Excavation Lab

Cyn stood idly as Lenos tried to reconfigure the connection with the tracer. They were more worried about the lives of Team Grim than the state of their mission. As Lenos typed vigorously, he started to get frustrated. Cyn could hear the frustration every time he pressed down on a key.

“Dr. Sawano, please, take a breather,” he suggested.

“I’m sorry.” Lenos continued to type. “I have to help them somehow.”

Cyn walked over to him and placed his hand on Lenos’ shoulder. Lenos stopped typing and lifted his hands from the keyboard.

“I know how you must feel, but you can let this feeling of guilt consume you,” Cyn told him.

Lenos sighed and turned to his superior. He knew Cyn understood what he was going through, but he couldn’t help feeling useless.

“It’s my fault they’re in that predicament. I was so excited to achieve my dream; to help mankind on a scale that only a select few have done.”

“It’s not your fault. You did what anyone in your situation would’ve done.” Cyn took his hand off his shoulder. “I have faith in both Team Grim and Team Trinity, do you?”

He took a moment before answering.

“I do.” He stated with pride.

Cyn nodded at him and Lenos turned back around. He went to work back on trying to reconnect them to the tracer. This time, his mind was at ease and his focus was stronger. After a few more clicks, the monitor showed the tracer’s view. It was still flying over the gorge. They saw Yuto and Elise keeping the vault opened, while Jester and Aleyos stood behind them waiting for more shades to come from the fog.

The lab door opened and Dr. Arcfield walked in the room with Vahlia and Eiano. Both Cyn and Lenos greeted Vahlia with their salute.

“Headmaster, it’s good to see you but if I may, what brings you here?” Lenos asked.

“I came here to show my support, Doctor.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” he said embarrassingly.

Eiano walked forward to Cyn and Lenos, “Did Theon not make it yet?”

“It doesn’t seem like it,” Lenos responded.

“He better hope he does.” Eiano walked away from the group.

“Where are you going?” Vahlia asked without turning to him.

All eyes were on him as he stopped in front of the opened lab door. “May I be excused, headmaster? I have important tasks that need my undivided attention.”

“Go on.”

Eiano walked out of the room. Their eyes shifted to Vahlia, who was still focused on the screen. As she watched, a figure came out of the vault; it was Loki and he had the key in his hand. Both, Aleyos and Jester ran to him and helped him walk away from the portal that was still open.

“It seems like out luck has yet to run out,” she said.

They all looked at the screen and saw Loki with the key. Lenos and Dr. Arcfield cheered. It had even put a smile on Cyn’s face, although not hard to do when good things like this happen. Vahlia, however, didn’t smile and everyone in the room took note of that.

In her mind, she was filled with joy. They were about to be closer to ending this war, but in her heart, she knew it was wrong to celebrate just yet.

Cyn looked back at the screen and counted how many people were outside of the vault.

“The girl is missing,” he said.

“The leader of Trinity? Last I heard, she was recovering from fighting against a rampager and was staying at Outpost Defiant,” Dr. Arcfield informed him.

Vahlia shook her head. Not in disagreement, but because she knew Aleyah was there.

Lenos noticed that Yuto and Elise were keeping the vault open. “They wouldn’t keep the vault open after Loki came out if she wasn’t there,” he pointed out.

They all watched patiently for Aleyah to return, but after a few minutes, it raised concern. When Dr. Arcfield looked at Dr. Sawano to tell him something, she saw the fragment glowing red.

“Hey, is that supposed to happen?” She pointed to the fragment and everyone turned to the crystal.

It started to crack. Lenos ran over to the data pad to monitor the fragment’s condition.

“The aura streams are rapidly increasing. I don’t understand what’s causing this phenomenon.” He began to panic.

“Is there any way to stabilize the aura? Maybe we can bring a Nova user here and-”

The fragment cracked on several sides and before they knew it, a bright white light beamed from inside the crystal. They all covered their eyes. When the light was gone, they saw the crystal, shattered in many pieces.

