Chapter 6
Adal sat alone in the dim light of the bunker, his eyes fixated on the flickering holographic screen in front of him. The usual quiet hum of machines filled the space, a constant reminder of his isolation. But this time, something was different.
The interference had returned.
He had first detected it days ago, an odd signal, faint but insistent. A pulse beneath the noise of the old-world data streams. At first, he thought it was just a glitch—a fragment of a forgotten system long since decayed. But this wasn't the usual static. This was something else entirely.
Adal's fingers hovered over the console. His eyes narrowed. It wasn't the same signal he'd encountered previously—the one he'd traced to the Watchers in the wild. This was… stronger. More purposeful. Something was manipulating the machines. And that was a trail he couldn't ignore.
He zoomed in on the data, watching as the interference pulses grew in frequency, almost like a heartbeat.
"What is this?" he muttered under his breath.
He'd spent years with Sylens, studying ancient tech, learning how to manipulate it, how to make it bend to his will. But this… this was different.
His eyes flicked over to the weapons array—his EMP, his grappling hook, and his custom glider. They were the tools he'd used for his explorations. But this felt bigger.
Adal had learned a lot in the years under Sylens' tutelage. He knew when to dig deeper and when to let things go. But the knowledge in this signal—this was a path he couldn't let slip away.
Without hesitation, Adal punched in coordinates on the console sending it to his custom focus, mapping a route far outside the bunker. His mind raced. The signal wasn't close, but it was clear—it had a source. And he was going to find it.
His hand hovered over the console again, his fingers brushing the EMP device at his belt. He was ready for whatever lay ahead. He wasn't going to wait for Sylens' approval anymore.
Adal grabbed his pack, slinging it over his shoulder. As he moved to the door, he shot a glance at the bunker's central computer. "I'll be back with answers," he promised, more to himself than anything else.
He stepped into the cold air of Banuk territory, the snow biting at his face. Ahead, the mountains loomed like silent sentinels, guarding the path to whatever lay beyond. His heart quickened, a familiar thrill of anticipation rising within him. This was the start of something bigger.
And he was going to find it.
Adal crouched in the shadow of a ruined structure, eyes fixed on the distant horizon of Banuk territory. He had followed the trail of interference for days, through snowfields and rocky ravines, each step pushing him further into unknown lands. But the interference wasn't the same as before. No, this was something different. More complex. More dangerous.
He had expected a simple echo of what he'd found in the previous machine. But the new signal… it was stronger, cleaner. Something—or someone—was actively manipulating the machines, controlling them like a puppet on strings.
Adal's hand went instinctively to the EMP device at his belt, a tool he had perfected over the years. He had used it countless times, but now it felt like a small weapon against something far greater. He could sense it. There was something waiting ahead. Something that would give him the answers he sought
Adal's mind raced. Sylens had taught him everything he knew about technology, but this… this was something new. Sylens would never approve. But he couldn't wait any longer. The need to understand the source of the interference, to uncover the truth of this new signal, was too strong.
He tightened his grip on his grappling hook, the cool metal a comforting weight in his hand. "Knowledge is power," Sylens had said. But in the pursuit of that power, Adal had learned not to trust anyone—not even Sylens. Adal had to chart his own course.
The Cauldron stood ahead, like a looming giant, partially buried in snow and ice. Cauldron EPSILON, a relic from the old world. From the Banuk's frozen wilderness to the heart of this mechanical labyrinth, this was where he would uncover the truth. He knew it was dangerous—but that only made it more enticing.
The entrance to the Cauldron was hidden behind a wall of ice, its twisted metal and ancient technology barely visible beneath the snowdrifts. Adal approached cautiously, studying the terrain. There was no turning back now.
The first layer of defenses kicked in.
He barely had time to react as flame-spitting turrets deployed from hidden alcoves above him, firing down at incredible speed. Adal rolled to the side, using his grappling hook to swing himself out of the line of fire. The projectiles missed by inches, sizzling into the snow with bursts of flame. The heat of the blast kissed his skin, making him wince.
Adal's heart pounded in his chest, but his focus never wavered. He quickly recalibrated his EMP device, activating it to disable the turrets' sensors. The EMP surged through the air with a crackling pulse, disabling the automated defenses temporarily.
He didn't wait. He sprinted forward, sliding between the now-crippled turrets and reaching the Cauldron's entrance. The moment he stepped inside, the ground beneath his feet rumbled.
Inside the Cauldron
Adal's breath misted in the cold air, and the interior of the Cauldron greeted him with eerie silence. The walls were lined with decaying machinery—old-world tech, half-destroyed by time and corrosion, but still alive. Something here was active, something ancient and powerful.
A low hum vibrated through the walls as he carefully made his way deeper into the heart of the Cauldron, the faint glow of his custom glider casting an ethereal light against the walls. He had used it to navigate through the treacherous landscape of Banuk territory, but now, inside the Cauldron, it was his eyes and ears, the light from its compact wings illuminating the dark passageways.
But he wasn't alone. He could feel it. The machine presence was overwhelming—Watcher eyes glowing in the distance, their movements controlled by something far beyond simple programming.
The Cauldron's second layer of defenses activated as Adal approached the central chamber: a massive gate sealed shut by a thick metal door. He stepped back, using his EMP to trigger a temporary malfunction in the gate's locking mechanism.
As the door began to open, a new threat appeared. From the shadows, a massive Thunderjaw emerged, its mechanical jaws snapping, charging toward him.
Adal barely had time to react. He launched himself into the air using his glider's boost, narrowly dodging the Thunderjaw's charge. He swung around a support column, using his grappling hook to swing to a higher vantage point.
The Thunderjaw circled below, its sensors now locked onto him. Adal had no time to waste. The EMP wasn't enough to disable it, so he reached into his pack and pulled out something new—a refracted arrow, specially designed to penetrate the Thunderjaw's thick armor.
He launched it with pinpoint precision, aiming for the weak point in its plating. The explosion that followed was deafening, but Adal didn't wait to watch the machine fall. He had to keep moving.
HEPHAESTUS
The deeper Adal ventured into the Cauldron, the more complex the defenses became. Mechanisms that he had never seen before sprang to life: automated turrets, circuitry puzzles, and deadly traps that he had to dismantle, override, or evade.
Finally, he reached the heart of the Cauldron: a large chamber that pulsed with blue light. The center of the room was dominated by a massive control node, bathed in the flickering light of malfunctioning systems.
Adal's fingers flew over his hack interface, attempting to break into the system. But as the network unraveled before him, he felt it—the presence. A rogue AI.
HEPHAESTUS.
A low, mechanical voice echoed through the chamber:
"Unauthorized access detected. Intruder identified."
The words sent a chill down Adal's spine. This wasn't just a machine—it was a mind. A presence.
HEPHAESTUS spoke again, its voice cold and calculating:
"You should not have come here.This Knowledge is not meant for you or your people ."
But Adal didn't hesitate. His fingers danced across the interface, overriding the Cauldron's mainframe. HEPHAESTUS was powerful, but so was he. He had learned from Sylens and all of the stored Old world knowledge that he could access. He was ready.
"I'll take my chances," he muttered under his breath as the final sequence was completed.
The lights in the Cauldron flickered one last time before plunging into complete darkness.
Adal was alone in the silence, the voice of HEPHAESTUS still echoing in his mind.