Before entering the facility, they took a moment to prepare themselves for the unknown. Xander adjusted the straps of his cryokinetic rifle, ensuring it was secure and ready for action. Elesa checked the blade at her side, her movements practiced from years of engagement and looting. Jyn tightened the straps of his pack, feeling the weight of the shard pressing against his chest.
The air was thick with the scent of rust and mildew as they descended into the facility. The walls were lined with consoles and machinery, their purpose long forgotten. As they searched for supplies, they donned their headlamps, the beams cutting through the encroaching darkness. The faint hum of the facility's systems reached their ears, a reminder of the mysteries that awaited them. How or why were things running down here? Steam and water blowing off pipes constantly making the entrance warm, humid, and hazy. Headlamps reflecting off the mist.
Elesa, ever the expert in stealth and a natural pathfinder, volunteered to scout ahead. Her form was lithe, disappearing into the shadows, her movements silent and precise as she navigated the treacherous research facility. Minutes felt like hours as Jyn and Xander waited, the tension palpable. When she returned, her focused green eyes locked with Jyn's, and she gave a curt nod. "All clear," she said, though her voice carried a hint of caution. "But stay sharp—something feels off down there, like the shard's pulling us into a trap."
With Elesa's "all clear" ringing in their ears, the team exchanged nods and stepped through the second massive steel door, its hinges groaning like a dying beast. The facility's entrance swallowed them, the humid air wrapping around like a damp cloak. Jyn's headlamp pierced the haze, revealing rusted walls lined with flickering consoles—ancient tech humming faintly, defying the centuries. The place felt alive, almost sentient: pipes snaking along the ceiling like veins, pulsing with occasional bursts of steam that hissed like breaths from hidden lungs. The facility wasn't just a ruin; it was a character in its own right. The air was thick with the scent of rust and mildew, mingled with a faint, metallic tang that clung to the back of Jyn's throat. The ground underfoot was uneven grating, slick with condensation, and the walls seemed to press in, judging.
"How is this place still powered?" Xander muttered, his cryokinetic rifle at the ready as he scanned the shadows. "Pre-war generators? My folks would kill for this. Imagine what we could build from this setup." His voice echoed off the metal, bouncing back distorted, adding to the facility's eerie personality. Jyn nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. The shard, its whispers shifting from cryptic chants to urgent warnings: Deeper... secrets of the rift... He gripped his rifle tighter, the pulse syncing with his heartbeat. "The shard's leading us in," he said, voice low. "But let's not rush. Elesa, take point."
Elesa nodded, her falcon blade drawn, moving ahead with cat-like grace. The corridor sloped downward, steam hissing from cracked pipes overhead, creating a foggy veil that their headlamps struggled to cut. Eaach footstep a reminder of the facility's age—pre-Mushroom War, perhaps a lab experimenting with the same rifts his parents had chased. Jyn reflected on that as they walked: Xander's family as saviors after incident, turning his adoption into a new life of invention. "You okay?" Elesa glanced back, her green eyes cutting through the mist like beacons. "You look like the shard's talking again." Jyn forced a smile. "Always is. But this place... it feels like what my parents described—labs fusing fungi and crystals to create magic. If they were here, they'd be geeking out like Xander."
Xander chuckled, adjusting his engineering bag. "Hey, geeking is my job. My folks always said, 'Science mends the wasteland.' This is prime mending material." Elesa shared a vulnerable smile, her voice soft amid the hum. "Losing my family made me strong—but you two keep me human. Without this team, I'd be as cold as these walls." Jyn opened up, the words tumbling out in the dim light. "The shard's guilt weighs heavy. My parents died chasing its secrets—explorers like us, but it led them to their doom. Xander's family saved me, but what if this pulls us all down?" Xander clapped his shoulder. "That's why we're here—to turn it into something good."
They emerged into the first major room—a lab with glowing fungi tanks lining the walls, their glass surfaces fogged and cracked, containing mycelia that pulsed like hearts. The facility seemed to "breathe" here, the tanks humming in sync with the distant pipes. The room was vast, about the size of a small Aegis market square, with workbenches cluttered with rusted tools and vials of dried residues. Overhead lights flickered intermittently, casting long shadows. "These are prototypes," Xander geeked, eyes wide as he approached a tank. "Fungal networks fused with pre-war bio-tech—my folks theorized this was how the War mutated everything. Look at that glow; it's like the bioluminescence on those creatures we fought. If I could bottle this, imagine the weapons—or cures we can create." He leaned closer.
Elesa circled the room warily, her blade glinting in the dim light. "Careful, Xander. This place feels... Strange. Like it's watching us." Jyn nodded in agreement, the shard's whispers growing insistent. He moved to the wall opposite the tanks, where corridors branched off like arteries, each one darker and more foreboding than the last. Flickering holograms activated as he neared, ghostly figures in lab coats materializing on a nearby console—pre-war scientists discussing rifts, their voices crackling through static: "Nepheos's energy is unstable... elemental infusions create golems, but they hunger uncontrollably. The Covenant demands we push forward teh want knowledge and answers at any cost, but the risks, we know what they could..." The hologram looped, the scientists gesturing at diagrams of swirling portals, their faces etched with worry. Jyn froze, the word "Covenant" echoing his parents' old notes—shadowy group seeking to harness power.
"This is connected to the Hollowborn," Jyn said, sharing a look with Elesa. "My parents mentioned labs like this—experimenting with mycelia to control rifts, but it backfired during the War." Xander knelt by a console, brushing off dust to reveal a flickering screen. "Let's see if I can hack this." His fingers danced over the keys, the electronic device from his bag interfacing with the ancient system. A holoscreen sputtered to life, displaying logs from centuries ago: "Project corrupted: Successful fusion of crystal shards with fungal networks. Opens stable rifts to Nepheos—The elemental essence harvested. But anomalies detected: the elemental plane of existence is out of balance chaos reins here.the covenent thinks we can use the moss we found here to create magic.
