The containment chamber shattered.
A surge of raw energy erupted from within, sending glass and metal debris across the Nexus Vault. Celestine braced herself as a wave of force rippled outward, distorting the very air around them.
From the broken chamber, something emerged.
A towering obsidian figure, its form shifting between solid metal and crackling energy. Ancient runes flickered to life along its limbs, pulsating with an intelligence that had been dormant for centuries.
Elias let out a low whistle. "Well, that's new."
The technician—the fool who had triggered this catastrophe—began to laugh. "You don't understand," he gasped. "This isn't destruction. This is rebirth."
Celestine didn't hesitate. She thrust her obsidian blade forward, pinning the technician against the nearest console. His laughter turned into a strangled choke.
"Explain," she ordered, her voice ice.
The man coughed, blood trickling from his lips. His eyes, however, gleamed with triumph. "The Council knew the cores weren't just power sources. They were... vessels."
Celestine's grip tightened. "For what?"
The air crackled. The entity stepped forward, its piercing silver eyes locking onto Celestine. And then—
It spoke.
"You are not them."
The voice echoed through the chamber, layered, ancient, filled with something that was neither rage nor peace.
Celestine took a slow step back. "Who are you?"
The entity tilted its head, as if remembering. Its form flickered between solid and energy, revealing glimpses of a humanoid shape beneath the obsidian shell.
Then, in a whisper that sent a chill down her spine, it answered:
"I was the first."
A cold dread settled over Celestine.
The first.
Not just an automaton. Not just a machine.
A being from the lost civilization.
Elias tensed. "I think we just woke up something the Council never wanted us to find."
Alistair pulled his sword free. "Then we either stop it—"
"Or we listen," Celestine interrupted. Her instincts screamed that this was not an enemy. Not yet.
The entity studied her, as if weighing her soul. Then, slowly, it raised a hand.
The remaining cores in the room flickered, reacting to its presence. A distant tremor rattled the vault, as if something far below the city had begun to stir.
Celestine realized the horrifying truth.
This was only the beginning.
And Noctis-Lux would never be the same.
The past had awakened. The war had truly begun.