The Vault Beneath Eagle City - P22 | S2

A breeze drifted through the charred remains of an old estate on the edge of Eagle City — what used to be one of Tyrant's many hideouts.

The air was thick with dust, silence, and something else... anticipation.

Location: Outskirt's Old Ruins - Tyrant's Vault

Reiku was the first to arrive, standing among the crumbling cobblestone and warped sheet metal roof. She looked tired -- not from travel, but from the weight of yesterday. Behind her came Rumoto, then Mek, TLK, Musi, Ina, and finally, Para -- all in silence, all different, but all broken in some way.

They stood in a half-circle, staring at the faint glow pulsing from the back wall.

"This was his real treasure," Rumoto muttered.
"He called it 'The Vault'... but never let anyone inside."

Para stepped forward, pressing his hand to the stone.
A low hum pulsed beneath them.

Click.

The wall shifted, stone grinding as a hidden hatch slid open beneath them with no warning.

"Wait wha--!" Mek shouted as they all dropped.

They fell through a long shaft.

A tunnel of darkness swallowed them as they slid through smooth, metallic shafts--gravity dragging them into the unknown. Then--

THWUMP!

They landed hard, but safely--atop a massive cushion surrounded by pitch-black nothingness.

"Ow," TLK muttered, dusting off.
"At least he had the courtesy to plan for guests."

Reiku stood, eyes narrowing. As he took a step forward--

Ping!

Her foot tripped a near-invisible wire across the floor.

Suddenly:
Lights. One by one, they snapped on, glowing tubes of blue and white stretching across the ceiling in sequence until the entire space--the size of a stadium--came to life.

Gasps echoed around the room.

Gold bars stacked to the ceiling.
Weapons lining the walls--relics, enchanted gear, firearms, blades of all kinds.
Vehicles--bikes, tanks, aircrafts.
Stacks of money in every currency imaginable.
Tech. Potions. Documents. Files.
Power. Everywhere.

Tyrant wasn't just a warlord--he had been planning something far beyond even his own ego.

"So this is what he left behind..." Musi whispered.
"Enough to start a new nation."

"Or burn one to the ground," Para added coldly.

Ina ran her hand across a crate marked with the Tyrannical sigil.

"This... this could make us gods, y'know."

But it was TLK who spoke next--slow, bitter.

"He had all of this. And still... he died screaming."

Silence again. Only the quiet hum of machinery echoed.

Ina replied shakingly. "Maybe let's not talk about that he-"

Reiku turned to the others, her eyes steel, interrupting Ina.

"We lost everything. Our friends. Our power. Our legacy."

She glanced to Para. Then Rumoto. Mek. The others.

"But we still stand."

"We're not doing this for war. Not for the money. Not for stupid games."

"We take back what was stolen from us."

"We carve a new name--through Eagle City if we have to."

Mek let out a low growl of approval.

"I like the sound of that."

TLK's wings flexed.

"We rise. Together."

Then we rise. Together

"All right angel-boy" Musi laughingly replied.

"Then it's settled," Rumoto said, gripping the axe on his back.
"We form something new. No banners. No kings. Just power."

They each looked at one another. Broken and Bitter.
But united--for the first time in a while.

As the lights dimmed, a dusty vault now buzzed with new energy.
Not just a relic of the past...

...but the birthplace of something far, far worse.

And Eagle City?

It wouldn't even realize what hit it until after.