The Vault's hollows reverberated with the Sentinel's approach—a vast mass of living metal that pulsed with Hive corruption. Through the reinforced viewport, the team watched its tendrils carve the trench walls as it advanced, each movement releasing shockwaves that rattled the chamber's supports.
Julius tightened his grip on Echelon's blade-arm. "It's trying to collapse the Vault. We need to hold them off."
Brinley checked his ammo: plasma rounds blinking low. "And buy Seraphel time?"
Seraphel stood at the Forge Gate, her form rippling with anticipation. "I'll need at least ninety seconds to synchronize with the Seed."
Vara slotted in an energy baton. "Then I'll keep them busy."
Outside, the Sentinel struck. A massive tendril slammed against the outer hatch, sparking and cracking its surface. The echo sounded like a thunderclap.
Ryka and Sola flanked the Vault's inner walkway, deploying portable shield emitters. Selene braced at the console, hands flying across panels as she rerouted auxiliary power to the Gate's emergency lockdown.
Veyrion loomed behind Seraphel, his vast form a living barricade. "I will hold the breach," he rumbled.
The hatch gave way. The Sentinel twisted through the entrance, a labyrinth of cables and broken plating spanning the chamber's width. Its eye—an orb of burning red—fixed on Seraphel and pulsed a blinding beam of psychic force.
Julius braced, armor flaring to shield his mind. Brinley ducked behind a column as the blast tore through the floor.
"Now, Seraphel!" Julius yelled.
Seraphel pressed her palms against the Forge Gate's surface. Veins of green and violet light snaked across the metal, tracing ancient runes. Echelon's interface flared in her mind.
"Synchronization at fifty percent…"
The Sentinel's tendrils lashed into Veyrion's plating. He held firm, metal groaning, as he grappled with the behemoth. Sparks flew. The Hive machine roared—a sound like a million teeth grinding.
Brinley sprang from cover, firing into the creature's neural nodes, each shot blooming in acidic bursts. Sola followed, sending arcs of bio-electricity crackling along exposed tendrils.
"Seventy percent… eighty-five percent…" Seraphel's voice trembled with effort.
Inside the Gate, the forge's core began to glow. Light pulsed outward, filling the room with blinding brilliance.
The Sentinel let out an unearthly shriek and recoiled—its form convulsing as if in agony. It slammed against the Vault's far wall, leaving a crater in its wake.
"One hundred percent."
The Gate's runes ignited, and the massive door shuddered. A wave of geothermal energy pulsed from within, a resonant vibration that rippled through every fiber of the Vault.
Veyrion gave a final roar and unleashed a cascading shockwave from his colossal fists, fracturing the Sentinel's core plating. The machine staggered, its fractured tendrils spasming. Then, under the Vault's kinetic pulse, it dissolved—metal strands unweaving like rotted cloth.
Silence washed over the chamber. Dust settled. The light faded.
Above the Forge Gate, Seraphel's form flickered. She stepped back, drained but shining with new energy. The Gate stood open, revealing a crystalline seed at its heart—thrumming with possibility.
Julius exhaled. "We did it."
Seraphel met his gaze. "We did this… together."
Outside, the ocean currents shifted. Storms quelled. In the deep trench, an ancient voice pressed against the threshold, silent but watchful—knowing the Seed had awakened.
And somewhere beyond the waves, the next echo of the Hive trembled… uncertain now, because one failsafe had stood its ground.