The wind howled as the Crimson Rebellion moved—no longer a scattered band of survivors, but a rising army of the damned. With Elias now bearing the mantle of the Bloodbound Sovereign, the very land bent to their cause.
And ahead of them, hidden beyond the Obsidian Ridge and cloaked in divine shrouds, awaited the Prime Vault.
The final bastion of the old system.
The origin of everything he now sought to destroy.
---
A Night Before the War
Inside the ruins of an old sanctuary, flickering torches threw shadows against blood-cracked walls. Elias stood alone in the war chamber, his hand resting on the black crystal embedded in his chest. His reflection stared back in the obsidian mirror—more demon than man now.
He heard footsteps.
It was Myra.
"You haven't slept."
"Can't," Elias replied, eyes fixed on the red mist seeping from his fingertips. "Every time I close my eyes… I see it."
"The Vault?"
"No. The Creator Protocol. It's awake. And it's hunting."
