The Crystal Chamber resembled a cathedral of crystals and stones. Towering spires of yellow and orange energy crystals jutted from the walls and floor, their sharp edges gleaming under a harsh radiance emitted by the stone itself. The light was a golden haze that saturated the air. Despite the visual warmth, the temperature dropped to freezing, a chill that frosted the edges of their visors.
In the center of the vaulted ceiling, defying gravity, hung the culprit.
A Raw Crystal Shard—a fragment of unstable ether the size of a carriage—rotated slowly. It burned with an angry orange hue, pulsing with a nauseating thrum that warped the light around it like a heat mirage.
"The miners didn't know a thing," Olin's voice crackled, tight with awe and horror. He adjusted his sensors, the readout reflecting in his glasses. "The drill breached this chamber, hit the shard, and it activated. It sensed danger and used its defenses, dragging every living thing in the vicinity down here instantly."
The squad lowered their gaze from the ceiling to the floor.
Dozens of figures littered the cavern. Miners in orange jumpsuits lay scattered in unnatural poses—some mid-stride, some curled in fetal positions, others with mouths open in silent screams. Translucent, honey-colored crystal prisons encased them, freezing them like insects in solid amber.
Milo scanned the field, his eyes moving between the trapped forms. Some of them twitched their fingers, while others had their eyes darting around.
"They're still alive," Milo's voice was a quiet whisper. "It's using the trapped men as fuel."
"Not for long," Kael unslung his shield.
The cavern groaned. The sound vibrated through the floor, a deep tectonic grinding that signaled a shift in the room's hostility. The Spatial Shard in the ceiling flared, its orange glow screaming into blinding luminance.
From the walls of the chamber, the crystal formations began to shift.
Sections of the cavern detached themselves. They groaned and cracked, reshaping into humanoid forms. Twelve massive crystal humanoids, each standing ten feet tall and composed entirely of faceless, reflective yellow stone, stepped onto the chamber floor.
They were Rank 2 crystal golems.
"Twelve targets," Regius said, his sword humming as he drew it from the sheath. "They reflect energy attacks. Olin, don't use your offensive attacks and keep an eye on the miners. We'll deal with them using physical force."
The Golems roared like grinding glass and charged.
The collision shook the mountain.
The Iron Swords met the wave of monsters as a single, terrifying organism of war, unleashing the summons deep in their Soul Palaces
Kael took front. He slammed his gauntlet against the ground, his shield materialized in front of him.
"Bastion, rise!"
The Mark on his body flared in blue. A massive Construct materialized around him, expanding into a solid wall of made of plates of blue energy. The energy rippled as a few golems slammed into it simultaneously.
The impact sounded like a bell tolling. Kael's boots carved grooves into the stone floor, sliding back inches, but the Construct held firm, its feet digging into the ground to anchor the line.
"Eyes on me, you ugly rocks!" Kael taunted.
"Charge!"
Energy condensed into the massive, armored form of the Iron Boar. Vera vaulted onto its back, her heavy warhammer primed on her shoulder. The Beast snorted steam, its metal-plated hooves tearing up the crystal floor.
Vera kicked the beast's flanks. The Iron Boar accelerated, using their combined momentum to become a living missile. They slammed into the flank of the golems. The impact bypassed the their armor entirely, sending a shockwave through the ground that shattered the footing beneath them.
The golems stumbled, their crystal limbs flailing as the floor disintegrated under the boar's hooves.
"Milo!" Regius barked, parrying a massive amber fist.
Milo tapped his mark. The darkness stretching behind him detached and took form.
The shadow lynx surged forward, growing from the size of a cat to the size of a panther. It dissolved into a pool of darkness that slid beneath the golems' feet.
One Golem raised a fist to smash Kael's barrier. Though, its shadow rebelled. The lynx erupted from the floor, biting down on the golem's knee joint with jaws of tangible black smoke. The golem faltered, its leg buckling.
Milo used the opening. He blinked through the path his summon created. He appeared on a golem's shoulder, driving a spike into its neck joint before vanishing again to appear ten feet away.
But the golems were adapting. They began to group up, their reflective surfaces bouncing the ambient light to create blinding glares, making it impossible to target their weak points.
"They're coordinating!" Vera shouted, swinging her hammer to crack a Golem's arm only to watch it reattach. "I can't get a clean hit with this glare!"
"Olin!" Regius signaled. "Kill their vision!"
Olin stood at the rear. He raised his hand, the Mark on it glowed.
A gale force wind erupted from Olin's position. The Wind Elemental manifested—a spirit made of compressed air and cyclone currents. It dove for the floor.
The spirit tore into the ground, pulverizing the loose crystal debris into a fine, abrasive dust. With a howl, Zephyr whipped the dust into a frenzy, creating a localized storm around the golems' heads.
The yellow crystal dust coated their reflective faces. The abrasive materials scoured their vision, turning the clear prisms opaque.
Blinded, the golems flailed. They swung wildly at empty air, crashing into each other.
"Now!" Regius ordered. "Shatter them!"
Vera charged. With the golems unable to track her movement, she spun, her hammer swung with a scream. She smashed a blinded golem's knee, then its chest, reducing the yellow crystals to powder.
