The dawn came cold and pale, seeping through the clouds like a half-hearted promise of warmth. They hadn't slept much. No one trusted the darkness anymore not after Ben's sudden appearance, and not with the hum of that fragment pulsing faintly in Vile's pack.
They broke camp before sunrise. The air was sharp with frost, the earth damp beneath their boots as they moved along a narrow mountain path that twisted down toward the forest below. A thin mist clung to the trees like old ghosts, swallowing their shapes one by one as they pushed deeper in.
Alex led the way this time, his eyes scanning the undergrowth for signs of movement — an ambush, a spy, or worse, Ben himself. Kira stayed close behind him, her fingers brushing the hilts of the Daggers of Fate every few steps as if to remind herself they were still real, still hers to command.
Mya walked alongside her, glancing back now and then at Vile, who lagged slightly behind, absorbed in the steady glow of the metal shard he held in his gloved hand.
"You okay back there?" Mya called over her shoulder.
Vile didn't look up. "I'm following something."
Alex slowed. "Following what?"
Vile lifted the shard higher, turning it until the neon-blue lines pulsed in response to something unseen in the forest ahead. "It's reacting to something. There's more tech nearby maybe another fragment, maybe an old vault. I don't know yet."
He lowered his voice so only the closest could hear. "But if I'm right… we're not the only ones following this signal."
A branch cracked in the woods. Everyone froze. The mist seemed to close in tighter, pressing against their skin like cold breath.
Kira stepped forward, scanning the trees. "Ben?"
"Doubt it," Alex muttered. "He wants us chasing shadows."
Vile's eyes narrowed behind his lenses. "Or maybe he wants us here for a reason."
They pressed on, the silence broken only by the rustle of leaves underfoot. The deeper they went, the more the forest felt wrong too quiet, too still, like the world was holding its breath.
Eventually, the path opened into a clearing. At the center stood a ruin a squat stone structure half-swallowed by roots and moss, its doorway framed by ancient carvings long faded by time.
The shard in Vile's hand flared bright enough to illuminate his face. He stepped forward, all hesitation gone. "This is it."
Alex held up a hand, stopping him. "Wait. If this is another vault, we don't know what's inside."
"Or who's waiting," Mya added.
Vile brushed past them anyway. "Then I'll find out first."
Kira moved to follow, but Alex caught her wrist. "Let him. This is what he's good at."
Inside, the ruin was colder than the forest. The walls were lined with unfamiliar symbols that glowed faintly as Vile passed, the shard guiding him deeper. He paused before a pedestal in the center of a circular chamber and there it was. Another fragment. Larger, more intact than the one he carried.
He exhaled, reaching out. His gloved fingers brushed the surface and the ruin shuddered.
Outside, Kira felt it first. A tremor through the earth that made the birds take flight from the trees.
"Vile!" she called into the shadows of the doorway. "What did you do?"
Before he could answer, the clearing erupted. The ground split open with a hiss of steam and metal old defense constructs, spider-like machines clambering from hidden pits, their eyes glowing the same blue as the fragment in Vile's palm.
Alex swore under his breath. "Get ready!"
Kira drew the Daggers, their edges shimmering with the same eerie light as the ruin itself. Mya stepped in beside her, staff at the ready.
Inside, Vile clutched the new fragment and turned, eyes wide as he realized the ruin was sealing him in. Old gears ground shut over the door as the machines skittered forward, clicking and hissing in the clearing.
Alex's voice cut through the chaos. "We hold them back! Mya — shields! Kira — cover the entrance! Vile, get out of there!"
But Kira knew Vile wouldn't leave empty-handed. This was why he was here.
She gripped the Daggers tighter, feeling their power hum in her bones.
No more running, she thought.
The ruin shuddered again and the real fight began.