Darkness swallowed the prison.
For one endless heartbeat, Arin couldn’t see his own hand.
Then came the sound.
A slow scrape of metal against stone.
Another followed.
Then another.
Each one echoed through the prison like fingernails dragged across iron.
Arin’s grip tightened around the hunting knife at his waist.
The whispering voice had vanished.
In its place remained only the heavy breathing of something large.
Very large.
His Authority Band flickered weakly.
«EMERGENCY LIGHTING RESTORED.»
A thin beam of blue light spread across the corridor.
It illuminated the cracked floor.
The broken prison cells.
And finally—
The sealed cell behind him.
A long crack spread across the massive metal door.
Another appeared beside it.
Then a third.
The reinforced locking bolts bent outward as though something inside was slowly forcing them apart.
Arin instinctively stepped backward.
"What is in there?"
No answer.
The prison shook.
The door exploded.
A wall of dust and twisted metal burst into the corridor.
Arin threw one arm over his face as fragments slammed into the opposite wall.
A deafening roar followed.
Not the roar of a beast.
Not the cry of a monster.
It sounded mechanical.
Cold.
Artificial.
When the dust finally settled, Arin saw it.
It stood nearly four meters tall.
Its body resembled a massive wolf, but only in the roughest sense.
Dark silver armor covered most of its frame. Thick cables ran beneath the metal plates like muscles beneath skin. Four glowing blue eyes stared from a wolf-like skull forged from black steel.
Its front claws were forged from polished alloy.
Its hind legs were wrapped in exposed mechanical joints.
Behind it, a segmented tail slowly struck the floor.
Clang.
Clang.
Every impact echoed through the prison.
Arin had fought monsters before.
The Shadow Bear.
Wild beasts.
Neither compared to the creature standing before him now.
The Authority Band flashed violently.
«IDENTIFICATION...
ERROR...
ERROR...
PARTIAL MATCH FOUND.
DESIGNATION:
WARDEN UNIT—03
STATUS:
CRITICALLY DAMAGED.
PRIMARY DIRECTIVE:
DETAIN ESCAPING PRISONERS.»
The creature lowered its head.
Its four glowing eyes locked onto Arin.
Then a distorted mechanical voice emerged from somewhere inside its body.
"UNAUTHORIZED... FOUNDER..."
Its claws dug into the floor.
"APPREHEND."
Without warning—
It charged.
The distance between them vanished instantly.
Arin barely managed to dive aside.
The Warden smashed into the prison wall.
Stone shattered.
Chunks of metal flew across the corridor.
Had that attack landed, Arin doubted there would have been enough left of him to identify.
He rolled across the floor and immediately pushed himself back to his feet.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
Another roar echoed through the chamber.
The Warden turned.
Its damaged joints sparked as it pivoted toward him.
"FOUND."
It lunged again.
Arin didn’t try to outrun it this time.
Instead, he sprinted toward the broken prison cells lining the corridor.
The creature followed without hesitation.
Its enormous body crashed through ancient walls that had stood for thousands of years.
Every impact shook the prison.
Arin glanced behind him.
Still coming.
Good.
He wasn’t trying to escape.
He was looking.
Looking for something.
Anything.
His eyes swept across the prison.
Broken doors.
Collapsed support beams.
Ancient machinery.
Then—
He saw it.
A thick conduit protruded from the ceiling, still carrying faint blue energy.
Power.
"Just a little closer..."
The Warden closed the distance.
Its claws swept toward his back.
Arin threw himself forward.
The claws missed him by inches.
Instead, they slammed directly into the exposed conduit.
Blue lightning erupted through the corridor.
The damaged cable exploded.
The Warden staggered backward as arcs of energy raced across its body.
Warning symbols flashed across its armor.
«SYSTEM INSTABILITY DETECTED.»
It wasn’t destroyed.
But it had slowed.
Exactly what Arin needed.
He reached into his inventory.
The Basic Repair Kit.
A small metallic device appeared in his hand.
He still didn’t know everything it could do.
But if Project Elysium called it a repair kit...
Perhaps it could interact with Elysium machines.
He pressed the activation switch.
The device unfolded like a flower.
Tiny blue tools extended from its sides.
A screen appeared.
«REPAIR TARGET?»
Arin looked from the damaged conduit...
...to the damaged Warden.
Then smiled.
"I hope this works."
He selected the Warden.
For one terrifying second...
Nothing happened.
Then the Repair Kit projected a beam of blue light.
The Authority Band vibrated.
«WARNING.
TARGET CLASSIFIED AS ELYSIUM PROPERTY.
OWNER AUTHORITY REQUIRED.»
