"ROYAL RESONANCE DETECTED."
The voice rolled through the chamber.
For one breath, no one moved.
Then Virelith answered.
The floor beneath Kael's boots split with a deafening crack.
Roots burst upward.
Not toward him.
Away from him.
They tore through broken stone and raced across the chamber, forming walls between the scattered intruders. Ancient machinery unfolded from the ceiling. Green lights flashed open along the walls.
Everywhere Kael looked—
something was waking.
And everything was crimson.
The towers visible through the broken arches had changed color.
The thin lines running through the roots no longer glowed green.
Crimson light pulsed beneath them.
Once.
Twice.
Like blood moving through a living body.
Kael stood at the center of it all.
Stormfang was still in his hand.
Crimson lightning crawled over the blade.
"Kael!"
Elaris's voice reached him.
Distant.
Wrong somehow.
He turned.
She stood several steps away, one hand raised toward him.
Roots coiled around her boots.
Kael stared at her.
Something moved behind her.
Dark shapes.
Enemies.
Danger.
His grip tightened.
"Move."
Elaris frowned.
"What?"
"Move."
Crimson lightning struck the floor beside her.
The explosion tore through the stone.
Elaris jumped back.
"Kael!"
He barely heard her.
A black-armored intruder rushed through the smoke.
Kael lifted Stormfang.
The lightning came down.
KRAAAAAASH.
The intruder vanished beneath the crimson blast.
When the light disappeared, nothing remained but a smoking mark across the floor.
Silence followed.
Xyren slowly lowered his scanner.
"...That was excessive."
Kael turned toward him.
The crimson storm around Stormfang rose.
Xyren's expression changed.
"Actually, forget I said anything."
Another intruder emerged from behind a collapsed sentinel.
Then another.
Kael moved.
He didn't remember deciding to.
One moment they were across the chamber.
The next—
Stormfang was already cutting through the air.
Crimson lightning exploded.
The first soldier was thrown backward.
The second raised a dark barrier.
Kael struck it once.
The barrier shattered.
A second strike sent the intruder crashing through the remains of an ancient wall.
The storm followed.
It didn't stop when Kael stopped.
Lightning tore across the chamber.
Roots caught fire.
Ancient machines scrambled away from the spreading crimson energy.
Elaris stared.
"Kael!"
This time he heard her.
He turned slowly.
She was walking toward him.
Xyren grabbed her arm.
"Are you serious?"
She pulled free.
"Let go."
"Elaris, he just vaporized someone!"
"He's still there."
Xyren looked at Kael.
Crimson lightning crawled across Kael's arm.
"I'm not completely convinced."
AURIXA moved toward one of the ancient panels.
Its surface had split open.
Lines of green and crimson light raced beneath her fingers.
"Defensive sectors are unstable."
Xyren glanced toward her.
"Can you fix them?"
"I am trying."
The panel flashed.
AURIXA's eyes narrowed.
"No."
"What?"
"The system is rejecting my command."
Another explosion shook the chamber.
A dark blast struck one of the ancient sentinels.
The machine staggered.
Xyren instinctively raised his scanner.
The screen activated.
He froze.
"I didn't—"
Thin symbols poured across the display.
Then an ancient console beside him came alive.
DEFENSE COORDINATION LINK ESTABLISHED.
Xyren stared.
A sentinel across the chamber turned its head toward him.
Its green eyes burned.
Xyren slowly lowered his hand.
The sentinel moved.
So did his hand.
The machine copied the motion.
Xyren stopped breathing.
Kael wasn't looking.
Elaris was still watching him.
But AURIXA turned.
"Xyren."
He pointed at the sentinel.
"I didn't do that."
The sentinel suddenly raised its arm.
A blade of pale energy formed along its wrist.
Three intruders charged from the opposite side.
Xyren threw both hands upward.
"WAIT—"
The sentinel attacked.
One intruder went flying.
Another was forced behind a root wall.
The third barely escaped as the blade cut through the floor.
Xyren stared at his hands.
AURIXA stared at him.