Milo and his lynx moved in sync. The summon pounced on a stumbling Golem, pinning its arm, while Milo blinked above it, driving his daggers into the exposed neck.
The battle descended into a rhythm of harmony for the Iron Swords.
Milo overextended. He blinked behind a golem to sever a hamstring, but another one, hidden by the dust cloud, swung a massive, hammer-like fist at his blind spot.
Milo lacked the stamina to dodge. He braced for the impact.
GONG.
Bastion intercepted. Kael's Construct expanded a limb of blue light, catching the blow inches from Milo's head.
Milo offered no thanks, knowing none was needed. He used the blue shield as a step, vaulting over the golem's head to drive his dagger into the crack the lynx had opened.
"They regenerate!" Vera shouted, watching the yellow shards reassemble.
Regius looked up. The spatial shard in the ceiling intensified its pulse, feeding raw energy into the broken golems below. As long as the heart beat, the monsters remained immortal.
"Cover me!" Regius ordered.
The squad collapsed inward. Kael's Bastion expanded to a full dome, locking its shield arms together; Vera swung her hammer in wide, clearing arcs; Milo and the lynx picked off anything that peeked through the dust cloud.
Regius sheathed his sword. He closed his eyes.
He centered his breathing, ignoring the screaming of metal on crystal. He reached deep into the Soul Palace, touching one of the abilities granted by his summon.
True Sight.
His eyes snapped open, blazing with violet light—a stark, alien contrast to the burning yellow room. The cavern dissolved into a wireframe grid.
He looked at the Shard in the ceiling. Saw the invisible tether which was a thick, pulsating artery of gravity and magic connecting the crystal to the mountain's ley line.
His sword drawn. The blade hummed, coated in a layer of condensed energy that warped the space around the edges.
Regius bent his knees and launched himself.
He surged, exploding in a burst of energy straight up toward the vaulted ceiling. He passed the flailing golems, passed the dripping stalactites, rising until he hovered face-to-face with the orange heart of the anomaly.
The Shard attempted to crush him with gravity.
Regius swung. Targeting the connection, not the crystal itself.
The blade severed the invisible tether. The invisible line snapped with the sound of a breaking whip.
Regius fell, twisting in the air to land in a crouch.
Above him, the massive spatial shard lost its suspension. It plummeted fifty feet, crashing into the center of the chamber floor.
BOOM.
A shockwave of pure force flattened the remaining golems, turning their bodies into harmless yellow dust. The feedback loop shattered every crystal golem in the room.
Regius stood up, the violet light fading from his eyes.
Silence returned to the cavern.
Then, a sound broke it.
A gasp.
The crystal prisons evaporated. Dozens of miners collapsed to the floor, coughing, retching, dragging lungfuls of air into starved lungs.
Olin dismissed Zephyr, the wind dying down to a gentle breeze. He scanned the debris field.
The shattered remains of the golems and the spatial shard lay in piles of glowing orange powder and solid cores.
"Spatial Dust," Olin breathed, stooping to scoop up a handful of glowing powder. "And Crystal Hearts. Regius... these can be sold at a fortune."
Regius looked at the breathing miners. A job well done.
———
The lift groaned, protesting the weight, but the gears turned.
Cramped inside the industrial elevator sat the Iron Swords, they were the last wave that exited the mountains. The mood hung heavy, saturated with exhaustion and the electric buzz of victory.
Olin held a pouch heavy with crystal hearts.
"Just spoke with the foreman," Regius said. "He agreed we take fourty percent of the haul as payment for the rescue."
The squad erupted in cheers.
"I'm doing it," Vera broke the excitement, leaning her head against the rusty cage wall. She looked at her hammer, then at her friends. "I'm buying that rusty bucket. The tavern in Aurus. I'm calling it 'The Hammer.' First drink is free during the soft opening. If you break a glass, you fight the owner—me."
Kael chuckled. He unlatched his helmet, revealing a face streaked with grime but bright with hope.
"A forge," Kael said. "A real one, once I retire. I want to make tools. Ones that help workers, instead of weapons."
"Archives," Olin clutched the pouch. "I'll buy a VIP Pass to the Royal Library. Silence. Some peace after everything I went through."
They all turned to Milo. He was cleaning his dagger, a soft smile playing on his lips.
"I'm paying off the house," Milo said. He looked up, his eyes shining. "Sarra deserves to sleep without worrying about the rent. And then... we're going on a vacation, to the coast. I promised Tavus. The kid has never seen the ocean. I want to teach him how to swim before he gets too old to not see me as a hero."
The lift rattled, nearing the surface.
"What about you, Boss?" Milo asked.
Regius stiffened slightly. He looked at them—his second family. Their dreams were simple and beautiful. He thought of the political war waiting for him, the threats looming over his House, the secret he had to maintain, the blood he would have to spill to keep his loved ones safe.
Regius smiled, a warm, convincing mask.
"I think," Regius said, "I'll just come visit your tavern, Vera. Someone has to make sure you don't beat the customers to a pulp."
The squad laughed. It rang true. A sound of a future that felt within reach.