Chapter 30: Echoes of the Vault
\[New Objective: Reach Nexus Vault]
\[Final Memory Archive Fragment Location Confirmed]
\[Manual Entry Required – Security Level Omega]
The Devourers had stopped chasing.
For now.
Zayn and his squad trudged through the maintenance tunnels beneath Dead City, the light from their flashlights throwing long shadows on the damp, rusted walls. The memory fragment still pulsed within the Core Server orb, faint but insistent—guiding them deeper.
Kira walked beside him, blade still drawn. Reina and Max took rear guard, while Iris quietly scanned the corridor map on her holo-interface.
"No signs of enemies nearby," Iris whispered, "but this route will lead us straight under the Nexus Vault's foundation."
Reina clicked her tongue. "Perfect for an ambush."
They kept moving.
The silence grew oppressive.
Not the silence of peace—but the silence before something awful.
A few minutes later, the path opened into a wide underground plaza. Abandoned storage crates lined the walls. A shattered tram track split the floor. A flickering neon sign still read NEXUS RESEARCH – SUB GATEWAY.
Then Max stopped.
"Wait. That sound—"
A metallic screech echoed from ahead.
Then a roar.
Not from a Devourer.
Something deeper. Hungrier.
\[Alert: Unclassified Hostile Signature Detected]
\[Code Name: Revenant]
\[Origin: Project N Experimental Subject]
From the shadows emerged a humanoid shape—limping, crooked, face hidden behind a broken VR mask. Its arms were too long, joints dislocated, and its skin shimmered like corrupted code. It wore a tattered Nexus uniform.
The thing screamed.
Max fired first—burst rounds to the chest—but it barely flinched.
The Revenant moved fast.
A blur.
It was on Max in a blink, slamming him into the tram rail with unnatural strength.
"MAX!" Reina yelled, rushing in.
Kira followed, slicing at the creature's side. Sparks and blood flew, but the thing only grew more frenzied.
Zayn's vision pulsed.
The Core Server orb reacted to the Revenant—vibrating, warning.
Then a flash—
A vision, brief and jagged.
The Revenant strapped to a chair. Wires in its spine. Screaming.
\[Subject N-06: Neural Overload – Failed Containment]
\[Status: Reanimated | Hostile Behavior Logged]
"It's one of us," Zayn whispered. "Another failed subject."
He raised his rifle.
But the Revenant turned toward him—eyes glowing through the cracked VR mask.
It *recognized* him.
Then it charged.
Zayn dropped low, rolled, and unleashed a burst of fire across its side. Kira came in from behind, slicing deep into its exposed neck.
It shrieked, stumbled—and then the orb flared.
\[Neural Sync Detected – Triggering Stabilization Pulse]
The Revenant froze.
Its entire body shuddered as the orb's energy pulsed outward. The light pierced its mask.
For a moment, it stared at Zayn.
A voice—garbled but human—escaped its mouth.
"…get out… before… they rewrite you…"
Then it collapsed.
Dead.
Truly dead.
Zayn knelt beside it, heart pounding.
The others regrouped. Max clutched his side, bruised but alive.
"That… was different," Iris murmured. "Like it wasn't just another monster."
"No," Zayn said. "It was a warning."
He looked ahead—at the massive vault door that now loomed in the distance, recessed into the concrete wall like a forgotten tomb.
A hand scanner blinked red.
But the Core Server orb lit up in his palm.
\[Access Granted – Subject N-07 Recognized]
\[Nexus Vault Opening…]
The door creaked open, revealing stairs descending into pure darkness.
Reina reloaded. "Whatever's left in there… it's not going to be friendly."
Zayn stared into the black.
His past—his real past—waited down there.
And maybe the key to ending this world for good.
"We go together," he said.
The squad nodded.
One by one, they stepped into the dark.
The vault door slammed behind them.
\[Final Phase Initiated – Core Memory Sync Required]
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Author's Note:
Thank you for reading Chapter 30! The Revenant was just a taste of what's still lurking inside the Nexus Vault. With the squad trapped inside and the final memory fragment close, Zayn's choices will shape what happens next. See you soon in Chapter 31!