Chapter 96: Reforging Power

The wind howled across the plateau as Elias stood at the edge, staring into the distant mountains that stretched across the horizon. The world felt vast, open—yet suffocatingly small, given the enemies closing in on them. The Academy was already moving, and the Forgotten loomed at the edges of space. He wasn't ready. Not yet.

Behind him, the others were already working. The Vault's entrance, once abandoned for centuries, now hummed with activity as Marco tapped into the ancient systems, scanning for active machinery and salvageable resources.

Reinhardt carried a large crate of Vanguard scrap, tossing it onto a makeshift workbench. "This is all we could pull from the lower sections. Lot of old tech down there, but most of it's either busted or outdated."

Marco frowned, wiping sweat from his brow. "We need a power core to restart full production. Without one, all this tech is just fancy junk."

Elias ran a hand across his gauntlet, his mind already running calculations. He had inherited the remnants of a war long past, but what he needed was to bring that war to the present.

His armor—his prototype exosuit—was already falling behind. The fight against Aetheris had proved that. He had been too slow, too predictable. If he was going to stand against what was coming, then he needed to evolve.

"I need to rebuild my war armor," Elias said finally.

Lira, perched on a nearby crate, raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with the current one?"

Elias flexed his gauntlet. "It's a prototype. It wasn't designed for long-term combat. I've been modifying it on the fly, but after fighting Aetheris…" He exhaled. "I realized how outdated it is."

Cecilia smirked. "So you're saying you need an upgrade."

Elias nodded. "Not just for me—for all of us. If the Academy is coming for us, we can't keep fighting with scraps. We need gear that can match their best."

Varian stepped forward, arms crossed. "The Vault contains blueprints of old Vanguard weapons. Can we use them?"

Marco hesitated, flipping through his datapad. "We can, but the problem is energy consumption. Most of these designs were built for massive power sources—far beyond what we can generate right now."

Ivy frowned. "Then how did the Vanguard even use them?"

Elias's mind flashed back to the Aetheris holograms. The battlefields. The way the war armor moved. The Vanguard didn't just use power cores—they had something else.

Something the Academy erased from history.

He turned to Marco. "Check the Vault's logs. There has to be another energy source—something they used before the war ended."

Marco quickly pulled up the database, scanning old files. His eyes widened. "Uh… okay. This might be what you're looking for." He turned the screen so everyone could see.

A schematic appeared.

It wasn't just a power core. It was a fusion of magic and technology, a reactor designed to sustain long-term high-output combat. The name at the top sent a chill down Elias's spine.

"Vanguard Arc Reactor: Genesis Core."

Lira whistled. "That sounds important."

Elias nodded. "It is. It's the key to unlocking the full potential of Vanguard technology."

Reinhardt cracked his knuckles. "Great. Where do we find one?"

Marco hesitated. "That's the bad part." He tapped the display, pulling up a holographic map. "According to these records, the last known Genesis Core was located in…" He paused, then winced. "Oh, you are not going to like this."

Cecilia leaned in. "Where?"

Marco sighed. "The Academy's capital."

Silence.

Ivy swore. "Of course it is."

Varian's expression remained neutral, but his golden eyes flickered. "Then the question is simple. How do we take it?"

Elias clenched his fists. The Academy had stolen Vanguard knowledge, erased it, buried it. And now, they sat on top of the last working Genesis Core—the last piece he needed to fully upgrade his armor and prepare for war.

This wasn't just about survival anymore.

This was about taking back what was lost.

Lira smirked. "So. We're planning a heist, then?"

Elias exhaled. "Not just a heist." His gauntlet hummed, the blueprints of his new war armor design flickering across his HUD.

"We're going to steal the heart of the Academy."

And they wouldn't see it coming.