The wind howled over the broken landscape of Ashvine. Once a thriving trade hub in the First Era, the region now stood as a jagged corpse of steel towers, half-buried in time and covered in ash-gray vines. The ground trembled with faint pulses—resonance from forgotten machinery buried below.
A four-man squad approached the threshold.
Eli, still bruised but standing taller than ever.
Mira, steady as steel, her dual daggers sheathed across her back.
Jericho, armed with a compact rifle that hummed with kinetic charge.
And Cael, the newest addition, practically skipping with excitement.
He was already fiddling with the cracked device strapped to his forearm. Lights blinked erratically.
"This place gives me the chills," Mira muttered.
"Which means we're in the right spot," Cael said cheerfully.
---
Inside the Wreck
Ashvine's entrance was guarded by ancient steel gates, rusted but sealed tight. Cael kneeled by the control panel, brushing off the ash and dust.
Jericho watched him skeptically. "You sure you're not just a scavenger with a good pitch?"
Cael smirked, wires already wrapped around his fingers. "Please. Scavengers die out here. I, however, intend to get rich… and maybe not die."
A spark shot from the panel, and the gates groaned open, revealing a dark corridor that sloped downward into the heart of the ruins.
"After you," Cael said, bowing slightly.
Eli stepped forward without hesitation.
---
Echoes of the Past
The deeper they went, the colder it became. Lights flickered on the walls—some still faintly powered by residual energy. Strange glyphs lined the corridors, symbols from a time before Proxy's reign.
Eli paused at one of them. It pulsed when he passed.
Mira noticed. "That symbol… it reacted to you."
Jericho stepped closer. "Some of these ruins were tied to Threadlight users. Maybe that's why Proxy's so afraid of them being found."
"Afraid," Cael added, "or hoping we awaken something they can use."
That thought sent a chill through them all.
---
The Heart of the Ruins
They reached a massive chamber, its ceiling domed and covered with mechanical vines, motionless… for now. At its center stood a pedestal—on it, a glowing orb of dull red glass.
Eli stepped forward instinctively.
"Wait—" Cael began, but the moment Eli touched it, the orb pulsed.
Hard.
The walls lit up with blue circuits, ancient tech surging awake after decades of silence.
And from the ceiling, the vines moved.
---
Ambush
A thunderous roar echoed through the ruins as mechanical tendrils snapped to life, striking down with the speed of whips. One grazed Jericho, throwing him across the room. Mira ducked and retaliated with a blade strike, severing a vine cleanly.
Cael shouted, "It's a guardian! You triggered it!"
Eli gritted his teeth, holding up the orb as it pulsed again—this time, brighter. The vines froze.
The machine… hesitated.
"Keep holding it!" Mira yelled.
Cael scrambled to a side panel. "I can override it—just buy me thirty seconds!"
Eli planted his feet. Another vine swung—he ducked and rolled, the orb still glowing in his grasp.
"I don't think it likes me!"
"Neither do I," Jericho growled, blasting another vine with his rifle.
Cael shouted, "Done!"
The chamber shuddered—and then everything stopped.
The guardian vines slumped back into dormancy. The orb dimmed to a soft red.
They all stood, breathing hard. Eli's hands trembled slightly as he handed the orb to Cael.
---
The Revelation
Cael stared at the artifact in awe. "This… this is a Thread Core. One of the oldest energy sources known to exist."
Jericho raised an eyebrow. "Can it hurt Proxy?"
Cael smiled. "If we use it right, we won't have to hurt them. We'll outmatch them."
Mira nodded. "Let's get it back to base."
But as they turned to leave, none of them noticed the small glyph now glowing faintly on Eli's back—burned into his skin from the orb's reaction.
Something had awakened.