Dawn light faded quickly as Draven's alliance descended the crystalline staircase spiraling into darkness. Mana-glow illuminated geometric patterns carved into walls merger-era elegance still beautiful after millions of years.
Fifty meters down. Then hundred. Hundred-fifty.
"Luminestra, mark-sensing?" Draven asked through Genesis Codex.
*Stronger with every step,* she confirmed. *The Anchor is definitely below. Several hundred meters deep, but we're approaching correctly.*
Malvorn's massive form navigated the staircase carefully as bond hummed with comfortable proximity. Zor perched on Draven's shoulder while golden eagle eyes stayed sharp despite limited scouting space. Velnar's earth-sense checked structural stability solid, dimensional reinforcement maintaining integrity even after eons.
Feyra monitored dimensional fluctuations. "The wards are getting denser. Complex protective layers ahead."
Frostina led the descent as ice affinity stayed comfortable in the cold depths. Naelvorn's serpentine form coiled efficiently. Raziel brought up the rear while volcanic heat provided warmth.
Two hundred meters descended, the air grew colder despite Raziel's heat. Sylvara's verdant presence sensed ancient magic saturating everything power so old it felt woven into stone itself.
"How deep does this go?" Draven muttered.
Through bond, Malvorn's presence conveyed calm. *As deep as necessary. We continue.*
The staircase spiraled endlessly with hypnotic rhythm of descending steps. Draven's legs burned with exertion but he maintained pace. Behind him, the pack moved smoothly years of coordination showing in effortless synchronization.
Naelvorn's playful voice echoed up. "I've explored ocean trenches less deep than this. The Architects really committed to burying their secrets."
Raziel rumbled agreement. "Protection through depth. Simple but effective."
*And necessary,* Luminestra added quietly. *What we're retrieving cannot fall into wrong hands. Ever.*
Finally, after what felt like hours but was likely forty minutes, the staircase leveled into a massive antechamber.
Draven stopped as breath caught.
The space stretched vast cathedral-sized, crystalline structures rising like frozen waterfalls. Mana-glow pulsed rhythmically through networks carved everywhere while living light danced across impossible architecture.
"By the Fragments," Feyra whispered.
Chambers branched off in multiple directions as some doorways led to rooms that appeared larger than physically possible. Dimensional folding, spaces within spaces merger-era engineering at its finest.
And throughout the antechamber, positioned strategically: dormant golems.
Dozens of them. Constructs built for combat, guardian defenses waiting activation.
Frostina's ice-ring eyes narrowed. "Power-matched. They'll wake if we trigger defenses."
***
The alliance spread carefully while exploring without triggering defenses. Draven entered a side chamber the room stretched impossibly as ceiling heights shifted while he walked, walls displaying geometric patterns that moved when observed directly.
Velnar's voice carried wonder. "The dimensional mathematics required for this... current Theia lost this knowledge completely."
Adhivar's cosmic presence resonated through Genesis Codex. "The Architects studied dimensional science for generations before merger attempt. This complex represents centuries of accumulated expertise. Every chamber designed with specific purpose housing Anchor, protecting it, testing those who would retrieve it."
Draven touched a crystalline pillar. Smooth, cool, humming with residual mana. Power saturated everything, ancient but still functional.
"Millions of years," he said quietly. "Still working."
*Designed to last eternally,* Luminestra confirmed. *They built knowing merger might fail. These chambers were backup protecting Anchors until... until someone like you came searching.*
Zor flew through the antechamber as golden wings reflected mana-glow. His aerial perspective revealed pathways invisible from ground dimensional layering creating routes through multiple spatial planes simultaneously.
Sylvara's verdant form seemed to glow brighter here while absorbing ancient magic like sunlight. "The environmental mana concentration is extraordinary. I feel stronger just being present."
Naelvorn coiled playfully around a crystalline column. "If this is just the entrance chamber, what will the Anchor chamber look like?"
Raziel examined dormant golems carefully. "Overlord-tier constructs. Well-crafted. The Architects ensured only powerful beings could reach Anchor."
Malvorn stood beside Draven as bond stayed steady. *We are powerful enough.*
Draven smiled slightly. "Yes. We are."
Through Genesis Codex, both Luminestra and Adhivar pulsed with anticipation.
The Anchor was close.
Draven approached a dormant golem cautiously. The construct stood motionless humanoid form, crystalline armor, empty eye sockets that would likely glow when activated.
Feyra examined magical signatures. "They're power-matched to intruders. Overlords face Overlord-tier golems. Lords face Lord-tier. The system scales to challenge."
"Clever," Frostina observed. "Ensures appropriate difficulty regardless of who attempts retrieval."
Draven noticed weapon mounts crystalline blades, energy projectors, defensive barriers integrated into armor. These weren't simple guardians. They were warriors.
"We'll fight them eventually," he said.
Raziel's volcanic rumbling carried anticipation. "Then we'll destroy them. Constructs versus living power. I welcome the test."
***
Following Luminestra's mark-sensing, the alliance navigated deeper into the complex. Corridors shifted subtly as dimensional paths adjusted, but Genesis Codex guided them unerringly toward the Anchor.
Finally, they reached it: the Anchor chamber entrance.
Massive doorway, fifty feet tall, carved with intricate geometric patterns. And blocking entry completely a dimensional ward.
It shimmered translucent as patterns shifted constantly with complexity beyond anything Draven had encountered. Through Genesis Codex, both Adhivar and Luminestra focused intently.
"Architect-designed puzzle," Adhivar stated. "Protection mechanism. Entry requires solving."
Draven studied the ward. "How long?"
"Hours minimum," Adhivar replied. "Possibly longer. The design is sophisticated."
*And unusual,* Luminestra added as tone carried surprise.
*The ward isn't purely defensive,* Luminestra explained. *There's something... playful? in the design. The Architects who built this had personalities quirks, humor, creativity beyond pure function.*
Malvorn rumbled through bond. *Playful protection? That seems contradictory.*
"Not contradictory," Adhivar corrected. "Intentional. The Architects wanted to ensure only intelligent, patient, worthy individuals retrieved Anchors. So they designed puzzles that test not just power, but wit, creativity, problem-solving."
Feyra examined patterns closely. "Some of these sequences look almost... comedic?"
*Exactly,* Luminestra confirmed. *Solving this will require thinking like the Architects thought. Understanding their minds, their humor, their logic.*
Draven smiled slightly.
A cosmic puzzle designed by ancient beings with sense of humor.
The alliance gathered before the ward while examining the puzzle from multiple angles. Golems remained dormant throughout the antechamber waiting, watching, ready to activate if defenses triggered.
"We solve this carefully," Draven decided. "No rushing. The Architects designed this to be challenged properly."
Adhivar and Luminestra began analyzing patterns as cosmic knowledge and dragon memory worked in tandem. The puzzle was complex, layered, sophisticated.
But solvable.
The First Anchor waited beyond that ward.
They would solve it.
---