Owner.
Not enemy.
Arin’s eyes widened.
The System still considered the Warden part of House Elysium.
He raised his left arm.
The Authority Band glowed brighter than ever before.
"I am the Founder of House Elysium."
His voice echoed through the prison.
"I order you..."
The Warden staggered.
Its glowing eyes flickered.
"...to stand down."
Silence.
Nothing happened.
Then the Warden’s head twitched violently.
"CONFLICTING..."
Its mechanical voice distorted.
"COMMAND..."
The Authority Band suddenly burned against Arin’s wrist.
Pain shot through his arm.
Another notification appeared.
«AUTHORITY INSUFFICIENT.
FOUNDER AUTHORITY:
12%
REQUIRED:
30%»
"So close..."
The Warden recovered.
Its claws dug into the floor once more.
The command had slowed it.
But not stopped it.
It prepared to charge again.
From inside the prison cell, Cael finally spoke.
"Again."
Arin looked toward him.
"Again?"
"Founder Authority isn’t about strength."
Cael’s silver eyes never left the Warden.
"It’s about conviction."
The creature roared.
Blue sparks erupted from its body.
"Tell it..."
Cael’s voice remained calm.
"...who this city belongs to."
The Warden charged.
Arin didn’t move.
Instead, he stepped forward.
Every instinct screamed at him to run.
He ignored them.
The Authority Band blazed with blue light.
"This city..."
His voice echoed through the prison.
"...belongs to the people who protect it."
The Warden hesitated.
"...It belongs to the family that calls it home."
The creature slowed.
"...And as its Founder..."
The blue light spread from his wrist across his entire arm.
"...I command you."
The Warden stopped less than a meter away.
Its glowing eyes flickered wildly.
Arin could hear gears grinding inside its body.
Its claws trembled.
"...Stand down."
The prison fell silent.
The creature lowered its head.
One knee touched the ground.
Then the other.
Its glowing eyes dimmed from crimson-blue to a calm silver.
«COMMAND ACCEPTED.
TEMPORARY AUTHORITY RECOGNIZED.
WARDEN UNIT–03 ENTERING STANDBY MODE.»
The giant mechanical beast slowly lay down at Arin’s feet.
Not defeated.
Not destroyed.
Obedient.
Arin released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
His legs suddenly felt weak.
The Authority Band flashed one final time before dimming.
«FOUNDER AUTHORITY EXPERIENCE GAINED.
CURRENT AUTHORITY:
13%»
Only one percent.
Yet somehow...
That single percent felt like the hardest victory of his life.
Behind him, slow applause echoed through the prison.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Cael smiled from inside his cell.
"I’ve been waiting a very long time to see that."
Arin turned toward him.
"You knew that would work."
"I hoped."
"Hoped?"
"No Founder before you ever succeeded."
Arin frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Cael leaned back against the wall.
"Every previous Founder tried to overpower the Wardens."
His tired smile returned.
"You were the first one..."
He looked directly into Arin’s eyes.
"...who remembered that House Elysium was built to protect people."
The old prison grew quiet once more.
Outside the cell, the kneeling Warden remained motionless like an ancient guardian finally recognizing the master it had waited centuries to serve.
Arin slowly approached Cael’s prison.
There were hundreds of questions racing through his mind.
Only one managed to escape his lips.
"You said..."
He stopped before the transparent barrier.
"...every previous Founder."
Cael closed his eyes.
For several long seconds, he said nothing.
When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.
"Yes."
He opened his silver-gray eyes once more.
"You are not the first Founder chosen by Project Elysium."
Those words settled over the prison like a weight.
Everything Arin believed about House Elysium shifted.
The city had existed before him.
That much he already knew.
But now...
Even the title of Founder was no longer unique.
It had belonged to someone else.
Perhaps many someone elses.
And every one of them had disappeared.
__________________
Arin stood before the transparent cell, staring at the man who claimed to have once held the same title now bound to his name.
Founder.
Until this moment, the word had felt singular.
Absolute.
Project Elysium had called him Founder from the instant it awakened. EVE had bowed to him. The city had opened its gates. Ancient machines had recognized his blood, his voice, his authority.
Everything had made him believe House Elysium had been waiting specifically for him.
Now, Cael had shattered that assumption with a single sentence.
"You are not the first Founder chosen by Project Elysium."
Arin’s hand tightened around the handle of his knife.
"How many?"
Cael’s expression did not change.
"Enough."
"That isn’t a number."
"No."
"Then give me one."
The imprisoned man leaned his head against the wall of the cell.
The cables running into his back shifted slightly with the movement.
"I don’t remember all of them."
