Keep your chin tucked into your chest unless you want an iron beam to split your skull right in half, boy," the stranger roared, his voice barely cutting through the terrifying roar of the rushing water.​The massive iron frame of the defensive gate groaned as the upper support pins snapped, dropping tons of rusted metal directly down toward their heads. As the massive iron frame collapsed, the stranger did not try to run or dodge. Instead, he gathered the very last of his kinetic mana, forcing a brilliant, violent burst of red energy out from his palms to hit the side of the falling structure.​The blast tilted the structure at a sharp angle, wedging the heaviest crossbeams against the rough granite walls of the tunnel. It created a narrow, triangular wedge over their heads that deflected the heaviest debris safely over their shoulders, sending a massive shower of jagged stone and iron spikes crashing into the dark riverbed behind them.​"You blocked the main beam," Lennon choked out

Get your boots off those stone steps right now if you do not want to be flattened into a sheet of foil, boy," the massive stranger bellowed, his voice bouncing violently off the high bronze walls of the hidden room.​The crimson-eyed mechanical suit lunged forward with a sudden, terrifying mechanical shriek that ripped through the quiet vault. Its massive iron fist came crashing down from above, smashing directly into the heavy metal floorboards just inches away from Lennon’s boots. The sheer force of the impact left a deep, jagged crater in the metal plating, sending a violent shockwave through the stone stairs that threw Lennon entirely off his balance.​"The giant is moving too fast for an ancient frame," Lennon shouted, his right eye tracking the bright trail of crimson light left by the machine's visor in the dusty air.​"It is drawing power straight from the primary mainframe," the stranger growled, his long blade clearing its scabbard with a sharp click as he leaped down to the

Do not let your ribs cave under that frame, Lennon, or you will not survive long enough for the ceiling to crush us," the stranger bellowed, his voice choked with dark gray stone dust.​The heavy, deactivated suit slammed down onto Lennon, pinning his chest flat to the cold vault floor just as massive overhead structural beams shattered and brought down tons of solid rock. Huge slabs of ancient granite crashed all around them like falling mountains, smashing into the stone floorboards and throwing up a thick, blinding cloud of debris that blocked out every single ray of light in the chamber.​"I am pinned flat," Lennon choked out, his fingers digging uselessly into the stone beneath his back as the weight of the iron giant pressed down on his chest.​"I am coming to clear the shoulder plate," the stranger shouted back, the heavy thud of his boots echoing through the dark as he scrambled over the fresh pile of fallen boulders. "Keep your breath steady."​"I can barely get air into my t

Keep your knees bent and do not let your open palm touch the bare metal wall, boy, or the voltage will melt your internal organs in less than a second," the stranger roared, his voice bouncing violently off the narrow copper archways as they dropped through the shattered stone floor.​Lennon and the stranger fell straight into the glowing, high-voltage power conduit hidden beneath the vault floor. Their heavy boots skittered wildly across thick, humming copper cables that stretched out like massive serpents into the subterranean darkness. Above them, the heavy thermal charge detonated harmlessly in the upper chamber, sending a bright wave of orange heat and crumbling masonry washing over the thick ceiling stone without reaching their new position.​"We missed the main heat wave," Lennon shouted, his heels digging into the rubberized cable casing to arrest his slide.​"We missed the blast, but we landed right inside a live generator pit," the stranger growled, his boots kicking up brig

Brace your body against the rear frame because we are about to hit the wall hard," the massive stranger yelled, his voice barely cutting through the deafening shriek of grinding metal.​The decoupled train carriage violently drifted onto the rusted side-track, sending a massive wave of bright orange sparks flying into the dark as iron wheels ground brutally on iron rails. The carriage skidded sideways along the abandoned spur before crashing hard into an ancient, dust-covered maintenance terminal. The heavy iron bumper at the end of the line crumpled like thin paper upon impact, sending a violent shockwave tearing straight through the center of the wooden car.​"Lennon, look out for the front panel," the stranger shouted as the roof structure began to buckle around them.​"I have you," Lennon rasped, his boots sliding across the slick metal floor as the carriage came to an abrupt, violent stop.​The conflict of the crash was immediate and terrifying. The sheer momentum of the violent