Chapter 59: The Vault Echoes
Sky City — Engine Snow
The rain had stopped, but Engine didn't notice. His umbrella was still out, spinning lazily in his hand like a toy he no longer needed. From his perch on the outer rim of Sky City's spire, he watched the clouds churn beneath the transparent flooring, their edges crackling with stray currents from the city's defense field.
He'd felt the activation.
The Spiral's pulse had echoed through every layer of the sky-tech infrastructure — like a tuning fork struck by a ghost hand. Not even the encryption buried in the Sky Council's vaults could dampen its signal even for a bit.
He turned as Sonia approached, cloak billowing behind her, tablet in hand.
"You felt it too," she said without preamble.
"Like a forgotten god whispering in my bones," Engine replied.
Sonia tapped the tablet. The screen glowed with a seven-pointed star. "The coordinates we just received match with a defunct orbital grid. Cold storage relay stations. Long since dead... until today."
"Something old just started breathing again," Engine muttered. "And I don't think it's done."
Down World — Rin
The shaking subsided, leaving behind only the eerie sound of ancient mechanisms cooling down.
Hudson lay against the wall, breathing shallow. "This place is… wrong. Too clean. Too awake."
Rin's eyes remained fixed on the map hologram, still floating mid-air. He traced one of the seven spirals with his finger. "It's not a map," he said slowly. "It's a sequence. A circuit. These spirals aren't just locations. They're activation nodes."
"Nodes for what?"
Rin looked at him. "To open something. The Vault of Zero."
Hudson squinted. "That's not a good name."
"No," Rin agreed. "It isn't."
Suddenly, the chamber's exit lit up. A row of embedded lights revealed a passage leading deeper underground.
Rin glanced down at the gauntlet on his arm. New symbols had appeared—ones he hadn't noticed before. One blinked in rhythm, like a heartbeat.
The Spiral had recognized him.
And now, it wanted him to go deeper.
Elsewhere — Voz Territory
Valdo stood in the middle of a ruined church, surrounded by what once had been a rebel safehouse. Burned maps fluttered on the floor. Charred bodies lined the pews.
He wiped blood from the blade in his hand. "Cowards," he muttered.
Behind him, a messenger in cracked armor approached. "Sir. We intercepted a transmission. Fragmented, but…"
Valdo turned, and the soldier hesitated.
"It mentioned Rin."
Valdo's eyes darkened. "From the Down World?"
"Yes, sir. And something else… something called the Spiral."
At that, Valdo paused.
He turned his head slightly, as if listening to something distant. "Bring the message to the twins. Tell them we go hunting."
White Witch's Refuge — Elsa
Elsa stared into the fire. Its flames weren't natural—flickers of silver and blue that cast no shadows. Behind her, the White Witch finished the incantation, eyes dim with the toll it had taken.
"They're awake," the Witch said. "Not just Rin. The others."
Elsa's lips tightened. "What does that mean for us?"
"It means," the Witch said, "your father's war wasn't the final one. It was the first volley. And the Spiral is the second."
Elsa touched the pendant around her neck, once a gift from her brother before the family sold him off. "Rin said he didn't believe in legacy."
"Legacy doesn't care what you believe," the Witch replied. "It only waits."
Meanwhile — Spiral Node 2: Dead Sector 9
Darkness.
Then light.
Not flame, not electricity. Spiral energy — humming and colorless, but alive.
In a chamber far older than the first, a second Spiral activated.
A woman with white braids and artificial limbs stepped forward, her body humming with sync-metal enhancements. Her eyes flashed as the room adjusted to her presence.
Her gauntlet—different from Rin's—extended tendrils of scanning light.
A voice echoed.
"Subject identified. Lineage accepted. Spiral Node Two: Online."
She smiled. "Let's see what secrets you've buried, Rin."
Back with Rin — Sublevel Descent
The tunnel opened into a yawning dome of polished obsidian. Crystal panels ran along the walls, and in the center, a tall spire extended downward into an abyss.
Rin stepped to the edge. He could feel it—energy spiraling around the shaft like invisible wind.
The moment he neared it, the gauntlet flared.
ACCESS GRANTED. ARCHIVAL MODE UNLOCKED.
Suddenly, the entire dome came alive with projected visions.
Seven figures stood in a circle, each cloaked in different robes. Not mages. Not scientists. Something in between. Engineers of fate.
They spoke in unison.
"To those who survive the Fall: we leave you our final key. The Spiral Mechanism will find you. You will not find it."
"Use it well. Or don't. The Vault does not care who opens it. Only that it opens."
The vision faded. Rin stood frozen.
"Why me?" he whispered. "Why now?"
From behind him, Hudson chuckled weakly. "I think you already know."
Elsewhere — Ray and Selina
Ray crouched by a cliffside rail station, engine coils still warm. The Spiral map flickered on his device, showing Rin's transmission locked to a single node.
"He's alive," Selina said behind him. "And deeper in than any of us have gone."
Ray stood. "And he's not alone. Other nodes just came online."
Champa, his arm now bandaged, squinted at the map. "It's spreading."
"Which means," Ray said, "we move. Now. Before the others do."
Selina cracked her knuckles. "Where to?"
Ray pointed at the screen.
"Dead Sector 9."
Final Scene — Vault of Zero, Interior Lock
Somewhere, beyond all reach of light, a cylinder turned.
A cog shifted.
A breath was drawn by something that had no lungs, and never had.
A whisper rang out:
"Second Spiral: Verified. Vault sequence progressing."
To be continued…
Chapter 60: The Vault Teeth (Coming Soon)