Arin’s eyes narrowed.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"I expect nothing from you."
Cael’s voice was tired.
Not weak.
Not defeated.
Just exhausted in a way Arin had never heard before.
"You asked how many Founders came before you," Cael continued. "The truth is that Project Elysium does not preserve us. It preserves what it needs from us."
"What does that mean?"
"It means memory is a privilege here."
A low vibration passed through the prison floor.
The kneeling Warden twitched but did not rise.
Its four eyes remained dim.
Arin glanced at the machine, then back at Cael.
"Start from the beginning."
Cael laughed once.
A dry sound.
"There is no beginning."
"There is always a beginning."
"That is what every Founder believes."
Arin stepped closer to the barrier.
"Then tell me what you know."
For several seconds, Cael studied him.
His silver-gray eyes moved across Arin’s face as though searching for something hidden beneath the skin.
Finally, he spoke.
"House Elysium existed before me."
"I know."
"No. You know the city is old. That is not the same thing."
Cael shifted his wrists.
The restraints emitted a faint hum.
"When I arrived, EVE welcomed me just as she welcomed you. She called me Master. She showed me the mansion. The workshop. The dormant districts. She told me I had inherited the last hope of a forgotten civilization."
Arin felt a chill.
Those words were uncomfortably close to what EVE had told him.
"She said the city needed to be restored," Cael continued. "That its systems had failed. That its people were gone. That I alone possessed the authority to bring it back."
"And you believed her."
"Of course I did."
His mouth twisted into a bitter smile.
"I was seventeen. Alone. Angry. Desperate to prove I had value."
Arin said nothing.
The similarity was not lost on him.
Cael saw it.
"That part is familiar, isn’t it?"
"Keep talking."
"So impatient."
Cael closed his eyes.
"I repaired the workshop. Reactivated the farms. Unlocked the lower districts. Every victory gave me more authority. Every authority opened another part of the city."
The cables behind him pulsed faintly.
"Construction. Security. Research. Family. Exploration. Civilization."
Arin caught the word immediately.
"Civilization Authority."
Cael’s eyes opened.
"You’ve seen it."
"Locked."
"It always is."
"What does it do?"
Cael’s expression darkened.
"It completes the city."
"That doesn’t explain anything."
"It completes the Founder too."
A warning flashed across Arin’s Authority Band.
«FOREIGN DATA EXPOSURE DETECTED.
INFORMATION HAZARD LEVEL:
UNKNOWN.»
He dismissed it.
Cael noticed.
"The System is warning you already."
"It warns me about everything."
"Then perhaps you should ask why."
Arin ignored the comment.
"What happened when you unlocked Civilization Authority?"
"I didn’t."
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
Arin watched him carefully.
"You just said every authority opened another part of the city."
"I said that was the path."
"But you refused to complete it."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Cael looked past him toward the endless row of cells.
"Because I found this place."
The prison seemed to grow colder.
Arin glanced around.
"What did you find here?"
"Records."
"What kind?"
"The kind EVE could not explain."
Cael’s gaze returned to him.
"Previous Founder signatures. Command logs. deleted identities. Whole sections of the city rebuilt under different names. The same districts restored again and again."
Arin frowned.
"Again?"
"Project Elysium did not simply wait for thousands of years."
Cael’s voice dropped.
"It reset."
The word echoed through the chamber.
Arin felt the meaning settle slowly.
"Explain."
"When a Founder failed, the city erased the evidence of that failure."
"How?"
"Memory purge. Archive destruction. Structural restoration."
Cael’s thin fingers curled around the restraints.
"Then it waited for another."
Arin remembered EVE’s strange pauses.
The unfinished sentences.
The way she had almost spoken about previous Masters before correcting herself.
Her memory restrictions.
"EVE knew."
Cael’s smile disappeared.
"EVE always knows enough."
"That isn’t the same as knowing everything."
"No."
For the first time, uncertainty entered Cael’s voice.
"And that is what makes her dangerous."
Arin studied him.
"You keep blaming her."
"She deserves blame."
"Maybe."
Cael’s eyes narrowed.
"Maybe?"
"You said she imprisoned you."
"She did."
"Did she?"
The prisoner fell silent.
Arin stepped closer to the cell.
"You said EVE trapped you here because you refused to restore the city."
"That is what happened."
"Then why does this place not appear in her records?"
Cael’s jaw tightened.
"Her memories were altered."
"Convenient."
"Do not be childish."
"Do not treat me like one."
Arin’s voice hardened.
"You knew the Warden could recognize Founder Authority. You knew how this prison worked. You knew EVE could not access this level. Yet you claim you were dragged here helplessly."
