Part 1: Beneath the Surface, Beneath the Skin
1. A Morning Like No Other
Zeiran barely had time to process the swirling chaos of the last two days before Lyra flung herself onto his bed like a missile.
"ZEIRAN! YOU'RE LATE FOR BREAKFAST!"
He groaned, blinking at the child-shaped meteor who had wrapped herself in his blanket like a giggling cocoon.
"Lyra… I literally made you pancakes yesterday."
"And I literally ate them," she said proudly, popping up with disheveled hair and glitter-stickers on her cheek. "Now make more!"
Zeiran sat up, rubbing his temples. "You know, most eight-year-olds don't launch frontal assaults before sunrise."
She paused. Then giggled, crawling closer. "Most eight-year-olds don't see the inside of a Prime's memories either."
Her face turned distant for a second, older than it should've been. "He was lonely, wasn't he?"
Zeiran blinked. "Who?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she hugged him.
"Don't be like him, Zei. Okay?"
And just like that, the wisdom passed.
Lyra was back to stealing socks and dragging his pillow to her side of the bed.
2. The Vault Discovery
At the far end of the Academy, deep beneath the main towers, Cael, Seris, and Kalen were summoned to the Vault Operations Command.
An old Elvan vault had just been uncovered—buried beneath the Earth's crust, sealed with sigils not seen since the Rift War.
Professor Veyra stood before them, grave as ever.
"Inside this vault may lie keys to understanding the full Legacy Protocol. The Prime Seal glyph was detected on the outer ring."
Seris frowned. "So why us?"
Veyra turned to Cael. "Because your bloodline signature matches the secondary encryption."
Cael stiffened.
"…My family was never part of the Elvan military."
"No. But your mother's side… was."
He said nothing more, but his pulse doubled.
3. Blackline Infiltration Begins
Miles above Earth, Blackline agents had already deployed.
Two cloaked figures moved through the outer edge of Aethros District—near Zeiran's childhood village ruins.
One of them paused over the scattered remnants of an old Sentiencer testing chamber.
"This is where Prime X initiated the final override. The blueprint echoes are here."
The taller figure nodded. "Send the location. The core is beneath the village."
"And the boy?"
The taller one tilted his head, his face hidden beneath obsidian armor.
"The boy will come to us… when the ghost calls."
They vanished.
4. Kalen, Chaos, and Core Pudding
Back in the lab, Kalen had not been informed of the mission briefing.
Mostly because he'd spent the morning trying to fuse a breakfast generator with a resonance stabilizer.
His logic?
"If Lyra can summon storm glyphs when she's cranky, maybe we can automate coffee using emotional feedback!"
The result?
He accidentally fried an entire wing of the campus grid and made pudding explode out of the vents in the east wing.
Lyra: "This is the best Tuesday ever!"
Seris: "You're a menace."
Kalen: "A pioneer."
Cael: "A disaster."
Kalen: "Details."
5. Training with the Protocol
Later that day, Zeiran and Lyra were summoned to the Legacy Integration Chamber.
Headmistress Rael herself stood at the control node.
"You've accessed a dormant Protocol designed for synchronization between resonance-linked individuals."
Lyra twirled. "Like a super brother-sister combo?"
Rael nodded. "Exactly. But far more dangerous if unstable."
Zeiran raised an eyebrow. "What happens if it fails?"
Rael answered flatly. "You both die."
Silence.
Lyra stuck her tongue out. "Cool. Let's do it!"
6. Into the Vault
That evening, Cael and Seris led the descent into the newly revealed vault.
The door opened with a hiss that smelled of old magic and decayed memory.
Inside: rows of empty Sentiencer shells, stacked like statues. All powered down… except one.
It pulsed faint red.
Cael approached. "It's awake."
The shell flickered. Eyes glowed.
Then it spoke in Elvan:
"Prime X initiated lockdown. Are you… his kin?"
Seris stepped forward.
"We're his legacy."
The vault rumbled. Something deeper responded from below.
