Vault’s Awakening

Kairo's eyes snapped open.

He blinked, his pulse racing.

It was as if he had fallen asleep and woken up in an entirely different place. A part of his mind still clung to the memory of falling, of tumbling into the darkness of Vaultspace, but the room around him was strangely solid—almost normal. His heart pounded.

He had no idea how long he'd been inside.

"Vault Time: 00:00:23." The projection blinked in front of him, each number glowing in soft blue. He stared at it, then at the surroundings. The space around him was vast. So vast it didn't even feel like a space at all. It was a void—an open plane that stretched far beyond his sight. Above, distant glimmers of light drifted, resembling stars in a sky that had no right to exist in a room so empty.

Kairo reached out and swiped the air in front of him, as though trying to pull himself out of some dream. But the Vaultspace was real. Realer than anything he'd ever known.

The air felt heavier than he remembered, thicker—fuller with possibility.

This was it. His ability. The one he thought was useless.

But now?

Now he could feel it. He could feel the power in it.

He pressed his hands to the floor, his fingers brushing the smooth surface of the ground, feeling the hum of Vaultspace as it seemed to pulse beneath him. It didn't feel like just an empty dimension for storage—it felt like something alive, something reactive.

He rose to his feet. "Time is moving slower, but I… I'm inside. I'm really inside."

Kairo's words echoed into the emptiness, swallowed by the stillness that stretched for eternity. He walked forward, each step quiet against the black ground.

For the first time, he felt like he wasn't bound by the same rules as everyone else. The rules of time. The rules of life. The weight of being weak. None of it mattered here.

But as the realization sank in, a prickling sensation ran down his spine. He could feel it now—the strange tremor in the air, the odd pressure around him.

Something was wrong.

Kairo turned around in a sharp motion, eyes darting over his shoulder.

Nothing.

The space was still. Too still.

He exhaled slowly, attempting to calm his nerves. Whatever this was, it had power. It had… potential.

But it also had consequences. He could feel that much.

Kairo looked back at the glowing timer. Vault Time: 00:00:25.

If he could stay here, train here, study here—he could get stronger. His mind raced at the thought of all the things he could learn, all the martial techniques he could master, all the books he could devour without wasting time.

But what about outside? What would happen if he stayed too long?

Would anyone even notice he was gone?

A part of him wanted to just lie down and let the time flow, let the world outside fade into the distance. But there was still that pressure—still that feeling like he was being watched, like there was something here that shouldn't be.

He stepped forward again, reaching for one of the floating objects. It was one of his old training books, covered in dust. He'd forgotten it was even stored in the Vaultspace.

The book hovered in front of him. He reached out and opened it.

The pages were filled with martial techniques, strategies, philosophies. He had studied them before, but never had the time to fully grasp them. Not like this.

He skimmed through the pages, each one slower than the last, his mind absorbing every word like a sponge.

This was power. This was what he had been missing.

He stood there for hours—or was it minutes? Time felt irrelevant. He had to make use of this, of the endless possibilities this Vaultspace presented. But there was still that nagging thought in the back of his mind. What else was hidden in here?

Kairo closed the book. "There's more to this space. More than I'm seeing."

His fingers brushed against the cover of a different book, an old journal. He pulled it out with ease, examining it. This was from one of his earlier days—before his ability had even shown signs of growth. The handwriting was his, but the words were foreign, filled with confusion.

When will this ability show its worth? he had written at one point. It's just a bag, a place to hide things. I've tried to make it work, but maybe I was born with a useless power.

Kairo closed the journal with a snap, his breath shaky. He had forgotten about the uncertainty he used to feel. It felt so far away now, almost as if he were reading about a stranger's life.

But as the journal's words echoed in his mind, something else pressed forward. Something in the Vaultspace.

A vibration. Not from the ground. Not from the air. But from within him.

He staggered back. The sensation was strong, unsettling. His body trembled as his thoughts spun.

Vaultspace. It was changing. He could feel it warping. Something inside of it had stirred.

Without warning, the ground beneath him began to shimmer, as though the very fabric of the space was shifting. A low hum filled the air, vibrating through his chest. The stars above grew brighter. The glowing numbers in the air flickered.

"Is this…" Kairo whispered to himself. "Is it because I'm here?"

The trembling in the air increased, and suddenly, the Vaultspace distorted—a ripple in the fabric of reality itself.

He took a step back, heart racing.

Out of the shimmer, figures began to form.

At first, they were blurry—shadowy, vague shapes that seemed to flicker in and out of existence. But as they solidified, Kairo's breath caught in his throat.

Figures—people—emerged from the distortions. Their forms were clad in strange robes and armor, their faces obscured by masks.

They were like nothing he had ever seen before. Warriors. But not of this world.

Their eyes glowed faintly in the dim light of Vaultspace.

One of them stepped forward, a voice deep and resonant, like the sound of thunder.

"You… are not supposed to be here."

Kairo's blood ran cold. He stepped back, his hands instinctively forming fists.

"I… I don't understand," he stammered. "What are you?"

The figure's voice echoed in his mind. "We are the Vaultborn. We are the keepers of this space. And you… you are an intruder."

Kairo's mind raced. These beings were not human. They weren't even from his world. They were… something else. Something ancient.

"What do you want from me?" Kairo asked, trying to steady his shaking hands.

The Vaultborn stepped closer, his eyes glowing more intensely. "We have watched you. You are the one who has unlocked the true potential of Vaultspace. But that power comes with a price."

"What price?" Kairo asked.

The figure paused, his gaze piercing. "The price of knowledge. The price of mastery. The price of balance. You will face tests. Trials. And you will not face them alone."

Kairo took a step back, his heart pounding.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

The figure's voice grew softer, like a whisper. "You have awoken the Vault. Now, you will answer its call."