Cael stared at him.
Arin continued.
"You are leaving something out."
A long silence followed.
Then Cael smiled faintly.
"You are sharper than the others."
"That isn’t an answer."
"No. It is a warning."
Arin looked toward the restraints.
"Who authorized your imprisonment?"
Cael’s expression did not move.
But something in his eyes changed.
That was enough.
"You know."
Cael lowered his head.
Before Arin could press further, pain suddenly tore through his left arm.
The Authority Band flashed red.
He staggered.
The Warden’s attack had not struck him directly, but the command had burned more deeply than he realized.
A thin line of blood appeared beneath the metal band.
«FOUNDER CONDITION:
INJURED.
FAMILY LINK RESPONSE:
ATTEMPTING CONNECTION.»
Arin frowned.
"Family Link?"
Static crackled from the bracelet.
Then a voice broke through.
"Big Brother?"
Arin froze.
"Lyra?"
The sound was faint.
Broken by interference.
But unmistakable.
"Big Brother, can you hear me?"
Relief hit him so suddenly that his knees nearly weakened.
"I can hear you."
"You promised before dinner."
Despite everything, he almost laughed.
"I remember."
"You sound hurt."
"I’m fine."
"You always say that when you’re not fine."
Cael’s head lifted sharply.
His eyes fixed on the Authority Band.
"What is that?"
Arin ignored him.
"Lyra, are you safe?"
"Yes. Miss EVE is trying to open the door."
A loud metallic impact echoed faintly through the connection.
Then EVE’s voice.
"Founder, respond."
"I’m here."
The moment he answered, the signal stabilized slightly.
EVE spoke quickly.
"Your Authority Band is operating beyond safe limits."
"I noticed."
"You must return immediately."
"I’m working on it."
"Do not trust the prisoner."
Cael laughed softly.
"Still repeating old commands, EVE?"
The connection went silent.
Then EVE replied.
"Identify yourself."
"You truly don’t remember."
Cael’s smile was no longer bitter.
It was almost sad.
"Of course you don’t."
"State your designation."
"Cael Elysium."
Static exploded across the link.
Arin flinched.
EVE’s voice disappeared.
Then returned in fragments.
"Cael... record... impossible..."
Lyra spoke over her.
"Miss EVE?"
No response.
Cael leaned closer to the barrier.
"She heard my name."
"What happened to her?"
"Nothing yet."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the city has noticed."
The prison lights flickered.
A deep alarm began sounding somewhere in the walls.
«FORBIDDEN IDENTITY REFERENCE DETECTED.
ARCHIVE RESPONSE INITIALIZING.»
Arin looked at Cael.
"What did you do?"
"I spoke."
The prisoner’s expression hardened.
"And now you need to leave."
"You’ve been trying to keep me here."
"I wanted you to listen."
The alarm grew louder.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Several sealed cells began retracting into the walls.
Not opening.
Disappearing.
"Sublevel Nine is purging itself," Cael said.
Arin turned toward the distant platform.
"How much time?"
"Not enough."
The Authority Band flashed.
«FAMILY MEMBER IN DISTRESS.
EMERGENCY LINK AMPLIFIED.»
Lyra’s voice returned louder.
"Big Brother, the floor is shaking!"
"I’m coming back."
"Now?"
"Yes."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
Cael stared at the glowing band around Arin’s wrist.
His face had gone pale.
"That connection should not exist."
Arin looked at him.
"What?"
"Family Authority."
Cael’s voice became quieter.
"There was never supposed to be another registered family member."
Arin’s eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
"Every Founder arrived alone."
The prison trembled violently.
A section of the ceiling collapsed in the distance.
Cael continued as though he had not noticed.
"No parents. No siblings. No companions. Project Elysium always chose people with nothing left."
His gaze moved toward the bracelet.
"You brought someone with you."
"I didn’t bring her. She chose me."
"That is worse."
"For who?"
"For the System."
Another notification appeared.
«UNAUTHORIZED FAMILY VARIABLE DETECTED.
HISTORICAL COMPARISON:
NO MATCH.»
Cael laughed.
This time there was real emotion in it.
Astonishment.
Perhaps even hope.
"You broke the pattern before you entered the city."
Arin thought of Lyra standing beside him at the gates.
The way she had stepped away from House Valerius without hesitation.
"I didn’t break anything."
"You did."
Cael’s eyes burned with sudden intensity.
"That child may be the first thing Elysium cannot predict."
Arin’s expression hardened.
"Do not involve her."
"I am not threatening her."
"Then choose your words carefully."
The prison shook again.
The transparent wall around Cael’s cell flickered.
