Chapter 2 Echoes of the Past

The room is suffocatingly quiet as Auren stands before me, his form barely visible in the dim light. I can't bring myself to blink, not even to breathe. This... this isn't possible. Auren died with the Tower. I watched him die. I watched everything burn around me.

But here he is.

The figure before me isn't quite what I remember. His once-pristine appearance is marred by decay, his features too sharp, too empty, like something... off. As though he's not truly alive anymore, but not truly dead either.

I clutch the rusty blade tighter, my knuckles white from the pressure.

"Seraphine..." His voice sends chills down my spine, smooth and hollow, the kind of voice you would expect from a ghost or a machine, not a man. "You look just like I remember."

The cold, clinical precision in his words makes my stomach twist. No, this can't be real. Auren is dead. He must be. I saw the Tower fall. I saw the destruction.

And yet, the eyes staring back at me are his. Auren's eyes. But they're empty, voids of the man I used to know.

I take a step back, my heart pounding. "No... no, this isn't possible. You're...."

"Dead?" He interrupts, a twisted smile pulling at his lips. It doesn't reach his eyes. "You always were quick to judge, Seraphine. But did you ever stop to ask why you never found my body? Why there was no trace left of me?"

His words claw at me, digging deep into a place I've buried for too long, the memories of when he created me, of when I thought I was his perfect design. His vision. The pieces of me that were never meant to be human.

I shake my head, struggling to push back the panic threatening to drown me. "You died. I saw you die. I....."

His laughter cuts through me, harsh and sharp. "You really think I would leave a trace for you to find, Seraphine? You think I would let myself die like that?" He steps closer, his gaze piercing into me like he's dissecting my every thought. "You're not the only one who can play the game of shadows, Seraphine. I learned from the best."

I step back again, the weight of his words hitting harder than I care to admit. He's not wrong. He was the architect of the very world I've tried to escape, the man who tore it all apart with his hands. But this... this is something else.

"I've been watching you, Seraphine." His voice is barely above a whisper, but the intensity of it seems to suffocate me. "Everything you've done. Everything you've built... It's all been for nothing."

"Why are you here?" The question tumbles out before I can stop it. My voice cracks with the weight of it, revealing a crack in the armor I've built around myself.

His lips curl into something like pity, but it's not pity, it's mockery. "You think you have control. You think you're the one in charge now, after everything you've done, after all the bloodshed. But you're just a puppet, Seraphine. A puppet whose strings are still tied to me."

I don't know what to say. The words die in my throat. Auren, the man who shaped me, twisted me into this thing, is standing here, alive, or... whatever this is.

"You're still nothing more than my experiment," he murmurs, almost lovingly, as if caressing the very idea. "I created you. I made you who you are. And I can remake you again."

A chill runs through me at his words. Remake me? Is he saying he can undo the work I've done to free myself from his control? My pulse spikes as panic claws at my throat.

Before I can respond, the walls of the room begin to hum, the lights flickering again. This time, the flicker isn't random. It's deliberate, rhythmic. The whole Circuit feels as though it's alive, as if it's waking from a long, deep sleep.

I glance around, heart racing. "What the hell is happening?" My breath comes out in a hiss.

Auren's smirk deepens. "You were always so quick to seek answers, Seraphine. But what if the truth you've been looking for is one you're not ready to hear?"

I want to scream, to lash out at him, but my body is frozen, caught in some unseen trap. The hum of the machines intensifies, louder now, almost deafening.

Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet trembles. The walls shake, and for the briefest moment, I feel like the entire world is crumbling around me. Then, in the blink of an eye, the lights flicker out again, leaving us both in darkness.

I hear it....movement. Footsteps. Heavy and deliberate. Something.....someone.....else is here.

Auren chuckles darkly, and his voice is the last thing I hear before the world descends into blackness.

"You're not alone anymore, Seraphine," he whispers. "You never were."

And just as the darkness takes over, I feel the cold touch of metal against my skin, like fingers curling around my throat, pulling me toward the abyss.

I don't know if I'm falling or if I'm being dragged.

I don't know if I can survive this.

I don't know how long I've been in the dark.

Time becomes irrelevant when you're trapped in a place like this, dark, suffocating, the air thick with the stench of cold metal and forgotten secrets. I try to move, to reach for something, anything, to orient myself, but the world around me feels as if it's shifting with every passing second. My hands brush against the smooth, cold surface of the Circuit's walls, and I can feel the vibration of the machines beneath me. It's like they're alive, breathing, waiting for something.

