The maintenance shaft sloped downward, narrow and slick with condensation. Faint red emergency lights pulsed in steady rhythm along the walls, casting long shadows that seemed to move with them. Zander's breath came hard but controlled as he descended, one hand gripping the metal rungs, the other still clutching a blade.
Aethros followed below him, claws scraping against the walls, his body moving with surprising agility despite his size. The tunnel's air was dense—warm and metallic—with a faint vibration beneath their feet. Somewhere below, the volcano's core murmured like a living thing.
When they finally reached the base, the shaft opened into a cavern—vast, cathedral-like, with geothermal veins glowing through the rock. Steam rose in shifting curtains, and the floor trembled occasionally with the pulse of magma far beneath.
Zander stepped out cautiously, scanning the shadows. "You sense anything?"
Aethros inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring. "Only heat… and something old."
The beast's voice was low, uncertain—rare for him.
Zander's eyes followed the glowing conduits that wound through the stone. Some were organic, almost vine-like, pulsing with faint blue luminescence. Others were clearly artificial—pipes and cables running side by side with natural formations, as if the mountain itself had been grafted with machinery.
"This place…" Zander murmured, "it's alive and dead at the same time."
He moved forward, brushing his fingers against one of the conduits. The pulse beneath his touch responded—once, faintly—before fading again.
Aethros' eyes narrowed. "Do not touch it again."
Zander nodded, withdrawing his hand. The silence that followed was heavy, filled only by the deep, rhythmic tremor of the earth.
They advanced carefully. The path wound downward into a wider chamber, where a metallic platform jutted out over a pit of molten rock. The walls here were covered in ancient machinery—massive turbines, storage cells, and defunct generators, all fused into the volcanic crust.
At the far end, a circular structure rose from the floor—a sealed chamber of obsidian alloy, faintly illuminated by blue sigils.
Zander stopped at the edge. "Looks like some kind of containment vault."
Aetheros lowered his head, eyes narrowing at the inscriptions along its surface. "It feels wrong. Whatever is inside… it should not wake."
Zander stepped closer, examining the console at its base. Most of it was shattered, but a few glyphs still glowed faintly. He brushed off the dust—and the panel flared to life.
A holographic projection snapped open in front of him—distorted, fragmented, but unmistakably ancient. The image flickered, revealing a symbol he recognized instantly: the Prometheus insignia, surrounded by concentric circles of alien script.
Then came a voice—faint, crackling, female.
"—to whoever finds this recording… if you're hearing this, the convergence protocols have failed. The Genesis strain breached containment at Sector-4. This vault was sealed to isolate the anomaly—but we never confirmed full neutralization."
The message distorted, glitching. Zander leaned closer.
"If any remnants of 24XY remain operational… you must understand… you're not alone. The others… they're still searching. The Sequence will restart when the catalysts converge. Stop it before it completes."
Static overtook the recording. Then the voice returned, weakly—almost a whisper.
"He's still out there… Thane knows what he's—"
The feed cut off abruptly. The projection collapsed into sparks.
Zander exhaled slowly, his pulse hammering. "That voice… it sounded like—"
He stopped. Something in the air shifted—a vibration that wasn't the volcano. Aethros stiffened instantly, fur bristling.
"Behind us," the beast growled.
Zander spun around, blades flashing. The tunnel they had come from was shrouded in steam—but within the haze, movement stirred. A figure stepped into view, its outline humanoid but unnaturally fluid, like a shadow trying to imitate form.
Then the eyes opened—glowing with the same cold blue light as the Prometheus terminals.
The thing stepped forward, its movements jerky, disjointed—yet precise. The armor it wore looked like a hybrid of machine and muscle, its surface flexing with every step.
Aethros let out a low, guttural snarl. "That scent… it's not human."
"No," Zander said softly. "It's one of them."
The entity tilted its head, observing them. Then it spoke—its voice layered, part mechanical, part echo of something once human.
"Subject 24XY. Sequence recognition: confirmed."
"Catalyst presence: confirmed."
"Reclamation protocol: initiated."
The floor beneath them vibrated violently. Several dormant machines along the walls sparked to life, their lights flickering back from years of slumber.
Zander's stance tightened. "We need to move—now!"
The creature lunged. Fast—too fast for something that size. Zander met it mid-strike, blades flashing as they collided. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the cavern. Sparks sprayed; molten rock hissed where they struck the floor.
Aetheros roared and leapt forward, his claws raking across the creature's side—but instead of blood, streams of shimmering nanite fluid spilled out, instantly reforming.
"It's repairing itself!" Zander shouted.
The creature's voice distorted, glitching. > "You cannot—run—sequence—will—complete—"
It swung an arm that split into a blade, slicing across the air. Zander ducked, countering with both swords, cleaving through part of the limb. The nanites shuddered, reforming again, slower this time.
Aetheros lunged again, grabbing the creature and hurling it against the containment vault. The impact cracked the sigils—and for an instant, the entire chamber reacted. The blue lights flared white. The vault began to hum.
"Damn it!" Zander hissed. "You hit the seal!"
"I know!" Aethros snapped. "It moved first!"
The creature tried to rise—but the vault beneath it suddenly pulsed with energy. Aetheros leapt back as the sigils rearranged themselves, glowing with ancient code.
A voice—deep, resonant, and inhuman—echoed through the cavern.
"Containment breach detected. Initiating failsafe sequence."
Zander's heart dropped. "Failsafe?!"
The floor around the vault split open. Pillars of light erupted upward, cutting through the haze. The Prometheus symbol flashed one final time—and the entire facility began to shake violently.
Steam burst from fissures. The heat surged. The creature shrieked—a horrible blend of human pain and mechanical distortion—as the energy from the vault consumed it, tearing it apart molecule by molecule.
Zander shielded his eyes as the light flared white-hot. Aethros roared, wrapping one massive limb around him, protecting him from the blast.
Then—silence.
When the light faded, the vault was gone. The creature had vanished. The floor was cracked, scorched with glowing lines of molten metal that formed a new, unfamiliar symbol—three interlocking circles surrounded by flame-like markings.
Zander slowly got to his feet, dazed. "That… that wasn't supposed to happen."
Aethros looked around, nostrils flaring. "The air tastes different. Something was released."
Before Zander could respond, his wristband flickered—the first time in hours. A faint signal pulsed across its surface.
"Zander… come in… if you can hear this—don't trust—"
Static. Then silence.
He stared at it, then at Aethros. "Was that was Sensei's voice?"
Zander's expression darkened. "Maybe. Or someone wants us to think he does."
He looked once more at the scorched symbol on the floor. It pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat.
Whatever had been sealed inside the vault wasn't gone. It was awake.
Aethros shifted uneasily. "We should leave this place."
Zander nodded, sheathing his blades. "Agreed. But first—we find out what Thane meant by 'the others.' Because if this is just the beginning…"
He looked back toward the now-ruined vault, its light fading slowly into the dark.
"…then Prometheus just started the next phase."
The tremor beneath their feet deepened, as if the volcano itself responded to the words. From the depths below, something vast and unseen stirred—a slow, resonant thrum that sounded almost like breathing.
And above them, deep in the labyrinth they'd just escaped, a single surveillance drone blinked back to life—its lens reflecting three rings of blue light.