The descent into the Lower Vaults began with silence — not the kind born of peace, but the kind that crept in when something else had already devoured the sound. The stone corridors, once adorned with ceremonial markings, were now marred by claw gouges and melted metal. Something had passed through here… and it hadn't been mortal.
Indra led the way, stormlight faintly pulsing from the runes along his arms. His footsteps echoed with purpose, but his heart beat with wariness. The Sigil was whispering again, not words — but warnings. An ancient rhythm that vibrated through the bones of the world itself.
Kaelari followed closely, her blades drawn, eyes scanning every shadow. Behind them, the rest of the newly expanded party — a mute monk named Ruvyn, who never blinked; Mirala, a conjurer whose left arm had been replaced with a crystalline parasite; and Harth, a soldier with a mechanical heart and a grudge against the East — moved in eerie coordination. Each had their secrets. None had earned full trust.
As they crossed into a cathedral-like chamber hollowed from blackstone, a strange phenomenon took hold — gravity twisted, pulling at their limbs, distorting their balance.
Mirala gasped. "We've crossed into a distortion field. This was tampered with… deliberately."
Ruvyn gestured in silence, fingers tracing the symbol of the Old Tongue: "Beware."
Suddenly — movement.
From the ceiling — long, insectoid limbs unfurled from the stone itself, its body camouflaged until it struck. The creature — a Vault Crawler, born of ancient alchemical sin — dropped into the center of the group, its obsidian carapace refracting their attacks like glass.
It lunged at Indra with bladed arms that shrieked through the air.
CLANG!
The impact flung Indra backward. He landed hard, ribs aching, but the Thunderheart pulsed, flooding his system with surging storm-light. He rolled to his feet, storm energy crackling along his shoulders.
"Kaelari—high left!"
Kaelari was already in motion, flipping off a pillar and slashing the beast across its flank — sparks flew, but it wasn't enough to pierce the armor. The Vault Crawler hissed, split its jaw into four, and emitted a scream so high-pitched it shattered nearby crystals.
Mirala threw up a barrier, but the sound punched through, blood trickling from her nose. Ruvyn moved faster than anyone had ever seen, a sigil of silence blooming across the floor as he drove twin iron needles into the creature's thorax.
"Now!" Indra roared, the Storm Veil enveloping him fully.
He became a streak of light — faster than thought — charging forward with both fists crackling. As he neared, he activated Skyshatter Pulse, a new ability unlocked after the Revenant battle — raw storm energy compressed into a concussive shockwave.
His fists met the creature's chest.
BOOM!
The resulting blast liquified the Vault Crawler's internal matter in a burst of light and screeching static. The creature collapsed in spasms, its limbs twitching before dissolving into obsidian shards.
Everyone stood still. Breathing hard. Listening.
But the silence wasn't empty now. It was… breathing.
From the far end of the vault, a sealed hexagonal door began to glow. Ancient runes lit one by one, recognizing the blood spilled, the power released.
Kaelari narrowed her eyes. "That door… wasn't marked on any of the maps."
Ruvyn signed: "Forbidden Chamber."
Mirala frowned. "Something down here was meant to stay buried."
Indra approached the door. The sigils on his body flickered erratically, responding not to threat — but kinship. As if something behind that door knew him. Was waiting for him.
He placed a hand on the door.
Whispers slithered into his mind — not in language, but in memory.
A scream. A seal. A child.
His father's voice: "You are not ready."
The door cracked open.
Beyond it — darkness. And in that darkness, an altar.
Upon it, suspended in air, another Sigil fragment — but corrupted, pulsing red and black. Twisted. Breathing. Alive.
Kaelari stepped forward. "What the hell is that?"
Indra stared, stormlight flickering along his fingers.
"…A mistake," he whispered.
"A part of me… that shouldn't exist."