The fires still smoldered in the outer city, casting flickering light across streets littered with broken chains and splintered glyphstone. Smoke clung to the morning like a second sky, veiling the aftermath of the siege in silence. Blood still streaked the stones, but the war drums had quieted. For now.
Reid stood at the edge of a crumbled fountain, staring down at the burned-out remains of the chain champion's armor. Only fragments remained—charred silver, twisted steel—but the rune scorch marks around it still pulsed faintly. The pulsing coin in his hand was hot, almost alive, and somewhere deep inside, the Bond was stirring again.
"They will send stronger ones. That was only the vanguard. You felt it in their soul when it cracked beneath you. They are desperate now."
Kaela's voice broke the quiet. "You've shaken the city, Reid. The people… they saw everything."
He didn't look at her. "Then let them remember it."
"They will. For better or worse."
Below the city, in the dungeons beneath the collapsed courthouse, Lira leaned against a cell door, idly flipping a knife between her fingers. Inside, one of the captured council commanders knelt, shackled with rune-bound manacles. His face was bruised, but his eyes still burned with a fanatic's conviction.
Kaela crossed her arms. "We need to know what they were doing with those constructs. And why they sent a chain-born champion."
The prisoner spat at the floor. "You think you've won something? The Council sees further than you ever will. You've only delayed what's coming."
Reid stepped into view, his presence enough to draw a flinch from the prisoner. His eyes, still touched by the crimson flame from the battle, glinted with something not entirely human.
"Then tell me what's coming. Before I let the Bond speak for me."
Up above, the Red Fang were gathering. Mara and Lira oversaw the redistribution of weapons and healing supplies. The defenders were battered but alive, and now their attention turned inward. Rumors spread quickly of Reid's transformation, of the corrupted fire, of the whispers during the fight.
Mara approached Kaela quietly. "They're scared. Some think he's not the same man."
Kaela glanced at the cell below. "He's not. Not completely. But he's still our blade. And we still need him sharp."
Lira snorted. "Scared or not, they'll follow him. Hell, half the soldiers are already swooning. Fire and mystery? He's irresistible."
Kaela rolled her eyes. "Try not to fan the flames."
Lira winked. "No promises."
Back in the cell, the prisoner finally spoke. "The constructs were prototypes. The real weapon is still sleeping beneath the council vaults. The one that eats flame. When it wakes, your corruption will be meaningless."
Reid knelt slowly, his voice a whisper. "Then I'll tear down the vaults. One brick at a time."
[Optional Quest Unlocked: Vaultbreaker]
[Objective: Discover the location of the council's primary weapon]
[Reward: Unknown]
The prisoner stared at him, breath catching. "You're not just corrupted. You're cursed. You'll burn us all."
Reid stood. "Then start praying."
Later that evening, beneath the fractured moonlight, Kaela moved swiftly through the halls of the old spire. The stone corridors were still cracked from the siege, but some torch sconces burned again, and repairs were underway. At the far end of the western wing, a lone vault door loomed—old, sealed with glyphs no one had touched in decades.
She found Reid standing before it, arms crossed, eyes cold.
"This was buried in the council's registry," she said, handing him a faded parchment. "Mapped to a lower sub-vault, beneath their treasury. There's no official path down there anymore."
Reid took it without a word. The parchment shimmered faintly—another ward embedded within.
Kaela hesitated. "What if what he said is true? What if it's a weapon they can't control?"
Reid's eyes flared with a trace of crimson. "Then I'll control it first."
Deep underground, they followed a forgotten stairwell carved into the foundation of the courthouse ruins. Dust clung to every surface, and the walls were etched with long-abandoned glyphs—many of which were cracked, broken, or melted.
"We're close. I can feel the pulse beneath the stone. Something ancient… and familiar."
Lira's voice echoed behind them. "If this thing breathes fire, I vote we close the door and run."
Mara tightened her grip on her blade. "Let's find out first."
The final door stood untouched, buried beneath rubble and old bone. Reid placed a hand against it, and the stone shivered.
[New Objective: Break the Vault Seal]
[Warning: Seal contains ancient defense matrix. Proceed with caution.]
Reid's hand surged with corrupted essence, threads of ash-black and crimson fire winding through his arm. The glyphs flared violently.
"It remembers us. Good."
The room erupted in light as the seal broke. The door collapsed inward, revealing a cold, circular chamber lined with crystalized chains and caged mana cores, all humming with unnatural resonance. At the center, suspended in a stasis field, floated a construct unlike any they had seen—a humanoid shaped entirely of obsidian and fireglass, its core pulsing with inverted flame.
Kaela stepped forward. "Is that it?"
"No," Reid said softly. "That's the lock."
Before anyone could move further, the glyphs around the chamber flared again—reacting to their presence. Crimson pulses crawled across the walls like veins, forming ancient ward patterns none of them recognized.
[New Threat Detected: Vault Guardian Reactivation Sequence Initiated]
[Time Remaining: 00:58:32]
"Of course there's a damn timer," Lira muttered, blades out.
The air trembled as the obsidian construct's eyes ignited, twin slits of voidfire cutting through the gloom. Its arms cracked free of the stasis field with a noise like snapping bone. A low rumble shook the chamber.
Kaela drew her spear. "Reid—how do we kill that?"
"We don't."
He stepped forward, hand outstretched. The Bond surged through him, not in a wave of fury, but a whispering current of recognition.
"This one remembers. This one obeyed before. Reach out. Remind it."
Reid closed his fist. "Kneel."
The construct froze. The glow in its chest flickered.
[Override Attempt Detected. Initiating Legacy Protocol Verification…]
Crimson light washed over Reid, scanning him. The stone beneath his feet lit up with chained glyphs.
[Legacy Confirmed: Bond-Bearer]
[Vault Guardian Status: Awaiting Directive]
Kaela blinked. "You just took control of it?"
"Temporarily. It's tied to the Bond's history. But the link is fragile."
[Directive Required: Choose Designation]
Guardian
Weapon
Scout
Reid hesitated. Then: "Scout."
The construct lowered its head, energy coils dimming to a soft burn. A new system prompt appeared in Reid's mind.
[Directive Accepted. Initiating Mapping Protocol. Hidden Council Vaults Being Scanned…]
Kaela's grip eased, but her eyes didn't leave the machine. "This changes everything."
"Only if we use it right," Reid said.
The chamber's energy shifted. The ancient wards faded, and a new path opened behind the construct—a tunnel leading further beneath the earth, toward whatever secrets the Council had buried deeper.
And now, they had a key.