Chapter 115: Into the nexus vault

After a 2 hour period of rest and mental conditioning, finally, it was time. The Nexus vault loomed before them like a slumbering giant, half-buried under the rubble of a long-forgotten age. The metallic vines coiled around its reinforced door pulsed faintly, alive with a strange, ancient power. Clayton stood at the threshold, his companions gathered close; Torren gripping his Pyreaxe, Veyra now armed with her newly acquired bow Artifact, Kaelin and Soren poised like twin blades ready to strike. Lorn had stayed behind to watch over the fledgling enclave alongside Clayton’s Verdant Lord form. She loved the idea. It would give her a chance to get to know the big guy better and more personally. She was curious to know both sides of Clayton. The thought of his Rootsite, now sheltering survivors for the first time, gave Clayton a renewed sense of purpose. Whatever waited inside this vault would not stop him from securing a future for his people. Most importantly, he wanted to learn the secret that was hidden behind the vault. His senses told him that there was an important truth inside. With a steadying breath, Clayton placed his palm against the door. The Heartseed core in his chest thrummed in resonance. A cascade of emerald light rippled outward, and the metallic vines unfurled. The vault door groaned and split open with a hiss of escaping gas, revealing a dark passageway lined with glowing Mycoglyphs. The system’s voice whispered faintly in his mind: DING! ~----~ [Nexus Vault Access Granted!] [WARNING: Internal Defenses Active!] [Initiating Trial Echoes...] ~----~ ’Trial echoes?’ Clayton furrowed his brows. They descended into silence, the air growing thicker, heavy with Genesis matter. The deeper they went, the stronger the feeling of presence; something old, something that had witnessed centuries of trials and failures. The first chamber was vast, a cathedral-like expanse with walls etched in glowing patterns. But before they could fully take in the sight, movement shimmered from the shadows. Three hulking Behemorphs emerged, each distinct yet unified in menace. ’Luminous Seed from the onset?’ That was the first thought that crossed Clayton’s mind as he paid attention to the 3 monsters. The most prominent of the 3 was a Null Crown horror, its aura suppressing Genesis Embers so completely Clayton felt a chill gnaw at his core. The mere sight of it made his bowels churn. Beside it, a Thorn Crown Behemorph emerged, bristled with jagged, kinetic spines that shifted with a predator’s patience. The third was worse; a Wraith, its Spore Crown aura ethereal, body phasing in and out of existence like a malignant dream. ’A humanoid Behemorph?’ Clayton was shocked. ’And a Wraith?!’ Clayton had never seen a Wraith before, and he never believed in their existence before, till now. From the look on Torren’s face, clearly, even the most experienced of them all had never seen nor even heard of a Wraith Behemorph before. They didn’t have time to think. The system notification flashed again, filling their vision. DING! ~----~ [Trial Echo Initiated: Null Crown Enforcer, Thorn Crown Juggernaut, Spore Crown Wraith] ~----~ "Stay sharp!" Clayton barked as the Behemorphs lunged. The battle erupted in chaos. Torren’s pyro-roots lashed out, searing into the Juggernaut’s thorned hide, while Soren’s Emberblade clashed against spines that screeched like metal. Kaelin vanished into the Ashveil, striking from shadow to shadow, cutting sinew and retreating before retaliation. Veyra’s new bow sang... WHOOSH! Her lethal precision was back in all its brutal glory. Each vine-tipped bone arrow exploded on impact, slowing the Wraith’s phasing. Clayton met the Null Crown head-on, roots lashing, Genesis Embers suppressed yet burning brighter from sheer will. The first time he faced a Null Crown, he was an Initiate Ember Awakened, and the bastard was a Luminous Seed. He stood no chance. Heck, even when he faced the Null Scion Generators of the Ironblood Remnants, he was helpless as he couldn’t resist the power of the generators. But Echoes of Ruin rejected to an extent. Then, Clayton realized that it was because of his lacking rank. Today though, his rank was no longer lacking. He was at the same rank as the bastard, leveling the battlefield. "Come on bastard!" He grinned. The beast’s suppression field dulled his Aphid Network’s edge, but Clayton adapted; his Heartseed Core flaring, converting biomass into raw force. With a roar, he slammed thorned roots into the Null Crown’s core, impaling it in a burst of viridian energy. The beast crumpled. "Focus fire!" he shouted. Together, the team overwhelmed the Juggernaut, Clayton and Torren striking in brutal unison as their synergy proved a brutal combination until the Thorn Crown monstrosity collapsed in splintered heaps. Only