The vault's final chamber pulsed with violet Aether, its bone-and-steel walls trembling under the Wastelands' fractured sky. Kael lay on the cracked floor, the Warden's star-shard slipping from his bloodied hand, its hum a faint flicker against his chest shard's dying pulse. Blood pooled beneath him, his shoulder, chest, and arm wounds oozing, pain a relentless roar that blurred his vision. The woman's voice echoed in his mind, commanding and clear: *Kael, claim the forge, or lose yourself forever.* Rhea lay motionless nearby, blood soaking her shirt, her thigh, shoulder, and chest wounds a stark red against her pale skin, her breathing barely a whisper. Mira knelt beside her, hands trembling as she pressed a scavenged med-patch to Rhea's chest, cyber-lenses dim, tears streaking her face. Toren guarded the chamber's entrance, shard-rifle aimed at the ramp, his scarred frame bleeding from his shoulder, chest, and leg, his face grim. Sylas stood over Kael, black armor splintered, their star-shard flickering, violet eyes scanning the forge's glow. The air was heavy with ash and the sharp sting of Aether, the forge's primal hum clawing at their souls.
Kael's shard sparked a vision: a pre-Fall lab, a man with his face bound in Aether, a woman with violet eyes forging his soul into a shard, her voice clear: *You are the spark.* He gasped, blood dripping, and forced himself to his knees, pain searing his core. "Who are you?" he rasped, voice raw, staring at the forge, a massive Aether crystal pulsing with violet light, its surface etched with runes that mirrored his shard.
The woman's voice answered, not in his mind but from the forge itself, a figure forming in the violet light, her body Aether-made, her violet eyes endless. "I am Elara," she said, her voice soft but unyielding. "Creator of the cycle, forger of your shard. You were my first, Kael, my spark to bind the vault. Now you must finish it."
Rhea coughed, a weak, wet sound, blood on her lips. "Varn… don't… die…" Her eyes fluttered, her hand limp, the med-patch soaked red.
Mira's voice broke, her hands shaking. "Kael, she's fading! I can't stop the bleeding!" Her cyber-lenses sparked, useless, as she pressed harder, her breath hitching.
Toren's rifle snapped up, his voice sharp. "Protocol's heavies, incoming! Lira's got a damn mech now!" The vault shook, mechanical clanks echoing from the ramp, Aether scanners slicing through the haze.
Sylas's star-shard flared, their voice urgent. "Varn, the forge is tied to your shard! Claim it, or Elara takes you!" Their armor sparked, blood seeping from their chest, but they stood firm, blade ready.
Elara's Aether form surged, violet tendrils coiling from the forge, cracking the chamber's floor. "You were forged to bind the vault, Kael," she said, her eyes blazing. "Claim the forge, or I claim you." Her tendrils lashed, violet energy searing the air.
Kael staggered to his feet, pain blinding, and grabbed the star-shard, its faint hum burning his palm. He fired his pistol, the Aether-shot sparking against Elara's form, useless. His shard screamed, a vision hitting: *Elara forging the shard, the vault sealing, her voice: You are mine.* He roared, pain grounding him, and sprinted for the forge, blood trailing behind him.
Toren fired, his rifle's blasts clipping Elara's tendrils, sparking Aether, but they slashed, grazing his arm, blood spraying. He cursed, holding position, his rifle faltering. "Kid, move!" he shouted, diving behind a steel beam as Lira's mech rumbled into the chamber, its Aether-cannon charging.
Mira dragged Rhea to cover, her voice raw. "Kael, the forge's Aether is spiking! The star-shard can overload it!" She shielded Rhea with her body, debris falling as the mech's cannon fired, blasting a hole in the chamber's wall.
Sylas fought to Kael, their star-shard slashing Elara's tendrils, violet sparks blinding. "Varn, you're the spark!" they yelled, their armor splintering, blood dripping from their side. A tendril grazed their leg, forcing them to their knees, but they kept fighting, blade flashing.
Lira's voice boomed from the mech, cold and commanding. "Varn, the shard is mine!" The mech's cannon fired, the blast grazing Kael's side, searing flesh. He roared, channeling kinetic energy, shoving the mech back, its metal frame screeching against the bone floor.
Kael reached the forge, its Aether crystal warm under his touch, runes writhing like veins. His shard burned, another vision hitting: *Elara binding his soul, the vault's heart pulsing, her voice: You are the end.* He slammed the star-shard into the crystal, its energy merging with his shard's kinetic surge, cracking the surface. The vault roared, violet light flooding, and Elara staggered, her tendrils faltering.
The mech charged, its Aether-claw slashing, grazing Kael's back, blood spraying. Sylas lunged, their star-shard clashing with the claw, violet sparks blinding, but the mech's strength threw them against the wall, their armor cracking, blood pooling.
Mira shouted, "Kael, the forge is destabilizing! One more hit!" Her voice broke as she pressed Rhea's chest, her hands slick with blood, Rhea's breathing stopping.
Kael's vision overwhelmed him: *the forge open, Elara fading, her voice: The spark is free.* His body trembled, his shard's hum fading, but he channeled everything, slamming his fist into the crystal, the star-shard's energy surging. The crystal shattered, Aether exploding, and Elara's form collapsed into violet mist, her voice fading: "The spark… endures…"
The vault shook, bone walls crumbling, the primal hum faltering. Kael collapsed, blood soaking the floor, his shard's pulse weak, his vision swimming. Rhea lay still, Mira sobbing over her, hands pressing her chest. "She's gone, Kael! She's gone!" Mira's voice broke, her tears mixing with blood.
Toren limped over, arm and chest bleeding, his rifle slung. "Lira's mech is down, but more are coming. We're out of time."
Sylas crawled to Kael, their star-shard dim, violet eyes steady. "You broke the forge, Varn. But the vault's core is waking something deeper. Your shard's not done."
Kael's shard pulsed, a vision lingering: *a deeper chamber, a pulse of raw Aether, a new figure forming, its voice: The spark is mine.* He tried to stand, pain blinding, but his body failed. "What now?" he gasped, meeting Sylas's eyes.
The vault split wider, violet light flooding from a final chamber, its hum shaking Kael's core. A figure emerged, not Aether or bone, but steel and flesh, its violet eyes glowing, its voice a growl in Kael's mind: *Spark-bearer, I am the Warden's maker. You belong to me.*