The city lights of Omega flickered like dying stars as Kael and Lira descended into the underbelly of the district.
What once was the beating heart of civilization now stood as a carcass of metal and silence.
Towers lay shattered, split open by forgotten wars.
And beneath them, buried in the veins of the earth, pulsed a quiet heartbeat — mechanical, rhythmic, alive.
> [System Notice: Energy Signature — Origin Level Detected.]
[Location: Omega Vault Gate.]
Kael's eyes narrowed. "We're close."
Lira followed behind, the faint hum of her plasma blade slicing through the fog. "Are you sure we should be here? If what that ghost said was true—"
Kael cut her off. "If Erevas was telling the truth, this is where everything started. My father's research, your betrayal, the Systems—"
He stopped mid-sentence, his voice hardening. "…and Sorn."
They reached a massive door half-buried in rubble. The surface was engraved with celestial runes — the same symbols Kael had seen glowing on his skin.
> [Biometric Match Confirmed.]
[Access Granted.]
The door split open with a hiss, exhaling centuries of dust and static. Inside lay a vast chamber of floating consoles and holographic pillars, each projecting fragments of light — memories, voices, equations, and screams.
Kael stepped forward slowly. "This… was their lab."
The deeper they walked, the more the System reacted.
Lines of golden data floated around Kael like fireflies drawn to a god.
> [Core Proximity: 90%]
[Warning: Forbidden Memory Access Imminent.]
Lira glanced at him nervously. "Kael, your aura's changing again."
He didn't respond. The Heaven Breaker Core within his chest burned, expanding, absorbing the data from the vault.
And then — it happened.
The chamber shifted. Walls dissolved into light, and the ground became a reflection of the sky. They were standing inside a memory.
A projection appeared — two scientists arguing in a glass room. Kael's breath caught.
"…Father?"
His father, Dr. Varin Vire, stood beside another man — Sorn. Both younger, both filled with desperate brilliance.
> Dr. Vire: "This power was meant to free the world from fate, not enslave it!"
Sorn: "Freedom is chaos, Varin. Humanity needs control — a perfect Heaven to keep it from tearing itself apart!"
The memory fractured, replaying fragments in loops. Kael clenched his fists, his voice shaking.
"They were partners… he helped create it."
Lira's eyes softened. "Kael—"
But before she could finish, the room darkened.
The holograms faded. A single voice echoed from the shadows.
> "I did more than help."
The air froze.
Sorn stepped forward from the holographic distortion, his presence heavy, calm, and terrifyingly real. His body was half-organic, half-machine — wires pulsing beneath pale skin.
> "You finally found it," Sorn said. "The Omega Vault. I was wondering how long it would take you, Kael."
Kael's aura exploded. "You killed my family."
Sorn smiled faintly. "They were necessary losses. The System needed a host strong enough to carry Heaven's seed. And now, you've proven me right."
> [Warning: Host Rage Levels Critical.]
[Battle Mode: Lockout Pending.]
Lira raised her blade. "Sorn, stop this! You're tearing apart the balance of—"
"Balance?" Sorn interrupted, his voice thunderous. "Heaven is imbalance! Do you not see? It chose who lives, who dies, who ascends! I'm going to rewrite it — and I'll use Kael to do it!"
His arm unfolded into a cannon of glowing runes.
Kael growled through his teeth, the System flaring.
> [Override Initiated: Heaven's Defiance Protocol Active.]
Golden light erupted from his body.
The Vault quaked. Systems screamed. Energy surged between Kael and Sorn, two forces — one born from vengeance, the other from godhood — colliding in a flash that split the heavens underground.
When the light cleared, Kael stood panting, smoke rising from his shoulders. Sorn's image flickered, retreating deeper into the data network.
> "Find me at the Core," Sorn's fading voice taunted. "If you survive, maybe you'll learn why Heaven created monsters like us."
The chamber fell silent. The vault lights dimmed to black.
Lira staggered forward. "Kael… he's heading to the Core. If he reaches it—"
Kael's eyes blazed white. "He won't."
> [New Quest: Pursue SORN-01.]
[Objective: Reach the Heaven Core before he merges with it.]
Kael turned toward the glowing tunnel at the end of the Vault. His voice was low, resolute.
"This ends where it began."
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