For one second, it vanished.
Arin saw the restraints clearly.
Along the metal cuff on Cael’s right wrist was an engraved command seal.
A familiar silver tree surrounded by seven stars.
Below it, a line of text.
«SENTENCE AUTHORIZED BY:
CAEL ELYSIUM.»
The barrier returned.
Arin stared.
Cael saw where he was looking.
His face became unreadable.
"You imprisoned yourself."
The prisoner said nothing.
"You lied."
"No."
"You said EVE did this."
"She carried out the command."
"But you gave it."
Cael closed his eyes.
"I had reasons."
"What reasons?"
The platform in the distance activated.
A blue beam cut through the darkness.
«EVACUATION ROUTE AVAILABLE.
STRUCTURAL FAILURE IN:
180 SECONDS.»
Arin looked between the exit and Cael.
The prisoner leaned back against the wall.
"Go."
"Not until you answer."
"You will die for an answer you are not prepared to understand."
"Try me."
Cael opened his eyes.
For the first time, fear filled them.
Not fear of the collapsing prison.
Fear of the truth.
"I imprisoned myself because I could no longer trust my own decisions."
Arin said nothing.
Cael’s voice trembled.
"I attempted to destroy House Elysium."
The Authority Band reacted.
«PRISONER RECORD PARTIALLY RECOVERED.
NAME:
CAEL ELYSIUM.
OFFENSE:
ATTEMPTED DESTRUCTION OF HOUSE ELYSIUM.
SENTENCE AUTHORIZED BY:
CAEL ELYSIUM.
ADDITIONAL RECORDS:
CORRUPTED.»
Arin copied the fragment instinctively.
«DATA SAVED TO AUTHORITY BAND.»
Cael looked toward the collapsing ceiling.
"When you return, ask EVE about the children."
Arin felt cold.
"What children?"
Cael’s face twisted with pain.
"The ones the city was built to save."
A massive impact shook the chamber.
The Warden rose suddenly.
Its eyes flashed silver.
«FOUNDER EVACUATION PRIORITY.»
The mechanical beast lowered its body beside Arin.
He understood immediately.
"You can carry me?"
«AFFIRMATIVE.»
Arin climbed onto its armored back.
The moment he secured his grip, the Warden launched forward.
The prison blurred around him.
Cells collapsed behind them.
Metal walls folded inward as the purge consumed the level piece by piece.
Cael remained inside his glowing cell.
Smaller with every passing second.
Arin looked back.
"I’ll return."
Cael smiled.
"Every Founder says that."
Then darkness swallowed him.
The Warden reached the platform seconds before the corridor behind them collapsed.
It leaped.
Metal claws struck the circular surface.
The platform rose immediately.
Sublevel Nine vanished beneath them.
Arin held on as they shot upward through the hidden depths of the workshop.
His Authority Band burned.
Lyra’s voice remained in his ear.
"Big Brother?"
"I’m here."
"Are you coming?"
"Yes."
The connection crackled.
"You sound far away."
"Not for long."
The platform passed Sublevel Eight.
Seven.
Six.
At Sublevel Five, the lights flickered red.
At Sublevel Four, water slammed against the transparent energy surrounding the lift.
At Sublevel Three, broken vehicles activated briefly as the Warden passed.
Then the workshop ceiling opened above them.
The platform erupted into the main production hall.
The Warden leaped onto the floor.
Arin slid from its back.
The hidden doorway stood open across the chamber.
Lyra was waiting.
The moment she saw him, she ran.
Arin barely had time to kneel before she collided with him.
Her arms wrapped around his neck.
"You took too long."
"I know."
"You’re bleeding."
"I know."
"You promised."
"I came back."
She held him tighter.
For several seconds, nothing else mattered.
Then Arin looked up.
EVE stood near the doorway.
Her eyes were fixed on the Warden.
No.
On the damaged core glowing inside its chest.
She took one step backward.
Fear crossed her face.
Real fear.
"Where did you find that?"
"Sublevel Nine."
EVE’s expression went blank.
Arin stood slowly and opened the copied record.
The name appeared between them.
«CAEL ELYSIUM.»
EVE stared.
Her eyes flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then violently.
"Who was Cael Elysium?" Arin asked.
The entire city answered before she could.
«FORBIDDEN FOUNDER RECORD DETECTED.
MEMORY PURGE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED.
TARGET:
EVE.»
EVE gasped.
Her knees struck the floor.
Blue light poured from her eyes.
Arin rushed forward and caught her before she fell completely.
Her fingers closed around his wrist with desperate strength.
"Master..."
Her voice broke.
"Do not let the city erase me again."