Klak… klak… klak…
The sound echoed louder now. Steady. Unhurried.
Kaiser moved first, drawing Vow breaker in one smooth motion. His instincts screamed to run but something deeper, older, told him to stand his ground.
Lira pressed her back to the wall, blade already in hand. Her voice was low. "I've only read about this. One of the old units. From the early System cycles."
"A Cleansing Unit?" Kaiser asked, eyes scanning the hallway beyond the vault.
"No," she said. "Worse. This one predates even that. It's an Executioner."
The Echo of Silence stood still, gaze fixed on the corridor.
"They were built before the System Architects implemented choice," he said quietly. "No morality. No pause. Just command and purge."
Kaiser frowned. "How do we kill it?"
"You don't," the Echo replied. "You survive it."
The System interface flared again this time blood-red:
[SYSTEM ALERT:]
Designation: EXECUTIONER-001
Class: Relic Enforcer
Status: Active
Objective: Purge Anomaly "KAISER"
Directives: Terminate.
From the shadows beyond the vault, something stepped forward.
It wasn't massive. Not some towering monster. That would've been easier to face.
It was human-sized, slim, silent, wrapped in black metallic armor etched with unreadable scripts. Its face was a mirrored mask, smooth and cold, reflecting only the frightened eyes of whoever looked into it.
In its hand, it held a jagged blade that shimmered like oil.
And as it stepped into the vault, the air seemed to freeze. Not in temperature but in time. Like everything was holding its breath.
"Run?" Lira asked.
"No," Kaiser said, raising Vow breaker. "We fight."
The Executioner moved like a ghost. One moment still, the next already in motion.
Sparks flew as blade met blade. Kaiser blocked the first strike barely and felt the shock ripple through his bones.
It didn't fight like a man. It didn't hesitate. Didn't recoil. It was like fighting inevitability.
Lira slashed from the side, catching the unit's arm, but her blade didn't cut, just scraped off the black armor.
The Echo didn't move to help.
"Why aren't you doing something?" Kaiser shouted.
"I'm not real," the Echo replied calmly. "Just a warning that showed up late."
Kaiser rolled back, panting. His arm was numb. The Executioner hadn't slowed once.
"We can't beat this thing head-on," he said.
Lira nodded. "Then we change the rules."
She threw a smoke pellet to the floor. Instantly, the room flooded with grey mist thick and choking.
They split.
The Executioner didn't.
It walked straight through the smoke, blade out, as if it could see without eyes.
But Kaiser wasn't aiming to escape.
He was circling.
Behind the vault wall, the cracked crystal from before began to glow again. Brighter this time.
The obsidian seed in Kaiser's coat pulsed with it resonanting .
He reached into his pocket and touched it.
A small interface blinked open one that didn't belong to the System.
It simply read:
[Override Opportunity: 3 Seconds]
Use stored rebellion fragment?
WARNING: This will mark you as "UNBOUND".
Lira's voice cut through the smoke. "Kaiser!"
He pressed the option.
Everything stopped.
The Executioner froze mid-strike. The air itself seemed to ripple.
And then...
[System Breach Detected]
[Unknown Protocol Engaged]
[Seed of Rebellion-Awakening Phase 1]
Kaiser's eyes widened as glowing blue symbols crawled up his arm, spreading from the seed like lightning. He didn't feel pain, he felt clarity.
The Executioner's mask turned directly toward him.
For the first time, it hesitated.
Then it raised its blade again.
And charged.