The Architect's Echo
Arcanhelm refused to sleep.
Even at midnight, its crystal towers shimmered with mana-light and floating orbs that drifted like stars. Yet inside Kael's chamber, there was only silence… and the unbearable tension of what had just happened.
Naria never came. A scream echoed from the western wing. Someone had died.
Kael stood by the window, gripping the edge until his knuckles turned white. Lireen entered, shutting the door behind her.
"Another student was found dead," she said. "They won't say who yet."
Kael turned. "Do you think it's her?"
"I don't know. But she knew too much."
They locked eyes. Something unspoken passed between them.
---
The next morning, Arcanhelm buzzed with tension. Whispers in the halls. Extra guards. And a new decree posted on every wall:
"All inquiries into the Architect's Path are now forbidden. Violators will be detained."
Kael stared at it in disbelief. Lireen pulled him away. "This isn't coincidence. They're burying something."
He nodded. "Then we dig."
---
With her help, Kael disguised himself and slipped out from the Sanctum toward the old archives a crumbling wing buried beneath the capital library. Dust and age lingered like ghosts in the air.
They lit a path through the wreckage until they found a sealed chamber. Kael pressed his hand against it.
The door opened.
Inside were rows of broken tablets and glass cases. A central pedestal held a fragmented mural one that depicted a massive figure with a book in one hand and chains in the other.
The Architect.
Below it: a phrase etched in ancient runes.
"He who rewrites destiny shall walk among gods and monsters."
Kael swallowed hard. "I've seen this mural… in my dreams."
Lireen stepped back. "What are you?"
He didn't answer. Because deep down, he didn't know either.
---
Suddenly, the book inside Kael's satchel pulsed with a deep hum. He opened it.
A new passage had appeared:
"Echoes of the first sin linger in the Architect's breath. Find the chamber of silence beneath the Spiral Vault. Only then will truth speak."
Kael looked up. "We need to go deeper."
Lireen shook her head. "That place is cursed."
"Everything about me is cursed."
---
They returned at midnight, sneaking into the Spiral Vault a towering structure with forbidden records and magical defense. The deeper they went, the colder it became. Runes flickered as if resisting their presence.
They reached a black iron door sealed with twelve rings. Kael placed the book against it.
All twelve rings lit up. The door opened.
Inside was a void. And in the void, a whisper:
"You are not the first. But you may be the last."
They stepped inside. The floor vanished. Time bent. They saw glimpses other lives, other paths. Kael saw himself crowned… and executed. Loved… and betrayed.
Then silence.
---
A figure emerged cloaked in white, face hidden beneath a mask of gold.
The Architect.
He raised a hand. "You walk the echo of my choices. Tell me, Kael… will you write your own, or repeat mine?"
Kael trembled. "I don't want this."
"And yet here you are."
The Architect placed a single feather in Kael's hand. It burned with light.
Then everything faded.
Kael awoke in his chamber, alone.
Was it a dream? No. The feather still lay on his palm, glowing faintly.
Lireen burst into the room, breathless.
"Naria's body was found. Her throat… sewn shut."
Kael closed his fist around the feather.
"This is just the beginning."
To be continued…
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Teaser :
> 📖 Chapter 10 – The Architect's Echo
Kael dives deeper into forbidden truths, facing the Architect himself in a realm where fate bends and time fractures.
With a cursed feather in hand and an ally gone, Kael must decide: Will he walk the same doomed path… or rewrite the sin of history?
> 💬 Add to library, leave a vote, and let the truth echo beyond Arcanhelm!
---
📢 Teaser Book Promo
> 📖 Chapter 10 – The Architect's Echo
Kael dives deeper into forbidden truths, facing the Architect himself in a realm where fate bends and time fractures.
With a cursed feather in hand and an ally gone, Kael must decide:
Will he walk the same doomed path… or rewrite the sin of history?
> 💬 Add to library, leave a vote, and let the truth echo beyond Arcanhelm!
---