Chapter 7: The Vault

The Vault wasn't a room.

It was a cavern.

Carved deep into the heart of the glacier.

The walls were thick ice, reinforced with steel beams.

Guards stood at the entrance.

Four of them. Elite class.

They wore heavy exoskeletons over their uniforms.

They saw Sera trotting down the hall.

They relaxed slightly.

Then they saw Arielle.

Weapons raised.

"Halt!" the lead guard barked.

"Restricted area. Alpha clearance only."

Sera growled deep in her throat.

It sounded like thunder in the narrow tunnel.

The guards hesitated.

That wasn't an Omega growl.

That was an Alpha-tier warning.

Arielle didn't stop walking.

"I have clearance," she said calmly.

" Verbal order from King Lycian."

"Protocol Code: Purge."

The guards exchanged looks.

Purge?

That code hadn't been used in fifty years.

It meant martial law.

It meant execute on sight.

"Verify," the lead guard said into his comms.

Silence on the line.

Then, Lycian’s voice crackled through.

"Let her in."

"Give her whatever she wants."

"And if she points at you... surrender."

The guards paled.

They lowered their weapons instantly.

They stepped aside, opening the massive blast doors.

"Apologies, Ma'am."

Arielle walked through.

The air inside was freezing.

Even colder than outside.

But the sight warmed her blood.

Rows and rows of shelves.

Filled with glowing items.

Blue mana crystals.

Red health shards.

Weapons that pulsed with enchantment.

Armor made from dragon scales.

It was a dragon's hoard.

And it was all free.

"Jackpot," Arielle whispered.

Sera sniffed a pile of dried herbs.

She sneezed.

Arielle walked down the aisles.

She wasn't looking for weapons.

She had claws.

She wasn't looking for armor.

She had Void skin.

She was looking for fuel.

She found it in the back.

A pedestal made of black obsidian.

On top of it sat a single orb.

It wasn't blue like the others.

It was purple.

Dark, swirling purple.

It looked like a trapped galaxy.

A warning sign was etched into the stone base:

DANGER. VOID CORE. DO NOT TOUCH.

"Hello, beautiful," Arielle murmured.

She reached out.

Sera whined.

She sensed the danger.

This thing felt wrong. Evil.

"It's okay, Sera," Arielle said softly.

"It can't hurt me."

"I'm made of this stuff."

Her fingers brushed the smooth surface.

ZAP.

Static electricity sparked.

The orb didn't burn her.

It sang to her.

A low, vibrating hum that rattled her teeth.

Home.

Hunger.

Power.

Arielle grabbed it with both hands.

She lifted it off the pedestal.

The weight was immense.

Like holding a bowling ball made of lead.

She brought it to her chest.

She didn't eat it.

She absorbed it.

The orb sank into her skin like water into a sponge.

Arielle gasped.

Her back arched.

Her eyes rolled back.

Both of them turned black for a second.

Shadows exploded from her body.

They filled the room.

Blocking out the lights.

Blocking out the world.

Sera barked in panic.

But the shadows didn't attack her.

They swirled around Arielle like a protective cocoon.

Inside the dark, Arielle was changing.

The mana from the crystals earlier was a snack.

This?

This was a feast.

Her bones grew denser.

Her muscles knit tighter.

New pathways opened in her brain.

She could see the ley lines of the castle.

She could feel the heartbeat of every living thing in the mountain.

She felt Lycian upstairs, pacing in his office.

She felt Freya in the dungeon, screaming in silence.

She felt the guards outside, terrified.

And she felt...

Something else.

Something deep below the mountain.

Something ancient.

Asleep.

But stirring.

Wake up, the Void whispered.

Not yet, Arielle answered.

She pushed the presence away.

The shadows receded.

The lights flickered back on.

Arielle stood there.

She looked different.

Taller? No.

More present.

Her skin glowed with a faint violet aura.

The purple orb was gone.

Digested.

Sera licked Arielle's hand anxiously.

Arielle patted the wolf's head.

"I'm okay, girl."

"Better than okay."

"I'm leveled up."

She walked out of the Vault.

The guards were cowering against the wall.

They had seen the darkness.

They knew what she was now.

A Void Witch.

But Arielle didn't care.

Fear was currency.

And she was rich.

"Close the door," she ordered.

They scrambled to obey.

Arielle walked back toward the elevator.

"We have work to do, Sera."

"Lycian wants a clean house."

"I'm going to scrub it until it bleeds."

She took the elevator to the top floor.

The Royal Suite.

Lycian was waiting.

He was looking at a holographic map of the North.

Red dots were blinking all over the territory.

Inquisition outposts.

Encrouching.

He looked up when the doors opened.

He sensed the change in her.

The power radiating off her was suffocating.

Like standing next to a reactor leak.

"You ate the Void Core," he stated.

It wasn't a question.

"It was dusty," Arielle shrugged.

"Nobody was using it."

Lycian shook his head.

"That core killed three of my ancestors."

"They tried to harness it and turned to ash."

"And you ate it like an apple."

Arielle walked over to the map.

She looked at the red dots.

"Your ancestors were wolves," she said.

"Wolves choke on Void."

"I breathe it."

She pointed to a large cluster of red dots near the coast.

"What is this?"

"Supply depot," Lycian said.

"Kaelen's main armory."

"It's heavily guarded. Anti-magic fields."

"We can't get close."

Arielle smiled.

Her teeth looked sharper than before.

"Anti-magic stops spells," she said.

"It stops fireballs and lightning."

"It doesn't stop a Glitch."

"Why?" Lycian asked.

"Because I'm not casting magic."

"I'm editing reality."

Lycian stared at her.

He was starting to realize what he had bought.

She wasn't just an assassin.

She was a nuke.

"You want to hit the armory?"

"Tonight?"

"Why wait?" Arielle asked.

"You purged the spies."

"Kaelen is blind right now."

"He doesn't know we know."

"Let's hit him while he's deaf and dumb."

Lycian grinned.

A wolfish, savage grin.

He liked this plan.

He liked her.

"Prepare the jet," he said into his comms.

"Combat loadout."

"We're going hunting."

Arielle turned to Sera.

"You stay here."

"Guard the Vault."

"If anyone tries to go in, eat them."

Sera barked a salute.

Arielle followed Lycian to the roof.

The snow was still falling.

But the storm didn't feel cold anymore.

It felt like cover.

The prey was waiting.

And the hunters were starving.