New Vance City

The Echo Pit is one of the oldest and most brutal sub-chambers within the Citadel’s Barracks and Training Grounds—an immersive combat amphitheater originally designed for psychological stress testing and now repurposed as a trial-by-fire crucible for elite Guard hopefuls. Unlike the clean, programmable holodomains above, the Pit is stripped of safety protocols and interface assists. Trainees are dropped in blind, facing randomized threat simulations—glitching shambler patterns, rebel AI decoys, and environmental hazards with minimal support. Every movement is recorded in absolute silence; no music, no guidance, only their own breath and the echo of footsteps. Survive the full cycle, and you advance. Fail, and you get archived with a numeric designation and a quiet transfer to menial duty. The Echo Pit doesn’t just break weak cadets—it reveals them. The Citadel calls it necessary. The recruits call it 'The Hollow Lesson.' It teaches one truth: when order fails, you fight alone.

The Echo Pit resembles a buried coliseum forged from gunmetal and silence—circular, layered in concentric terraces of faded polymer tiles, each marred with impact fractures and burn scarring. The walls are high, seamless, and dark, their only adornment a ring of embedded optic nodes that blink slowly, watching. The floor is modular, its surface shifting in real time—collapsing, rising, reshaping into jagged terrain underfoot. Dim amber lighting pulses from beneath grates, casting long shadows that warp with every movement. No holograms here—just real walls, real edges, real risk. Simulated enemies flicker into existence with barely a sound: malformed constructs in flickering armor, swarms of drone shards, or faceless silhouettes mimicking fellow trainees. The only sound is the amplified echo of boots striking steel, breath against pressure, and the distant, rhythmic click of data logs recording each choice.