Neon squinted against the steady rain, its cold needles drumming against his helmet in a rhythmic patter. Each droplet hissed faintly as it hit the warm plating of S.A.B.R.E., steam rising in tiny ghostly wisps. His breath came in fogged bursts, trapped momentarily against the visor before fading into the cold. The suit's insulation fought the chill, but the damp crept in anyway, settling like an unwelcome weight.

Far ahead, half-shrouded by rolling mist, a towering silhouette loomed in the hills like a slumbering giant. Broken spires rose jagged into the stormclouds. Neon blinked and instinctively reached up, brushing at his visor with a gloved hand to clear the streaks of rain. His voice crackled through his comms as he murmured, "Is that… another building?"

Lightning tore across the sky, illuminating the silhouette in a harsh white flash. The structure's silhouette sharpened—gothic, immense, ancient. The shape of a cathedral… no, a fortress.

The thunder followed seconds later, low and booming, like the growl of something deep beneath the earth. As if the land itself was waking up angry.

The rain intensified, turning from drizzle to a violent curtain. It drummed against metal, stone, and skin with deafening rhythm. Mud sucked at their boots, and the trolley's wheels squealed as it struggled over rocky, uneven terrain.

"We're almost there—keep pushing! Come on S.A.B.R.E! Help me out will ya! What's good with your new legs if you don't use it." Neon shouted, shielding the overloaded trolley with his body as best he could. Water splashed up with every step, soaking his pants to the knees.

At last, they reached the structure—a ruined cathedral, its stone flanks cracked by time and partially overtaken by vines. Great stained-glass windows, shattered and melted from some long-forgotten fire, peeked down like haunted eyes.

The twin oakwood front doors towered overhead—charred black and fused shut by time and arcane residue. Moss crept along the edges like old scars.

Neon stepped forward, running his hand along the warped surface. It thrummed faintly beneath his fingers… something old, something locked.

Another thunderclap roared overhead.

"Push!" he yelled to S.A.B.R.E., voice nearly drowned out by the wind.

The spider-bot lowered its body, legs bracing in the mud, gears whirring as it synced with Neon. Together, they rammed the trolley forward like a battering ram. The clang echoed like a cannon blast across the valley.

The doors groaned.

A deep, reluctant tremor passed through the ground.

Then… silence.

Just the wind howling through broken windows above and the metallic ping of rain hitting stone.

Neon stepped back, chest heaving, drenched and grinning slightly. "One more should do it…"

S.A.B.R.E. blinked twice, projecting a small blue hologram:

WARNING: Heavy precipitation detected.

STATUS: Everything is very wet. Including me.

Neon smirked, wiped more rain from his brow, and got ready to shove again.

---

The heavy door crashed inward with a thunderous THUD, sending a gust of ancient dust billowing out like a sigh from the cathedral itself. The sound echoed through the vast interior, bouncing off walls and vanishing into shadowed heights.

Neon stumbled slightly from the force, panting, chest heaving under his soaked coat. Rainwater dripped from his bangs, mingling with sweat as he wiped his brow with a filthy sleeve.

"Wow… sturdy door," he muttered, catching his breath. "Let's load it on the cart."

S.A.B.R.E. froze, its eyes pulsing amber in disbelief. One leg tapped against the stone like a drumbeat of judgment.

A flickering blue hologram projected between its twin optical lenses:

STATEMENT: You're absolutely unhinged.
ADVICE: Seek help.

Undeterred, Neon grinned and heaved the massive slab of wood and metal onto the already-crowded trolley, wedging it in with a soft groan of strained wheels. Bits of debris clattered to the floor as they adjusted the load.

Then they stepped inside.

Immediately, the storm faded behind them — replaced by a still, oppressive silence. The air was thick and musty, like wet parchment and rusted incense. It clung to their clothes and skin, dense with age.

Neon's boots sank slightly into the warped carpet of moss and ash underfoot. He slowed to a halt, eyes wide, jaw slack.

The interior stretched upward into darkness — far taller and broader than the exterior had hinted. Ribbed stone arches loomed like skeletal wings above, twisted with creeping vines and glowing fungus. Cracks laced the vaulted ceiling, through which dim streaks of violet light filtered down like moonlight through a colander.

The walls were lined with crumbled pews, warped by time and flame. Here and there, fragments of gold-leaf icons clung stubbornly to the stone. Old candles lay melted in puddles of wax like pale bones.

Faded murals sprawled across the walls, their pigments bleeding like bruises. Arcane symbols pulsed faintly, their glow subtle and irregular — as if breathing in their sleep.

A low hum vibrated in Neon's chest, not from sound, but presence. The kind of silence that listened back.

The cathedral held secrets — ancient, hungry ones. He could feel it in the air's chill. In the pull beneath his ribs.

He whispered, almost reverently, "This place… it's a lot bigger from the inside."

The spider-bot's eyes dimmed to a wary blue.

NOTICE: Magical radiation is above safe limits.
STATUS: I repeat — this was a terrible idea.

Neon smiled faintly, stepping deeper into the cathedral's belly.