The number glowed across every projection in the cavern.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody needed to.
The meaning was clear.
The final seal was dying.
And with it, centuries of certainty.
Adrian stood at the edge of the platform, staring at the warning.
Seven percent.
A number so small.
Yet somehow heavy enough to shake an entire world.
The cavern trembled again.
A low groan echoed through the floating rings surrounding the Origin.
Ancient mechanisms strained.
Stone cracked.
Silver-black light surged upward through widening fractures.
Kai folded his arms.
"...I'm just saying, if we survive this, we're taking a vacation."
Adrian glanced at him.
"To where?"
"Anywhere without ancient prophecies."
"Good luck finding that."
Kai sighed.
"Fair."
The brief moment of humor faded quickly.
Because the projections suddenly changed.
Again.
A new image appeared.
Not the seal.
Not the Sanctuary.
A map.
An ancient map of the lower levels beneath the mountain.
The room immediately fell silent.
The elder stepped closer.
"What is this?"
One of the observers stared at his controls.
"I didn't create it."
The map expanded.
New pathways illuminated.
Ancient corridors hidden beneath centuries of stone.
Routes no one had known existed.
Or perhaps routes no one had remembered.
Then one path began glowing.
A single line descending directly toward the Origin.
The route pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
Waiting.
The mark on Adrian's wrist flared.
The same rhythm.
The same pulse.
The connection was obvious.
Kai looked at the glowing route.
Then at Adrian.
Then back at the route.
"...I don't suppose that's a coincidence."
"No," Adrian said quietly.
"It isn't."
The elder's expression darkened.
"The path shouldn't exist."
Veyr frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"The original access tunnels were destroyed centuries ago."
Her eyes remained fixed on the projection.
"This route was erased from every record."
Silence.
Another forgotten secret.
Another piece of history someone had buried.
Adrian was beginning to see a pattern.
The map shifted again.
A symbol appeared at the end of the route.
A circle split between silver and black.
The same symbol engraved on his wrist.
The same symbol from the Threshold.
The same symbol from the Chronicle.
The same symbol everywhere.
The room became quiet.
Then the Warden spoke.
Its voice rolled through the cavern like distant thunder.
"The path has opened."
Every eye turned toward the ancient guardian.
The Warden stood motionless across the bridge.
Watching.
Waiting.
The elder looked at it.
"Why now?"
The Warden's gaze shifted to Adrian.
"The key has arrived."
Silence.
Nobody argued.
Because nobody could.
The mark pulsed.
The floating rings answered.
And far below—
Something responded.
A low vibration passed through the mountain.
Not violent.
Not destructive.
Recognizing.
Adrian felt it in his bones.
The Origin knew he was here.
The realization should have frightened him.
Instead—
It felt inevitable.
The elder stepped toward him.
"You cannot go alone."
Immediately, several observers nodded.
Others looked horrified at the idea of anyone going at all.
Adrian looked toward the map.
Toward the glowing route.
Toward whatever waited at the end.
"I don't think this is a group invitation."
The elder hesitated.
Because she knew he was right.
The path wasn't responding to the Sanctuary.
Or the Warden.
Or anyone else.
It was responding to him.
Kai stepped beside Adrian.
"Then I'm coming anyway."
Adrian looked at him.
"Why?"
Kai blinked.
"Seriously?"
"You hate everything about this."
"I do."
"You're terrified."
"Very."
A pause.
Then Kai grinned.
"But somebody has to stop you from doing something stupid."
For the first time in hours, Adrian smiled.
A real smile.
Small.
But genuine.
"Fair."
Veyr stepped forward next.
His expression remained calm.
Though Adrian knew him well enough now to see the concern beneath it.
"This isn't your burden alone."
Adrian sighed.
"You two really don't know when to quit."
"No," Kai admitted.
"We really don't."
The elder watched the exchange quietly.
Then she looked toward the projections.
The seal.
The route.
The Origin.
Finally, she made a decision.
"If you're going..."
Everyone turned toward her.
"...then you need to know one thing."
The cavern fell silent.
Even the tremors seemed to pause.
The elder's gaze settled on Adrian.
"My predecessors lied."
No one spoke.
The admission hung in the air.
Heavy.
Ancient.
Dangerous.
The elder continued.
"The records claim the Seven sealed the Origin."
A pause.
"They didn't."
Adrian felt his pulse quicken.
"What?"
The elder looked toward the abyss.
Toward the hidden depths below.
"The seal already existed."
Silence.
The revelation hit hard.
Because it changed everything.
Auren hadn't created the prison.
Neither had the Seven.
They had inherited it.
The same way the Sanctuary had.
The same way everyone else had.
The elder's voice lowered.
"We never discovered who built it."
The cavern became deathly quiet.
Because that question had never occurred to anyone.
Who built the prison?
Who built the door?
Who built the seals?
The bond wasn't created.
The prison wasn't created by the Seven.
Every answer only revealed a deeper mystery.
The mark suddenly burned.
A vision flashed through Adrian's mind.
A city.
Older than the Sanctuary.
Older than the Seven.
Older than anything he'd ever seen.
Silver-black towers beneath a sky filled with stars.
And in the distance—
A door.
The same door.
The same impossible door.
Standing long before Auren.
Long before history.
Long before memory.
The vision vanished.
Adrian inhaled sharply.
The elder noticed immediately.
"What did you see?"
Adrian looked toward the abyss.
His heartbeat quickening.
"A place."
"A memory?"
"I don't know."
The answer was honest.
Because it hadn't felt like memory.
It had felt like truth.
The cavern shook violently.
Everyone stumbled.
A deafening crack echoed from below.
The projections flashed.
The number changed.
5%
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The final seal was collapsing faster now.
The end was approaching.
The elder closed her eyes briefly.
Then opened them.
Resolved.
"If there is any hope of understanding this..."
Her gaze settled on Adrian.
"...it lies below."
No one disagreed.
Because there were no better options left.
The path glowed brighter.
The hidden route opening beneath the mountain.
Calling.
Waiting.
The Warden turned toward the darkness below.
Then spoke one final time.
"The choice draws near."
Adrian looked toward the abyss.
Toward Lyra.
Toward the Origin.
Toward the voice beyond the door.
Toward answers that had waited centuries.
His mark pulsed once.
Steady.
Certain.
Waiting.
Then Adrian took his first step toward the hidden path.
And deep beneath the Sanctuary—
Something smiled.