The Sentinel's truth

The construct stepped forward, her movements fluid and unnervingly human. Her body was a lattice of black metal and glowing Aetherium veins, her face a haunting blend of beauty and menace. Her violet eyes locked onto mine, and I felt the bracelet on my wrist pulse in response, as if it recognized her.

"You've come at last," she said, her voice a symphony of whispers. "I've waited so long for one of your bloodline to return."

Lira raised her pistol, her mechanical eye whirring as it analyzed the construct. "What are you?"

"I am the Sentinel," the construct replied, tilting her head as though amused. "Guardian of the Aetherium Vault. And you," she added, her gaze shifting to Lira, "are trespassing."

The Inquisitors behind us hesitated, their flamethrowers sputtering as the Sentinel's presence filled the chamber. The priest stepped forward, his respirator hissing. "This is heresy! The vault is sacred ground. You will not—"

The Sentinel raised a hand, and the priest froze mid-sentence. His body stiffened, his eyes widening behind his mask as his flamethrower crumpled like paper.

"Your Church built me," the Sentinel said, her voice cold. "But they could not control me. Just as they could not control the Aetherium."

She turned back to me, her expression softening. "Jace Veyren. Your bloodline was the key to my creation. Your ancestor, Elias, designed me to protect the Aetherium from those who would abuse it. But the Church twisted his vision. They locked me away, fearing what I might reveal."

"Reveal what?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"The truth," she said. "The Aetherium is not a weapon. It is a *gift*. A fragment of a greater power, one that could reshape this world. But the Church fears it. They fear *you*."

Lira stepped forward, her pistol still trained on the Sentinel. "If the Aetherium is so powerful, why hasn't it been used? Why hide it?"

The Sentinel's gaze darkened. "Because it is not meant for your kind. Not yet. The Aetherium is alive, and it chooses its wielders. Those who seek to control it… are consumed by it."

---

**Chapter 6b: The Price of Power**

The Sentinel gestured to the vault behind her, its walls lined with towering Aetherium cores. Each one pulsed faintly, their light casting shifting shadows across the chamber.

"Your parents understood," she said, her voice softening. "They sought to unlock the Aetherium's potential, to use it for creation rather than destruction. But the Church saw them as a threat. They were executed, and their work was buried."

I clenched my fists, the bracelet on my wrist humming faintly. "And now? What happens now?"

"Now," the Sentinel said, "you must choose. The Aetherium can be a tool of liberation, a force to rebuild this broken world. Or it can be a weapon, one that will plunge the kingdoms into war once more."

Lira lowered her pistol, her expression conflicted. "If we take the Aetherium, the Church will hunt us. They'll burn everything to stop us."

"And if we leave it here," I countered, "they'll use it to start a war anyway. We can't let them control it."

The Sentinel stepped closer, her metallic hand brushing my cheek. "The choice is yours, Jace. But know this: the Aetherium is not a power to be wielded lightly. It will test you. It will change you. And it may destroy you."

I looked at Lira, her mechanical eye glinting in the Aetherium's glow. "What do you think?"

She hesitated, then nodded. "We take it. But we do it *our* way. Not the Church's. Not the Sentinel's. *Ours.*"

The Sentinel smiled, a faint, almost human expression. "Then it is decided. But be warned: the Church will not let you leave this place alive."

---

**Chapter 6c: The Siege Begins**

The Sentinel led us deeper into the vault, her form shifting and reforming as she moved. The Aetherium cores hummed louder, their light growing brighter as we approached the central chamber.

"This is the heart of the vault," the Sentinel said, gesturing to a massive core suspended in the air. "The source of the Aetherium's power. But it is also a prison."

"A prison for what?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"For me," she said. "And for the Aetherium itself. The Church bound us here, fearing what we might become if freed. But with your bloodline, Jace, you can break the chains."

Lira stepped forward, her eyes narrowing. "And what happens if we do? What happens to you?"

The Sentinel's gaze softened. "I will be free. But I will also be… diminished. The Aetherium and I are bound together. To free one is to weaken the other."

I hesitated, the weight of the decision pressing down on me. "Is there another way?"

"No," she said simply. "This is the only path."

Before I could respond, the vault shuddered. The sound of grinding gears echoed through the chamber, followed by the distant roar of flamethrowers.

"The Inquisitors," Lira said, her voice tight. "They're breaking in."

The Sentinel's form flickered, her expression hardening. "You must decide, Jace. Now."

I looked at Lira, then at the Sentinel. "Do it."

The Sentinel nodded, her form dissolving into a cloud of shimmering black particles. The Aetherium core flared, its light blinding as the chains binding it began to shatter.