Elaris glanced over her shoulder.
"Xyren... did you do that?"
"No."
The sentinel turned toward him again.
Xyren pointed at it.
"No. Don't look at me like that."
The machine tilted its head.
Xyren slowly backed away.
"This is getting weird."
"It was already weird," AURIXA said.
"It's getting professionally weird."
A sharp sound cut through the chamber.
Everyone turned.
The commander stood near the far archway.
Three of his soldiers remained with him.
The others had been separated behind root walls or buried beneath the battle.
One of them activated a communication device.
"Commander, the sector is compromised."
"Forget the sector."
The soldier looked at him.
"What?"
The commander didn't look away from Kael.
"Forget the throne."
Stormfang hummed.
The commander's eyes dropped briefly to the sword.
Then he turned toward the soldier.
"Forget the weapon."
Kael's expression hardened.
Xyren frowned.
"That's encouraging."
The commander raised one hand.
"Find the resonance source."
AURIXA went still.
Elaris looked at her.
"What resonance source?"
The commander's soldiers moved.
Two ran toward the eastern corridor.
The third covered their retreat.
Kael lifted Stormfang.
Crimson lightning gathered around the blade.
AURIXA stepped forward.
"The restored fragment."
Kael looked at her.
"The Crimson Heart."
"They detected it."
Another blast shook the chamber.
AURIXA's eyes followed the retreating intruders.
"They did not come here for Virelith."
Xyren's face darkened.
"They came because we woke it."
Elaris looked toward the corridor.
"But how did they know?"
No one answered.
Then Kael understood.
Not completely.
But enough.
"They've been looking."
AURIXA turned toward him.
Kael stared at the darkness beyond the archway.
"Someone else has been following the same trail."
The commander disappeared into the corridor.
Kael took one step after him.
Then another.
Crimson lightning erupted from Stormfang.
The entire chamber shook.
Elaris turned sharply.
"Kael, stop!"
He didn't.
The crimson storm struck a nearby wall.
Stone exploded.
A root wall collapsed.
Ancient machines were thrown across the chamber.
Xyren ducked.
"KAEL!"
Kael turned.
His eyes burned crimson.
Xyren froze.
For one terrible second, neither spoke.
Then Kael looked away.
The storm rose again.
Another bolt tore through the ceiling.
AURIXA stared at the spreading destruction.
"The defensive grid is responding to him."
Elaris watched another root blacken beneath the crimson lightning.
"No."
She stepped forward.
Xyren caught her arm again.
"Absolutely not."
"Let go."
"Have you seen him?"
"Yes."
"He doesn't look like he knows where he is!"
Elaris pulled free.
"Then I'll remind him."
She walked toward Kael.
Stormfang hummed louder.
Crimson lightning snapped around him.
The nearest roots pulled away as she approached.
"Kael."
No response.
She took another step.
"Kael."
His head turned.
Slowly.
His eyes found her.
Elaris stopped.
Something in his expression was wrong.
Not anger.
Not rage.
She could have understood rage.
But he looked at her as though he had never seen her before.
Stormfang lowered slightly.
"Move."
Her throat tightened.
She didn't move.
"Look at me."
The storm intensified.
"Move."
"No."
A pulse of crimson energy threw the roots around them apart.
Elaris walked closer anyway.
Behind her, Xyren swore under his breath.
AURIXA's eyes flickered rapidly.
"Elaris, the resonance around him is unstable."
"I know."
She reached Kael.
He stared down at her.
Up close, the crimson light reflected across his face.
"Kael."
She lifted her hand.
His fingers closed around her wrist before she could touch him.
Not hard enough to hurt.
But firm.
Elaris looked into his eyes.
"It's me."
Kael stared at her.
No recognition.
"You shouldn't be here."
For the first time, Elaris hesitated.
Only for a second.
Then she stepped closer.
"Neither should you."
The words did nothing.
Crimson lightning climbed Kael's arm.
Behind Elaris—
a shadow moved.
Xyren saw it first.
His eyes widened.