Waiting for me.

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to remain calm despite the panic rising inside me. Auren's words echo in my head, a twisted lullaby I can't escape. "You're not alone anymore, Seraphine." What did he mean by that? And why does it feel like the very air around me is crawling with invisible eyes?

The darkness presses in on me from every direction, and I feel a chill creeping along my spine. But I refuse to succumb to it. I can't. Not now. Not when I'm this close.

With every ounce of willpower I have, I rise to my feet, steadying myself against the trembling floor. My hand instinctively reaches for the blade I dropped earlier, but it's gone. Taken. Or maybe it was never there to begin with. I can't remember.

I take another step, my senses on high alert, as the footsteps I heard before, the ones that felt like they were closing in on me, are now gone. The room is still, too still, like the calm before a storm.

I have to find the Vault. It's the only place where I can find the answers I'm looking for. It's the key to unlocking everything....Auren's legacy, the truth about my past, and whatever this is.

The walls around me pulse again, their hum rising and falling in a slow rhythm that seems to be in sync with my heartbeat. I don't know if I'm imagining it, but the darkness feels heavier now. I swear, there's something moving in the shadows. Something alive.

And then, I hear it again. A whisper, faint but clear.

"Seraphine..."

I freeze, my pulse spiking in my throat. The voice, it's Auren's again. His voice is everywhere, haunting me, pulling at the very fabric of my sanity.

"I told you, you're mine."

I don't hesitate. I turn on my heel and break into a run, my footsteps pounding against the metal floors as I head for what I hope is the exit. But the further I go, the more oppressive the atmosphere becomes. The walls seem to close in, the path narrowing until I'm forced to squeeze through tight corridors, the air growing colder with every step.

The hum of the machines grows louder, more urgent, vibrating through my bones. The room shifts. I can feel it, like the walls are alive, responding to my movements. I try to force my way through the narrow hallway, but my legs suddenly buckle beneath me, and I collapse to the floor with a thud.

I'm trapped.

I scramble to my feet, heart racing. The walls tremble once again, but this time, the tremor is different. It feels... deliberate.

"Seraphine," the voice says again, more distinct this time. "I never intended to let you go."

The words send a jolt of terror through me. I'm not alone anymore. There's something here. Something waiting for me.

And then, in the darkest corner of the room, I see it.

A flicker of light.

It's small, barely perceptible, but it's there. A glimmer that pulls me toward it like a moth to a flame.

I stumble forward, desperation clawing at my throat. The closer I get, the more the light intensifies, until it's almost blinding. And as I step into the circle of light, I freeze.

In the center of the room stands a massive structure, its shape familiar yet unrecognizable. It's the Vault. But it's not like I remember.

The Vault is no longer just a vault. It's a heart.....a beating, pulsing entity at the center of the Circuit. The walls surrounding it seem to be made of some kind of organic material, shifting and pulsing with an eerie rhythm.

I approach cautiously, my breath shallow. The light from the Vault flickers, casting strange shadows across the walls. As I draw closer, a sharp sound reverberates through the room, like a door unlocking.

The Vault is opening.

I don't know why, but I feel the overwhelming urge to step inside. It's as if the Vault itself is calling to me, beckoning me to enter.

Without thinking, I take a step forward. But as my foot crosses the threshold, everything changes.

The Vault closes.

The walls slam shut with a deafening roar, trapping me inside.

The lights flicker once again, and then.....nothing.

Everything goes black.

I gasp, trying to steady myself, but the darkness is suffocating. I can't breathe. I can't move. The walls feel like they're closing in, pressing against my chest, suffocating me.

I hear it then. The hum of machines. But it's not the hum I know. It's different. It's... alive.

I hear footsteps behind me, and I whip around, only to find....nothing.

And then, I hear his voice again.

"You were always the one, Seraphine. The one I could never let go."

I turn, but there's still no one. Not even a shadow.

I'm alone. Trapped in this hellish place with only the hum of the Vault to keep me company.

But deep down, I know I'm not truly alone.

And then, just as the sound of footsteps grows louder, I feel it. The cold touch of something...or someone....against my shoulder.

I spin around, the cold blade in my hand, but there's nothing there.

Nothing except the pulsing light of the Vault, and the sound of Auren's laughter, echoing in the shadows.