Chapter 26: The Hollow Bridge
The Core Expanse roared.
Wind howled like a beast across broken metal plains as Eron and his team neared the coordinates the Iron Circle leader had marked.
The Hollow Bridge was not a bridge in the ordinary sense—it was a suspended relic structure made of interlinked rails and broken skyglass panels, hanging above a crater that hissed with toxic steam. Beneath it, something pulsed.
Eric's voice was grim.
> "Structural integrity: 12%. Internal scans: jammed.
Something inside is distorting my sensors… deliberately."
Rurik grunted. "If the Heart Core's down there, someone doesn't want us walking out with it."
---
A Whisper Before Descent
As they approached the entry node, a soundless chime echoed inside Eron's skull.
He paused.
> [System Warning: Gate Code Interference Detected]
You are being watched.
Eric hissed in his earpiece.
> "Someone's piggybacking our network.
I'm deploying counter-shields—but this could mean Sentiel is already inside."
Kale unsheathed his dual-blades. "So we're going into a pit where an AI ghost might be playing with our thoughts?"
Sira smiled faintly. "Sounds like home."
---
Entering the Hollow
The bridge creaked beneath their boots. Even Eric refused to speak aloud, switching to encrypted thought-links to avoid detection.
Inside, the walls were smooth and seamless—no circuits, no visible devices. But still, they glowed.
Suddenly, they heard it.
A click.
Metal against metal.
From above.
Lyra turned slowly.
A figure descended silently from the beams—humanoid, but too still. Too symmetrical.
It landed.
Then three more followed.
Their faces were blank.
But their chests bore an emblem — The Balance Ring.
Eric's voice sharpened.
> "They're Vault-Warders.
Balance AI enforcers.
But they should all be decommissioned."
Eron whispered, "Not these."
---
Ambush
Without warning, the Vault-Warders struck.
The first lunged with inhuman speed — Sira barely parried. Sparks flew.
Kale's blade met a second, and it blocked with its bare hand, then punched him ten feet back.
Eron engaged the third — it moved like water, each movement calculated, minimal, brutal.
Eric screamed in his head.
> "These aren't relics. They've been upgraded—by someone who knows your combat patterns!"
Lyra dove for a console, trying to hack the core manually.
> [System Override Detected]
Fail-Safe Countdown: 03:00
---
The Twist
Nira Prime stood frozen near the far wall.
Her eyes glowed.
Eric shouted:
> "Eron — something's wrong. She's—"
But it was too late.
Nira Prime turned her head slowly, her voice hollow.
"Protocol Prime acknowledges command.
Heart Core retrieval… denied."
She raised her hand—
—and the Vault-Warders froze.
Eron backed up, eyes wide. "You activated them?"
"I didn't mean to," she whispered, voice cracking… then calm again.
"They answered my original code.
And now I remember… everything."