Kai led the way with the steel rod in hand. It still had a faint crack near the middle from the last fight, but it was solid enough to use again.
They moved slowly through the tunnel. Lina stayed close behind him, her hand holding the back of his coat. Marra walked behind them, limping slightly but alert, her eyes scanning the dark like she expected something to crawl out of it.
The air was cold again. The tunnel floor sloped gently downward. The farther they went, the quieter the world became.
There were no voices. No pipes. No distant movement. Just the sound of their breathing and footsteps on tile.
Lina finally spoke. "Why's it so quiet down here?"
Kai didn't answer right away.
"I think we're past the main station systems. Past where people used to live."
"So what's down here?"
"Stuff they forgot. Or tried to hide."
She tightened her grip on his coat. "I don't like that answer."
"Me neither," Kai said.
He checked his vision again.
[Map Node: Logged]
[Signal Traces Detected – Weak]
[Path Stability: 47%]
The system was picking something up. Not a danger. A pulse. Like a signal from a forgotten machine.
After twenty more minutes of walking, they reached a fork in the tunnel.
To the left was a long hall filled with collapsed beams and thick roots pushing through cracks in the wall.
To the right was a narrow stairwell leading upward toward a sealed door.
Kai moved toward the door. It had no markings. Just smooth metal and a broken keypad on the wall beside it.
He touched the keypad.
A jolt ran up his fingers.
[Architect Node Access Confirmed]
[Lock Override Available – Use Adaptive Logic Core?]
[Proceed?]
Kai whispered, "Yes."
The keypad clicked. The door slid open with a low, dusty hiss.
Behind it was a wide chamber. The air smelled like rust, stale power, and old dust.
Lina peeked past his side. "This looks important."
"It was," Kai said. "Still might be."
They stepped inside.
The walls were covered in dead screens and metal panels. A half-buried console sat in the center of the room, surrounded by cables like frozen vines. One corner of the floor had collapsed slightly, revealing part of an old drainage pipe.
Marra walked in slowly. "What is this place?"
Kai didn't speak. He was already moving toward the center console.
[Device: Architect Relay Console (Damaged)]
[Signal Integrity: 22% – Data May Be Recoverable]
[Connect Now?]
He placed his hand on the surface.
The lights flickered once.
Then the system filled his mind again.
[Connecting…]
[Partial Memory Node Detected – Name: 'Designate Zero-7']
[Fragment Load Available – Status: Corrupted]
[Proceed With Reconstruction?]
He hesitated.
Then said, "Proceed."
A sharp pulse ran through his skull — not painful, but dizzying. Like falling forward without moving.
Suddenly, he saw it.
Not just data.
A memory.
Someone else's memory.
A man standing in a white room, speaking to a group of people with serious eyes and clean coats. Diagrams on the wall behind him. Seeds suspended in glass. A word above the door:
ARCHITECT CORE SECTOR.
Kai saw his face for just a moment.
He looked familiar.
Then it was gone.
[Memory Fragment Decoded: 3%]
[Access Level Raised: Sub-Architect Tier]
[Available Traits Expanded – 2 New Blueprint Slots Unlocked]
Kai staggered backward, hand still pressed to the console.
Lina caught his arm. "What happened?"
"Data. From before. From someone who was part of the original system."
"You saw him?"
"Yeah. Just for a second."
Marra looked at the walls, then at Kai. "You're connected to this place."
He nodded. "I think this was built for people like me. People with this… protocol. Architects."
He sat down slowly against the nearest wall.
His head was spinning. Not from pain — from weight.
Everything around him had been waiting. Dormant. Silent.
Until he touched it.
Lina sat beside him. "So what do we do now?"
"We map the rest of the chamber," he said. "We find what still works. What we can use."
Marra pointed to a long black crate half-buried in the corner. "Want me to pry that open?"
Kai nodded.
She pulled at it with a metal pipe. The lid cracked and snapped off. Inside were thin tablets, most of them dead. But one glowed faintly.
Lina walked over and tapped the screen.
It buzzed.
[Personal Toolkit – Architect Utility Deck]
[Status: 14% Battery – Partial Functions Available]
Kai picked it up. "This is mine now."
"Wasn't it always?" Lina said.
He smirked.
They searched the rest of the room. Broken tools. Power cells. Maps that had faded to dust. Nothing too useful. But the console still worked. The signal was weak — but real.
That meant something was out there.
Other Architect stations. Other fragments. Other pieces of the world left behind.
Kai looked at the ceiling.
Whatever this world had once been trying to build… it had failed.
But maybe now, with this system, he could finish it.
Not the way they planned.
But better.
He looked at Lina, who was inspecting an old ventilation panel like it might turn into a secret passage.
Then at Marra, who was scanning a screen with a quiet focus.
He wasn't alone anymore.
And that made all the difference.