect with a fractured grid. Aiden accessed a nearby console, plugging in his gauntlet's uplink.
[Connecting to Archive Core...]
[Recovered Data Shards: 21%]
[Primary Query: RED ECLIPSE PROJECT]
Kaela leaned over. "Can you access it?"
"Just barely," Aiden said. "There's partial data on… subjects. Test groups labeled under WARDEN-TIER PROTOTYPES. Nullmark's file is here—but heavily redacted."
[Subject: Designation Nullmark – Status: Escaped]
[Nexus Alignment: Inverted – Chrono-Link Severed]
[Directive: Erase/Exile]
"Severed?" Brant asked. "What does that mean?"
Aiden frowned. "His connection to the Nexus was forcefully removed… or rewired. He's not just a rogue. He's something else. A Warden outside the Nexus flow."
A tremor ran through the ground. Dust fell from the ceiling.
A second later, a synthetic voice echoed through the corridor.
"Unauthorized Access Detected. Initiating Security Protocol Sigma-Seven."
Kaela's eyes widened. "Aiden, did you trigger something?"
"No," he said, scanning frantically. "It's not me. Someone else is accessing the system."
The walls lit up with red veins—energy flowing through conduits long thought dormant. Far above, at the very peak of the spire, a beacon ignited.
And something woke.
[System Alert: Echo Construct Online – Classification: Apex Guardian]
A massive figure dropped from above, landing with seismic force.
It was armored in gleaming ivory plates, etched with golden circuitry. A twelve-foot warform, humanoid in shape but inhuman in presence, eyes glowing like miniature suns.
A relic guardian.
[Designation: Argent Warden – Apex Model]
[Directives: Protect Core Archives | Neutralize Trespassers]
"Back!" Aiden shouted. "Kaela, deploy a spatial seal!"
Kaela raised her staff, glyphs expanding outward in a spherical bloom. A translucent dome formed around them, slowing the approach of the guardian.
[Skill Activated: Veil of Radiant Flow]
[Temporal Interference: -30% Hostile Speed]
"Brant, hammer the legs—bring it down!" Aiden darted left, drawing its attention. He hurled a Chrono-Shard, which exploded against the guardian's chest with a pulse of kinetic disruption.
The relic staggered slightly, then raised a cannon-like arm. A beam of compressed energy blasted toward them—ripping the hallway behind them to molten slag.
"Too strong to fight head-on," Aiden gritted. "We need to outmaneuver it."
Kaela's seal began to crack.
Brant roared, charging again. His hammer struck the joint at the guardian's knee, causing sparks to shower. The construct reeled—
—and Aiden saw his chance.
He dove beneath the relic's arm, slapped a beacon onto its chest, and activated it.
[Skill: Reversal Beacon – Echo Loop]
[Target Will Be Caught in Chrono Feedback Loop (5s)]
The guardian froze—caught in a temporal loop.
Kaela used the brief moment to expand the archive interface.
[Security Override: Relic Admin Key Required]
[Status: Fragment Detected – Core Below]
"There's an admin key in the lower levels," Kaela said breathlessly. "We can't get full access until we have it."
Aiden grabbed her arm. "Then we go down."
They fled through the corridor, the loop ending behind them as the Argent Warden began pursuit again—lumbering, but relentless.
Down the spiral stairs they ran, deeper and deeper into the belly of the Spire. Past rusted chambers, past broken cryo pods, past walls where half-formed constructs were fused with data cores.
And at the bottom—they found it.
A small chamber. A console surrounded by six floating glyph-stones, each etched with Warden sigils.
At its center, a crystalline node pulsed with faint light.
[Red Eclipse Command Node – Access Fragment: PRESENT]
[Insert Key to Unlock Deep Archive]
Aiden reached into his gauntlet and withdrew the shard he took from Nullmark's energy burst.
He hesitated. "This… might link us directly to the others."
Kaela met his eyes. "Then let's see who we're really up against."
He inserted the fragment.
The node lit—flaring to life.
And for the first time, Aiden saw it.
Seven Warden avatars, each cloaked in energy, flickering across the screen.
Nullmark.
A serpentine woman surrounded by entropy flames.
A towering brute of magnetized armor.
A cloaked figure of shifting data.
Three more… obscured by interference.
[Red Eclipse – WARDEN NETWORK ONLINE]
[Directive Update: Subject Aiden Rael – Reclassification: ACTIVE THREAT]
Aiden's stomach dropped.
"They know we're here."