The vault finished opening with a long, dragged-out groan, metal plates folding inward and locking into the walls as if the place itself had finally accepted defeat. Warm air rolled out first, carrying the smell of old power systems, dust, and something that reminded Xavier of ozone and burned circuitry.
They stepped inside.
The space wasn't a room. It was a hollowed sector, wider than a hangar, the ceiling disappearing into darkness broken only by slow, floating light nodes that activated one after another as they crossed the threshold. Rows didn't exist here. Nothing was neatly arranged. It looked like Bull had dumped fragments of half the galaxy into one place and decided that was good enough.
