Chapter 87: Descent into the Drowned Vaults

  The terrifying revelation that their permanent cure lay directly beneath their feet, entirely submerged in corrupted, mutant-infested water, hung heavily in the warm, botanical air of the isolation chamber. Lyra looked down at her wrist, the faint pink lines seeming to mock her desperate efforts. The cure was incredibly close, yet entirely guarded by a nightmare of their own indirect creation.

  "The Flooded Depths," Lyra repeated, her tactical mind instantly shifting to operational logistics. "How deep are we talking, Master Elara? And what is the exact layout of these First Era containment vaults?"

  Elara walked over to a heavy wooden filing cabinet, pulling out a large, rolled piece of thick vellum. She unrolled it across the petrified iron-wood table. It was an incredibly complex, highly detailed architectural blueprint detailing the ancient, submerged foundations of Riverbend.

  "The city is entirely supported by massive, hollow stone pillars," Elara explained, tracing a thick blue line on the blueprint with her sap-stained finger. "The Depths are essentially a massive, interconnected network of submerged maintenance tunnels and heavy pressure-containment vaults located at the absolute base of these pillars, resting directly on the lakebed. They are currently completely flooded with highly pressurized, freezing lake water."

  "How do we breathe?" Zeno asked, a perfectly logical, entirely straightforward question.

  "You won't be swimming the entire time," Elara clarified, her emerald eyes fixed on the massive boy. "The First Era engineers anticipated the need for submerged maintenance. There is a primary airlock system. If you can physically force the massive, rusted primary valve open, it will trigger an ancient, magical displacement pump. It will forcibly drain the water from the immediate vault sections, creating a localized, highly pressurized air pocket."

  Zeno peered closely at the complex blueprint, his brow furrowing deeply in genuine concern. He completely ignored the complex runes and focused entirely on the massive blue area representing the water.

  "Lyra..." Zeno whispered, leaning close to her, his voice dropping into a rare tone of quiet vulnerability. "You know exactly how I swim. I am vastly too heavy. I swim exactly like a massive iron anchor. If that rusted door is very deep, I am going to sink straight to the bottom and I will absolutely not be able to float back up."

  Lyra’s heart softened at his entirely practical, terrifying fear. She placed a reassuring, gloved hand entirely over his massive, spiked gauntlet.

  "You don't have to swim, sledgehammer," Lyra promised firmly, her eyes completely locked onto his. "You just hold your breath. I will engage my wind Tena underwater to propel us. I will turn you into a human torpedo and push you directly to the valve. You just focus on breaking the heavy wheel."

  Zeno’s anxious frown instantly vanished, replaced completely by his signature, unshakeable trust in his partner. "Okay! A torpedo sounds very fast. We will get the bad flower."

  Elara led them quickly out of the Grand Apothecary and through the bustling, highly refined streets of the floating city. They bypassed the elegant bridges and vibrant markets, descending a series of increasingly narrow, damp stone staircases leading deep into the structural underbelly of Riverbend.

  The air grew significantly colder and smelled strongly of stagnant water, ancient stone, and a faint, highly unsettling trace of rotting vegetation.

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  They finally reached a massive, heavy iron hatch set directly into the thick, white stone floor of the lowest maintenance tier. The hatch was entirely sealed shut with thick chains and heavy padlocks, clearly marked with dire quarantine warnings in bright red paint.

  "This is the primary access point to Sector Four of the Flooded Depths," Elara said, her voice echoing slightly in the damp, enclosed space. "The confiscated crystal shipment, and the resulting Abyssal Lotus, are entirely contained within Vault Delta, located directly at the end of the primary submerged corridor."

  She produced a heavy iron ring of keys, unlocking the padlocks and unwinding the thick chains.

  "I cannot accompany you further," Elara warned, stepping back as the massive iron hatch groaned open, revealing a completely dark, flooded vertical shaft leading straight down into the pitch-black water. "The ambient radiation down there would be fatal to an unprotected botanist. Remember: pull the primary valve to drain the vault, sever the core, and return before the extract spoils in the open air."

  Zeno didn't hesitate. He took a massive, incredibly deep breath, expanding his broad chest, entirely ignored the pitch-black, freezing water, and simply stepped completely over the edge of the hatch, dropping straight down like a boulder.

  SPLASH.

  Lyra took a deep breath, securing her twin daggers tightly in their sheaths. She dove in right after him.

  The immediate shock of the freezing lake water was intense. The darkness was absolute. Zeno was already sinking rapidly, exactly as he had predicted.

  Lyra swam quickly to catch up to his descending form. She firmly grabbed the thick leather straps of his backpack. She engaged her pale green wind Tena, pushing the magic outward to create a highly pressurized, localized pocket of air around her face, and simultaneously generating a massive, localized underwater current to propel them forward.

  The exact fraction of a second the wind magic left her core, a searing, blinding pain violently ripped through Lyra’s chest.

  Beneath the freezing water, the dormant pink lines on her neck and wrist instantly flared to life, glowing with a bright, sickly, terrifyingly visible pink bioluminescence. The Spores were aggressively feeding on her active Tena. Lyra gasped in pure agony within her air bubble, the pressurized sphere violently flickering and almost collapsing. She gritted her teeth so hard she tasted blood, entirely refusing to let the magic fail. She had to get him to the door.

  Propelled by Lyra's agonizing, desperate magic, they shot through the murky, submerged stone corridor like a fired arrow.

  After a grueling minute of heavy, painful propulsion, they reached the massive, heavy iron primary valve Elara had described. It was a colossal wheel, easily the size of a merchant wagon, completely encrusted in centuries of heavy rust and thick, petrified barnacles.

  Zeno grabbed the massive spokes with both heavy gauntlets. He planted his heavy boots securely against the slippery stone wall, engaged his monstrous Strength stat of 26, and pulled with absolutely everything he had.

  The heavy iron shrieked in absolute, mechanical agony. A massive cloud of red rust and bubbles erupted violently into the dark water. With a final, explosive heave, Zeno completely turned the massive wheel.

  Immediately, the ancient First Era machinery ground violently to life.

  A massive, incredibly powerful suction force engaged. The freezing water in the corridor was violently, rapidly sucked through a series of massive hidden grates in the floor.

  Within thirty seconds, Zeno and Lyra found themselves entirely dumped onto the damp, slime-covered stone floor of the corridor, completely soaking wet and gasping for the stale, incredibly heavy air of the newly created, highly pressurized air pocket.

  Lyra collapsed onto her hands and knees, coughing violently, clutching her chest as the pink glow beneath her skin slowly began to recede back into a dormant state, leaving her completely exhausted and trembling.

  "The water is gone," Zeno announced cheerfully, standing up and igniting his massive gauntlets with a brilliant, steady blue Tena, completely illuminating the dark, damp stone tunnel stretching out before them.

  "But the weeds are absolutely not," Lyra wheezed, forcing herself to stand and drawing her daggers, her emerald eyes narrowing as she peered into the gloom.

  The ancient stone walls of the corridor were completely covered in a thick, pulsating mass of incredibly dark, highly corrupted vines. They writhed and twitched slightly in the newly introduced air, radiating a faint, sickening violet light.

  "Be ready for absolutely anything, Zeno," Lyra warned, her tactical mind fighting through the pain. "The garden is awake, and it is very hungry."