The Hollow Warden

The white, polished corridors of the facility stretched endlessly before Jarek, everything appeared extremely smooth and shiny, a stark contrast to the buildings in the Shatterzone. The corridors were lit by white lights embedded seamlessly into the ceilings.

Every step Jarek took echoed faintly, despite his attempts to move silently. His instincts screamed for him to stick to the shadows as he felt exposed, but in this immaculate environment, there were no shadows to hide in, only exposed corridors designed to intimidate intruders like him.

He glanced at his comm unit, which projected a faint holographic map onto his wrist. The route was clear, a winding path marked with a blinking icon that pulsed with quiet urgency. The prototype was two floors above him, locked away in a secure lab.

The first obstacle appeared as Jarek rounded a corner, a wall-mounted security drone, it was sleek and silent. Its metallic shell gleamed under the lights, its single red eye scanning the corridor in rhythmic sweeps. He froze mid-step, his heart pounding. The drone hovered in place, its faint hum filling the silence.

Jarek's fingers brushed the knife tucked into his jacket, but he didn't draw it. Fighting here would be suicide and an extremely stupid decision. Instead, he pressed himself flat against the wall, breathing shallowly as the drone's scanner passed dangerously close to his body.

A mechanical chime sounded, and the drone pivoted, retreating down a side corridor. Jarek exhaled slowly, his shoulders relaxing just enough to keep moving.

Further ahead, he came upon a service stairwell. He nudged the door open carefully, the hinges gliding without a sound. The stairwell was empty, its pristine metal steps spiraling upward.

"This should be a quick climb," he muttered to himself under his breath, then he set his foot on the first step.

The ascent was painstaking. Every creak of the stairs, no matter how faint, sounded deafening to his ears. He climbed two flights of stairs, pausing at each landing to listen for signs of pursuit. Thankfully none came. The climb was slower than he first anticipated.

The lab was on the top floor, secured behind a set of reinforced glass doors. Jarek crouched in the stairwell, peeping through a narrow gap where the door almost met the frame. Inside the lab was eerily still, its walls lined with countless terminals that displayed streams of data in languages Jarek couldn't begin to guess, even in years.

The prototype was in the center of the room, encased in a transparent glass cylinder. It pulsed faintly, its surface glowing with a shifting, dreamlike hue that sent a chill down Jarek's spine. It reminded him of his dream. Jarek let out a breath trying to clear his head.

"So that's it ," he whispered, his breath fogging slightly against the cool air.

He scanned the hallway one last time before approaching the door. The access panel glowed faintly, awaiting a code. Jarek pulled out the data chip Tek had given him, slotting it into the panel. The screen flickered displaying static for a split second, then a green "confirmed" text was displayed as the door clicked open.

Jarek stepped inside the room, the atmosphere was thick with a type of energy Jarek could not understand. The faint hum of the prototype filled the room, a sound that resonated more in his bones than his ears. He was mesmerized, and for a moment, Jarek felt as if he was back in the Hollow Realm once again. And for a while Jarek just stood there, lost in the moment.

Suddenly his comm unit vibrated, drawing his attention, snapping him back to reality, Jarek shook his head hoping to clear his mind as he approached the cylinder.

The cylindrical casing opened with a sharp click, the case retracted to reveal the device inside, a small, crystalline shard suspended in a metal framework. It seemed to pulse with its own heartbeat, glowing brighter as Jarek's hand hovered over it.

As his fingers gripped the shard, a cold-electric sensation coursed throughout his body. He flinched but didn't let go of it, his grip tightened as he lifted the shard from its cradle. The hum in the room grew louder, resonating with the shard's energy.

Suddenly alarms began blaring and red lights flashed across the room, followed by a shrill siren that cut through the still and quiet environment like a knife through butter. "Shit!" Jarek swore under his breath, shoving the shard into his jacket pocket before bolting toward the door.

The hallway outside was already alive with movement. Security drones hovered into position, their scanners sweeping for the intruder. Jarek ducked low, sprinting toward the stairwell as the first drone locked onto him.

A burst of static energy shot past him, narrowly missing his shoulder and scorching the wall. "Fuck" he cursed again, leaping down the stairs two at a time. The sound of pursuing drones filled the stairwell, their hums growing louder with each passing second a sign that indicated they were drawing closer.

He reached the ground floor and burst into the corridor, his lungs burning. Ahead of him the exit was in sight, but the path was blocked by a squadron of human guards armed to the teeth with sleek, high-tech weapons.

Jarek skidded to a stop, his mind racing. There was no way through, not without a fight, and not without getting himself killed. He spun on his heel, darting into a corridor on the side as the guards shouted and opened fire at him.

The walls around him sparked and sizzled as energy blasts struck the metal, filling the air with the acrid stench of scorched wiring. Jarek dove into the nearest maintenance hatch, slamming it shut behind him before crawling into the cramped tunnel.

The sirens blared faintly in the distance as he moved deeper into the ventilation system, the shard in his jacket pocket pulsing faintly against his chest. It felt like it was alive, whispering to him in a language he could not understand.

As he crawled, he couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't alone, not in the vents, and not in his own mind.