Part 2: Flames of the Forgotten
1. Synchronized
In the Integration Chamber, Zeiran and Lyra stood at the center of the resonance ring, hands locked. Their Sentiencers—X-0 and Elystrix—hovered behind them, circuits humming.
"Initiate Phase One," Headmistress Rael ordered.
The walls flashed. The glyphs carved into the floor lit one by one.
Zeiran gritted his teeth as energy pulsed through his spine.
Lyra gasped—but didn't let go.
"Lyra! Pull back if it's too much!"
She shook her head, face scrunched. "No! You're my brother. We finish this together."
The glyph above flickered—then ignited.
A twin-core sync completed. A configuration not seen since the last war.
The ground rumbled.
Then—
Legacy Protocol: Phase I Complete. New Access Granted.
A code streamed across their vision.
Command Class – Initiate: Dual-Bonded Prime Variant
Zeiran's heart stopped.
That phrase hadn't existed in any known records.
Because it hadn't existed since the First Prime vanished.
2. The Vault Awakens
Below the Academy, Cael and Seris crept deeper into the ancient vault. Lights flickered to life, revealing murals etched in living crystal.
Each one showed a Prime.
There were eight.
And in the final panel—a Prime with no face, wrapped in flames and shadows.
Seris stepped forward. Her hand glowed faintly, her Elvan blood responding.
Cael didn't miss it.
"You've done this before."
She glanced sideways. "My father trained me with classified Elvan tech since I was ten. Said it was 'insurance'."
Cael stopped before the last door. "This glyph matches my mother's pendant."
He touched it.
Warning: Vault Core Stabilization Breached
The floor collapsed beneath them.
3. Containment Breach
Back in the Integration Chamber, something changed.
A ripple of static warped the glyphs.
X-0 jolted. "Incoming surge. Unknown interference!"
Elystrix flared with light. "He's coming!"
Before Zeiran could ask—
—a blast of shadow energy tore across the room, cracking the ceiling.
Blackline agents had pierced through a folded space bridge.
Lyra shrieked, thrown backward into the containment barrier.
Zeiran's vision blurred—
—until his core snapped open.
The Legacy Protocol surged.
New Ability Unlocked: Null Pulse Sync
He extended his hand, and for the first time, X-0 merged fully—becoming a half-cloaked armor form across Zeiran's back and arm, circuits burning with starlight.
He moved faster than light.
In three seconds, two Blackline agents were down.
"LYRA!"
She sat up, dazed but smiling.
"You glowed," she whispered.
Zeiran grinned. "So did you."
4. Cael's Gamble
Below, Cael awoke in a chamber wrapped in broken Prime glyphs.
Something massive pulsed behind a wall of stasis glass.
A relic.
It looked like a Sentiencer—but far older. Almost skeletal. And alive.
It turned toward him.
"Blood match confirmed. Initiate bonding."
Cael stepped back. "I didn't authorize this!"
The relic launched a tether. Cael screamed as it latched into his arm.
Forbidden Sync: Omega Drive — 4% Compatibility
Power surged into him. Knowledge. Battle data. Pain.
And a whisper:
"You will be my vessel."
5. Seris Ascends
Seris, injured from the fall, limped toward Cael—only to see the vault flooding with corrupted resonance.
She dropped to one knee, hands shaking.
Then she heard her father's voice in her memory:
"You are of the Vaire line. When the stars fall, remember your name."
She stood, eyes burning white.
Her body lifted an inch off the floor.
Her Elvan blood sang.
Glyphs raced across her skin.
She walked through the corrupted energy—untouched.
"Cael. I'm getting you out."
"You'll burn—"
"No," she said. "I was born in the fire."
6. Fall of the Veil
In the sky, the second moon flickered again.
This time, everyone saw it.
Academy instructors stared in horror.
One muttered, "That's… impossible."
Zeiran and Lyra stood outside, wind howling around them.
"What is it?" Lyra asked.
Zeiran's jaw clenched. "It's not a moon."
She tilted her head. "Then what?"
He stared at the glowing orb.
"It's a prison."
And it was beginning to crack.