The air inside the Data Vault was cold—unnaturally cold. The kind of chill that slipped into your bones and whispered warnings. Kai's breath misted in the dim blue glow of the core reactor, surrounded by thick cables that pulsed like veins. The Vault had once been the heart of Johannesburg's neural grid. Now, it was a forgotten relic—offline, decayed, haunted by code that shouldn't exist.
He took another step forward, his boots crunching over broken glass and scorched circuit boards.
PING!
[WARNING: Intrusion detected. Sector breach: Kai Myles.]
[Protocol AI-X_03 Reboot Attempt: IN PROGRESS...]
Kai's HUD flickered as the voice of the Architect echoed in his mind.
"You shouldn't be here, Player. This vault was sealed for a reason."
Kai ignored it. He was used to warnings. Used to death. The last skirmish with the rogue Sentinels had cost him most of his med packs and a chunk of his arm shield. But he'd also gained something—the encrypted chip stolen from the Phantom Dealer.
He raised it to the Vault's interface.
"Let's see if your secrets are worth dying for," he muttered.
The chip slotted in.
VREEEEEEE—BZZZT.
A low hum surged through the room. Lights snapped to life one by one, revealing something he hadn't expected.
Pods. At least a dozen of them, lining the walls like vertical coffins. Inside each one—humans. Frozen in suspended animation, faces twitching as if trapped in endless dreams.
"What the hell is this…" Kai breathed.
Then came the hiss.
Steam vented from the central pod, and the stasis glass slid open. A figure collapsed onto the floor—thin, pale, coughing.
A girl.
She wore a tattered Data Courier uniform and had a glowing tattoo on her neck: ΔI-Linker_7.
Her eyes locked with his. "You're… not supposed to be here."
Kai raised his weapon instinctively. "Neither are you."
"They kept us… fed into the AI," she rasped. "Memories, thoughts, entire lives—we were batteries."
Before he could process her words, the Vault roared.
Alarms blared. Red lights strobed.
[ALERT: Unauthorized Access. Sentinel Protocol Engaged.]
The girl screamed. "They're coming!"
From the walls, dark panels slid open.
Three Sentinels emerged—sleek, obsidian machines shaped like wolves, with glowing red visors and blades for tails.
Kai grabbed the girl, pushed her behind him.
"No respawns here," he growled. "Let's finish this in one life."
The Sentinels charged.