“What happened…” Lenos couldn’t believe his eyes.

Dr. Arcfield ran to the monitor opposite of the one that controlled the tracer that tracked Team Grim and Team Trinity. She pulled up the surveillance from the tracers set up in the room and rewind what had happened. On the video, the fragment shattered. A ball of light flew out of it and busted a hole through the door. They all turned around and saw that hole the light made.

“Where do you think it’s headed?” Cyn asked.

“I don’t know, but let’s just hope wherever it’s heading, it’s on our side.” Vahlia responded.

Zone K

Loki finished telling them about what happened with Aleyah while they were getting the key. Aleyos and Yuto couldn’t believe what they just heard. Loki would’ve offered to go back inside, but he couldn’t. All his aura was gone.

“I’ll go in and get her,” Jester volunteered.

“No, we can’t let you do that,” Aleyos told him. “The only reason why you’re lasting this long in your Nova form is because of my daybreak arena. In there, you wouldn’t last two seconds.”

“But if I don’t go, who will?!”

Suddenly, Yuto and Elise simultaneously screamed in pain. They fell to the ground which stopped the enchantment on the vault. It closed with Aleyah on the other side.

Aleyos ran over to them, “Are you both okay?”

Blue light covered their bodies and then disappeared. It took them back to their normal uniform. They were out of aura.

“The vault…it just kicked us out,” Elise said as she rubbed her head.

“Aleyah…she’s…stuck there.” Yuto’s voice faded as he came to realize Aleyah had no way to return.

Aleyos helped Yuto and Elise on their feet. Jester took Loki over to them and when they regrouped, so did the divine army. They heard metal rustle against itself and out of the fog came more shades walking towards them.

“We need to get Loki out of here,” Jester stated.

“I won’t leave her in there,” Loki replied.

“You don’t have a choice Loki,” Elise said with regret.

Both, Elise and Yuto got up. Yuto looked at Aleyos as he stared at the shades walking toward them.

“I’m sorry Aleyos…” He said.

“Don’t be.”

The shades began to rush at them. Their march shook the ground beneath them, it seemed terrifying. Jester lifted his gauntlets up and Aleyos pointed his spear at the army.

“For Aleyah…” He whispered.

From above the gorge, a red light flew past the horses that were kept near a tree. As it entered the cavern, a high pitch screech echoed through the witches’ ears.

“What is that?!” Jester cried.

Jester and Aleyos suddenly lost their Nova and Eclipse forms. They were brought back into their Sentinel uniform.

“What just happened?” Yuto asked.

“I don’t know, the arena’s effect must’ve worn off.” Aleyos panicked.

Suddenly, the key in Loki’s hand started to glow.

“Loki, the key,” Elise pointed out.

He looked at it with confusion. He didn’t understand what was going on.

The shades got closer and in a matter of minutes, they would all die by them, but something else caught their attention. From the fog, a red light shot out and went through a line of them. Each of their bodies exploded into white light. The red light, that was originally from the fragment, went straight to Loki.

“Loki, watch out!” Jester shouted. He tackled Loki to the ground causing him to let go of the key.

The red light shot into the key and pulled it inside the vault. It disappeared as if there was a portal to go through. They all looked at the vault and wondered where the key went and what that red was.

“What was that?” Aleyos asked.

“I have no idea,” Yuto answered.

As they stared at the vault, the inscriptions on the platform started to glow again. Symbol after symbol, each brightened with a red glow this time. After the last symbol, red electricity surrounded the vault.

“What’s going on?!” Elise cried.

“We have a problem; the shades are right behind us!” Jester yelled.

They all turned and saw the shades closer than what they were before. In a few more feet, they would be right in front of them.

Out of nowhere, tiny balls of red aura formed from the ground surrounding the vault and lifted in the air. They all looked around at the energy as it flew towards the center of the vault. The last ball of aura reached the center and shot a blast of red aura at the divine army causing an explosion. Before the smoke cleared, the same red ball from the center of the gate lifted itself in the air and shined in the sky.