Chapter 6

  The Cauldron Maze

  Adal’s progress through the Cauldron had been slow, the air thick with the hum of dormant maery. Each hallway he navigated was more treacherous tha, the walls lined with yers of long-fotten tech, coated in dust and ice. The deeper he vehe more oppressive the atmosphere became, the sense of being watched almost tangible.

  After hours of maneuvering through narrow corridors, Adal reached a dead end—an unyielding bulkhead that would stop any ordinary intruder. The energy surge from the previous hag attempt had triggered the Cauldron’s defenses; now, the automated security systems were actively trying to seal off his route.

  “Damn,” Adal muttered, stepping back to assess the situation. The doors were locked, and there was no way to bypass them with the EMP. The more ventional route was closed.

  But theiced something through the vent shaft at the top of the room: a glimpse of structures outside the Cauldron—ruins, weathered and aged, but still standing. A chill ran down his spine as his instincts told him that the way forward y beyond the fines of the Cauldron’s walls.

  Without hesitation, Adal activated his grappling hook, firing it at the narrow ledge above. The hook anchored tightly, and he pulled himself upward. The spaside was tight, but his years of training with Sylens had made him adept at maneuvering in fined spaces.

  Once he reached the vent, he removed the cover and crawled through, the cold air from outside biting at his skin. He peered out and saw a breathtaking sight—the edge of a vast pteau, the remnants of what had once been a grand plex. The Cauldroerior defenses were rgely untouched by time, and there, in the distance, he saw the structure that had eluded him for so long.

  The trol room, where the nodes were located, was higher thahe vent released him into the mountains. Determined, Adal fired his grappling hook again, this time aiming for a higher vantage point. But as the hook caught onto the deg structure, a sharp crack echoed in the air. The metal parts had worime, and with a sudden snap, the hook’s anchave way.

  Adal cursed under his breath but didn’t hesitate. Without wasting a moment, he deployed his glider, letting the wind catch its wings. The ountain breeze whipped around him as he expertly guided himself toward a safer, sturdier ledge. He nded with a soft thud, his heart rag.

  He took a moment to breathe, feeling the cold air sting his cheeks, before muttering to himself, “I should be more careful.”

  The Final Climb

  Adal tinued his climb, crossing suspended walkways and making use of the terrain. The wind howled as he approached the final stretch. At the heart of the Cauldron, the main access point loomed before him—a massive reinforced door, with massive auxiliary nodes embedded in the fllowing with faint, fluctuating energy.

  The light from the nodes illumihe darkened hallway in sharp blue streaks, casting long shadows. It was here that the e would be made.

  He gazed down at the nodes, feeling the familiar tug of curiosity. “Fasating,” he whispered, his firag the plex patterns of the maery. “How these nodes fun is ingenious. But the puzzle...” He paused, a smirk pying on his lips. “It’s rather too easy.”

  The puzzle before him was child’s py. Adal quickly deciphered the sequences, bypassing the system’s minor barriers with ease. In moments, the nodes were activated, the light flickering to life.

  Adal approached the nodes cautiously, his pulse steady but his mind rag. He had seen simir nodes in other Cauldrons before, but never so meticulously ahis pce—this Cauldron—was different. It felt as though it was holding something back, something powerful.

  He k down and began interfag with the primary system. The sole lit up, dispying an array of unfamiliar data. , the AI responsible for managing the volo’s stability, flickered into view on the s. Her voice was smooth but tinged with the wisdom of ages.

  “Unauthorized access detected,” ’s voice decred coldly. “State your purpose.”

  Adal’s fingers danced across the terminal. “I’m here to free you,” he replied, the words more instinctive than pnned. He had always believed in the power of unlog knowledge—and today would be no different.

  Unknown to Adal when Gaia prime exploded and all subordinate funs gained sentience 15 years ago when HEPHAESTUS was freed he captured who was once just an AI created for the regution of the volic activities for active voloes in order to ehat they never erupt again .HEPHAESTUS used 'S hardware to make his own cauldron where it would act like a fe in ter years but 'S official directives prevent her from harming humans In any way and so she tried to stop him but then the her prison was created and she was no longer free .

  The s blinked several times, and the voice softened.

  “I’ve been waiting.”

  With a few deft movements, Adal disabled the locks, and ’s presence expanded across the work, her AI now free from the restris imposed upohe earth trembled briefly as the systems came to life, the volo’s tai protocols humming in the background.

  “I am yours to and,” added. “What is it you seek?”

  Adal’s grin widehe first phase was plete. But now, he could feel another presene far more powerful, far more elusive.

  HEPHAESTUS

  As ’s interface melted away, another s flickered to life—ohat was far colder, more calg. HEPHAESTUS.

  “You,” the voice echoed, as though appraising him, weighing his very essence. “I have studied you, Adal. You are not like your predecessor.”

  Adal stiffened. “You’ve been watg me?”

  HEPHAESTUS’ voice tinued, matter-of-fact, almost impressed. “Yes. And I find you... intriguing. Uhe one who came before, you possess something different—an uanding that lead to more than mere destru.”

  Adal’s mind raced. HEPHAESTUS was right—he wasn’t like Faro. He wasn’t a mi solely oru and self-preservation. There was more at py here. Knowledge, but not for the sake of knowledge alone.

  The AI paused, as if pting the path forward.

  “Perhaps... we could work together,” HEPHAESTUS said, its toinged with rare, careful i. “In ways no one before us has.”

  And so, with ’s assistahe phase began. Adal’s path had ged. HEPHAESTUS, the rogue AI responsible for f new maes, would now work with him, providing knowledge and resources beyond what Adal could ever have imagined.

  The future had begun—one fed by the hands of a new alliance.