The team froze. "Covenant?" Elesa whispered. "Those cultists from Aegis rumors?" Jyn nodded, the piece falling into place. His parents had spoken of the Covenant as shadow players, seeking to claim balance and peace for Earth. seek balance or fall.
Before they could process, the ground rumbled—a section of ceiling collapsed, rubble tumbling as fungal vines lashed out like living whips. "Ambush!" Elesa shouted, her blade slicing through a tendril that wrapped around Xander's leg. The vines glowed with bioluminescent light, drawing small Hollowborn-like creatures from hidden vents—half-formed abominations, mycelia writhing in their flesh.
Jyn fired his rifle, bullets tearing through the fungi, while Xander activated his cryo-rifle, freezing a vine in mid-lash. "These are prototypes!" he yelled, dodging a collapsing beam. "The lab's defenses—triggered by our presence disturbing this place might be a mistake!" Elesa spun, her falcon blade cleaving two creatures in one sweep, her suit's armor deflecting a sporelings lash, clouds filled the air with choking dust and spores. "Jyn, your chest, the shard—it's glowing!
Jyn pulled the shard from around his neck, its black surface veined with light. The whispers came forth: Unleash... seal the rift... He held it high, a flood of energy bursting forth—fire came bursting and burning everything in front of him, the fungi burned to a complete crisp. The chamber quieted, the creatures crumbling to dust. Panting, Jyn stared at the shard. "It... responded. Like it knew. What did I even do just now"
Xander wiped sweat from his brow, examining a frozen vine. "This tech—it's fused with Crystalist essence. My parents need to see this they may be the only ones to crack it!?" Elesa sheathed her blade, her green eyes on Jyn. "If it's tied to the shard, your family was onto something big. We're in this together—let's find what it's hiding."
They pressed deeper, corridors narrowing, walls etched with more holograms—scientists debating Covenant funding, diagrams showing towering clay creature covered in bones and blood "elemental golems" as failed experiments: clay bodies infused with shards, labeled "uncontrolled hunger" and "rift breaches." The facility's "character" intensified here, corridors curving and twisting, steam vents puffing rhythmically as if breathing in time with their footsteps.
As they approached a rusted bridge over a chasm of piping, Jyn's mind stewed and tumbled.
Xander and Elesa crossed the makeshift bridge first while Jyn thought alone on the other side. looking up he was the last one on his side of the bridge made of piping. One of the steam vents exploded pipes bursting like veins under pressure. The blast sent debris flying, destroying the bridge and separating the team: Xander and Elesa on one side, Jyn hurled on the other as the bridge buckled. "Jyn!" Elesa shouted, her voice echoing over the roar.
Alone, Jyn scrambled to his feet, the bridge partially collapsed, steam clouding his vision. The shard pulsed wildly, I won't let it define me," he muttered, finding another route: a narrow ledge along the chasm wall, climbing with gritted teeth. As he inched along. On the other side, he collapsed, breathing heavy from crossing the ledge that was blowing steam that took his breath.
Meanwhile, Xander and Elesa fought off spore clouds from the vents, Xander freezing bursts with his rifle. "This place is alive!" Xander yelled. They pushed toward jyn as he crossed, finding the spot jyn would arrive at, reuniting with Jyn. Elesa pulled him close, her hug heavy and firm. "We're your family, we stick together." she said, echoing the lore of loss and bonds, her eyes soft with relief. Xander nodded, "Together!" they pressed on.
Further in, they encountered a rift echo—a mini-portal spewing elemental energy, winds and sparks crackling from a cracked wall. The shard glowed, whispers urgent: Seal it.. balance the chaos. Jyn raised it, energy surging— closing the rift in a burst of light. "This is what my parents sought," he said, awe mixing with fear. The closure revealed more artifacts: journals detailing Covenant quests for the Aurorite blade to control the Nepheos, diagrams of rifts and types of infused weapons and armor.
Xander was ecstatic over a diagram: "My folks would kill for this! Elemental infusions—think what I could do with our gear. That portal was probably where the abominations are taking power from too." Elesa ground her teeth as she spoke: "We wouldn't just be surviving, we could be conquerors." Jyn reassured her: "We will be leaders and heroes, not conquerors, Elesa. Maybe even restore the world to balance while we are at it."
With the vault's treasures secured in their packs—circuit board and various tech, medical kits rattling in the bags. Along with all the tech they snatched. The team emerged from the underground research facility into the harsh glare of the wasteland's overcast sky.
The massive steel door groaned shut behind them, sealing the facility's secrets again. Jyn couldn't shake the feeling that the hum of pipes and flickering holograms—its 'breath'—would linger in his mind like a whisper. Outside, the air felt cooler and almost refreshing, but the scent of sulfur and acid rain reminded them of their world.
Before fully entering the wasteland, they paused to check their hoods, gas masks, and filtration systems—tech in the skin suits activating with a soft hum, sealing against the corrosive environment. The masks' visors fogged briefly before clearing, as filters started working to remove acids that could harm lungs quickly. "Better safe than sorry," Elesa said, her voice muffled through her mask—her priority was always survival. She adjusted her hood, the ceramic threading catching the dim light, reminding them of their only defenses in this hellscape. Jyn nodded, securing his mask, feeling the shard's warmth. Xander checked his filtration unit with a pragmatic grunt, mentally assessing the air quality. "Filters at 80%—should hold until Aegis.
Let's move; the Maw's storms could arrive from the south any time." Jyn stated before they all stepped off into the wasteland back to Aegis.