Location: Orion High – After School
The final bell rang. Students poured out, chattering about grades, clubs, and weekend plans. But in the hidden corridor beneath the boiler room, Zevor's chamber hummed with tension.
Zevor's core glowed red.
Zevor (urgent): "An anomaly has emerged—directly beneath this school."
The team gathered around the holomap. A pulsating red dot blinked below the gym.
Zayn: "That wasn't there yesterday."Rayna: "Or ever."
Lyra (uneasy): "It feels... old. Like it's been waiting."
Zevor's tone deepened.
Zevor: "That location predates this building. Possibly pre-human civilization. A vault… or a trap."
Elsewhere... in the Void
A rift shimmered.Synkris stood in shadow, watching the same spike of energy through a distorted portal.
Synkris: "Ah… the seal weakens."
He extended a hand. Dark light twisted in his palm.
Synkris: "Dig, little Sentinels. Unearth your doom for me."
Back at the School
The Rangers disguised their gear and quietly slipped into the gym after hours. Zayn used a scanner, tracing faint pulses to an old equipment closet.
Jett (peeking in): "This? What, is Earth's greatest secret under the dodgeballs?"
But as Kael pressed his hand to the floor—it cracked. Faint, ancient glyphs lit up.
Suddenly—
BOOM. The ground trembled. Lights flickered.A deep growl echoed upward.
Kael (wide-eyed): "Tell me that was a stomach rumble."
Lyra: "It wasn't mine."
From the crack… black mist began to rise.
The cracked floor beneath the gym opened wider with each tremor. Stone gave way to ancient metal, revealing a spiraling staircase carved in symbols no Earth language could read.
Zayn (scanning): "Prehuman. Same origin as the Nova Shards. This place wasn't built—it was buried."
Kael (tense): "Then we dig deeper."
The team descended cautiously, armor ready, the darkness swallowing their footsteps.
The Vault
They reached a colossal chamber—round, domed, and pulsing faintly with blue and gold light. In the center stood a massive containment crystal, suspended by chains of energy.
Inside floated a figure.
Ten feet tall. Humanoid. Ancient armor. Face hidden behind a rusted helm.Black cracks ran through the crystal. Void energy leaked slowly from within.
Lyra (hushed): "That thing... it's alive."Zevor (through comms): "Designation: Karnex. A war-bringer sealed by the first Nova Sentinels. He was not destroyed—only imprisoned."
Rayna: "Why beneath a school?"Zevor: "Because the world forgot. And so it slept."
Suddenly, the vault trembled again.
Chains of light flashed and flickered. A deep groan echoed from within the crystal as one black eye snapped open.
Jett (backing up): "Welp. That's a nope."
But it was too late—the cracks deepened, and a single word thundered out from Karnex's sealed mouth:
Karnex: "...Release..."
Back in the Void
Synkris watched, eyes burning with twisted delight.
Synkris: "Soon, Karnex. Let them free you… and Earth will fall not by my hand, but by its own forgotten sins."
To Be Continued…