"Elaris!"
AURIXA turned.
"Behind you!"
Elaris started to move.
Too late.
An intruder emerged from the smoke.
His weapon was already raised.
A dark blade of energy cut through the air.
Kael looked past Elaris.
Everything stopped.
The crimson storm froze.
For one heartbeat, he stared at the weapon.
Then at her.
Something changed.
Not the storm.
Him.
Kael moved.
The intruder never reached her.
Crimson lightning exploded between them.
Elaris was thrown backward as Kael appeared in front of her.
Stormfang came down.
KRAAAAAASH.
The intruder disappeared beneath the blast.
This time, the crimson lightning didn't spread.
It struck once.
Exactly where Kael wanted it.
Smoke rose around him.
Kael stood between Elaris and the empty space where the attacker had been.
His breathing was heavy.
Elaris slowly pushed herself upright.
"Kael?"
His shoulders tensed.
Stormfang trembled.
She took a step toward him.
"Kael."
He turned.
Crimson light filled his eyes.
Then—
blue.
A small flicker.
Barely there.
But Elaris saw it.
His expression broke.
Confusion crossed his face.
Recognition followed.
"...Elaris?"
She reached him.
This time, when she lifted her hands, he didn't stop her.
Her palms rested against his face.
"Stay with me."
Kael closed his eyes.
The crimson lightning snapped around them.
His breathing shook.
"I'm trying."
Elaris leaned closer.
"Then stop fighting it alone."
Her fingers tightened slightly.
Roots rose around them.
Not attacking.
Not restraining.
They curled around Kael's boots.
Green light travelled through them.
The roots climbed higher.
Around his ankles.
His legs.
Stormfang's blade.
Kael's eyes opened.
Blue flickered again.
The crimson storm pushed outward.
Elaris didn't move.
"Look at me."
He did.
"Where are we?"
The question came quietly.
Elaris smiled despite the chaos around them.
"Virelith."
Another crimson pulse.
"We're fighting."
Kael looked around.
The destroyed chamber.
The fallen sentinels.
Xyren standing beside an ancient console.
AURIXA surrounded by flickering panels.
Then he looked back at Elaris.
"I know."
His grip on Stormfang tightened.
The crimson lightning faded.
Not completely.
But enough.
Xyren exhaled.
"Welcome back."
Kael looked at the crater beside him.
Then at Xyren.
"...Did I do that?"
Xyren looked around the chamber.
"You want the short answer?"
Elaris gave him a look.
Xyren nodded.
"Yes."
Kael stared at the destruction.
Before he could answer—
AURIXA suddenly turned.
"They're moving."
Kael looked up.
The commander was gone.
The remaining intruders had disappeared into the eastern corridor.
AURIXA's face changed.
"No."
Kael stepped toward her.
"What?"
She looked toward the darkness.
"The route they took."
Stormfang hummed again.
This time, Kael felt the warning.
AURIXA's voice dropped.
"It leads to the Crimson Vault."
The four of them ran.
Behind them, Virelith continued to fight.
Sentinels moved through the broken chamber.
Roots sealed damaged passages.
Living machines crawled over fallen walls, repairing what the battle had destroyed.
Ahead, crimson light pulsed through the darkness.
Kael reached the end of the corridor first.
He stopped.
The others nearly collided with him.
An enormous door stood before them.
Ancient roots had once sealed its edges.
Now they hung broken across the floor.
The door was open.
Inside—
something pulsed.
Slowly.
Crimson light filled the chamber beyond.
Kael raised Stormfang.
The commander stood in the center of the vault.
For several seconds, no one moved.
Then the commander turned.
His eyes went immediately to Stormfang.
He froze.
Not surprise.
Not this time.
Recognition.
Real and immediate.
His face lost its color.
Kael lifted the sword.
"Who are you?"
The commander took one slow step backward.
His eyes remained fixed on the weapon.
"That weapon..."
Stormfang's crimson line pulsed.
Once.
The vault answered.
And somewhere inside the darkness—
something else began to wake.