the Wraith remained, slipping in and out of tangibility, spores drifting like malignant snow. With the others dead, now, the team could focus on it. They surrounded it, kiting it even as they devised a plan to take it down. Torren, always the strategist, didn’t take long to get a plan. WHOOSH! Veyra unleashed her arrows, pinning the Wraith down, spectral cries reverberating as Clayton’s roots finally bound it. With the help of Torren’s pyro-roots, the Wraith couldn’t phase anymore, raw Genesis power suppressing and holding it down. They strained, but they held it down just long enough for Soren to move. As soon as the Wraith was immobilized, Soren moved, executing Torren’s plan even as his Emberblade cleaved through its shimmering form with a blaze of fury, dispersing it into luminous dust. Understanding the lethality of Soren’s Aspect despite the fact that he was still just Initiate Ember, Torren theorized that he was their key to killing the Wraith, and he was right. The sheer destructive power of Soren’s Aspect killed the Wraith. DING! ~----~ [Trial Echo Cleared: Null Crown Enforcer, Thorn Crown Juggernaut, Spore Crown Wraith] [Genesis Embers Gained: 420] ~----~ Not all of them were internal embers, they collected a few Genesis shards from the carcasses of the Behemorphs after dressing them down. Breathing hard, they pressed deeper. The vault seemed to shift, corridors reconfiguring as if alive. Eventually, they reached a chamber filled with dormant mechanical constructs; Initiate Ember drones at first glance, their frames skeletal but humming with stored power. As they stepped inside, eyes blazed red. The constructs awoke, then... BZZZ! Dozens swarmed forward, all Initiate Ember rank, the floor vibrating under their synchronized charge. Clayton’s Aphid Network flared to life, insectoid minions spilling through cracks in the walls to meet the tide. He didn’t bring his Behemorph army in here, but he could still control insects. Kaelin darted through the chaos, dismantling constructs piece by piece, while Torren’s Pyreaxe carved through metal in arcs of flame. Soren’s Emberblade was a blazing shield, intercepting strikes meant for Veyra as she rained arrows that detonated in fiery burts. But from deeper within the chamber came a greater threat; a Luminous Seed construct sentinel, towering, plated with obsidian alloys and wreathed in Nexus fire. Its strikes were like thunderclaps, shaking the chamber. Clayton leapt forward, Verdant power erupting. Thorned roots grappled with the sentinel as his Heartseed Core blazed, Regalia transforming into a spear that pierced through molten joints. Torren flanked with burning vines, Kaelin severed conduits, and Soren drove his Emberblade deep into its chest. The sentinel collapsed in an eruption of molten sparks. DING! ~----~ [Trial Echo Cleared: Mechanical Constructs] [Genesis Embers Gained: 600] ~----~ Exhausted yet relentless, they moved on to the final chamber. At its center lay a massive Mycoglyph panel, its ancient interface glowing faintly. Clayton stepped forward, and the system’s voice resonated. DING! ~----~ [Nexus Archive Access Granted] [Genesis Protocols: Trial III Parameters Revealed] [Warning: Forgotten Atlanta Expanse Trial Requires Minimum 3 Challengers for Activation] [Current Challengers Detected: 1] ~----~ The revelation hit like a hammer. Trial III of the Genesis Protocols could not be faced alone. It was vastly different from the first trial and the second trials. Clayton stared at the glowing panel, understanding dawning; a new challenge, not of strength alone but unity, cooperation. Behind him, Torren stepped closer, his voice low but firm. "Looks like you won’t be walking this next path by yourself". He smiled. "You know, I’ve never had the confidence to actually attempt it but I’ve been jealous of those trial Awakened all my life". "They advantages they enjoy always left me envious". "So, yes, this is my dream too". He looked Clayton in the face. "I didn’t know about this before now, but nothing went wrong. I’m ready to go with you anywhere, face the world together. Face Echoterra and the Genesis Protocols". "Heck, it’s just been 2 months or so and yet I feel like I’ve known you all my life". He laughed. "I’m with you man". "I’m with you too". Veyra added. "Me too". Kaelin and Soren chipped in. Clayton didn’t answer immediately. He just stood, staring at the glowing panel as the haunting memories of Echoterra flashed through his head. But at the same time, he remembered... his kin. He didn’t know where he was. He had no idea if he even survived. He smiled. ’Saving him changed me. Maybe that’s why I opened up to make friends’. He finally turned to face his companions, eyes burning with determination. "No," he agreed. "I won’t be walking this next path by myself". "This time... we rise together".