The hidden path opened beneath the Sanctuary.
Ancient stone shifted with a deep, grinding roar that echoed through the cavern. Dust cascaded from above as a section of the cliff wall slowly separated, revealing a narrow passage descending into darkness.
For a moment, no one moved.
Everyone simply stared.
The route had been hidden for centuries.
Perhaps longer.
And now it stood open.
Waiting.
The mark on Adrian's wrist pulsed softly.
Not urging him forward.
Welcoming him.
That realization made him uncomfortable.
Kai peered into the darkness.
"I don't like it."
Adrian glanced at him.
"You don't like anything."
"I especially don't like mysterious tunnels that appear when ancient powers decide you're important."
"Fair."
Veyr stepped closer to the entrance.
His eyes scanned the passage carefully.
"There are symbols."
Adrian looked.
The walls were covered in markings.
Not Sanctuary symbols.
Not the symbols from the Threshold.
These were older.
Far older.
Some glowed faintly beneath layers of dust.
Others had nearly vanished with time.
The elder approached slowly.
The moment she saw them, her expression changed.
Recognition.
And concern.
"I've seen these before."
That got everyone's attention.
Kai pointed toward the wall.
"Please tell me they don't mean 'certain death.'"
"No."
A pause.
"They predate written history."
Kai stared.
"...Somehow that's worse."
The elder reached out and brushed dust from one of the carvings.
A circular symbol emerged.
Half silver.
Half black.
The same symbol carried by Adrian.
The same symbol seen throughout every vision.
Every memory.
Every secret.
The elder's hand trembled slightly.
"We thought these were myths."
Adrian looked at her.
"Seems to be happening a lot lately."
She didn't argue.
Because it was true.
Everything the Sanctuary considered legend was suddenly becoming real.
The passage descended steeply.
The deeper they went, the quieter the world became.
Soon, the sounds of the cavern faded.
Then the alarms.
Then even the distant tremors.
Only silence remained.
An ancient silence.
The kind found in places untouched for ages.
Kai's voice echoed softly through the corridor.
"This feels wrong."
Veyr nodded.
"It does."
The admission surprised everyone.
Especially Kai.
"You agree with me?"
"Don't get used to it."
Kai smiled faintly.
"Still counts."
The passage continued downward.
The walls gradually changed.
Stone gave way to metal.
Not modern metal.
Something stranger.
Dark silver surfaces stretched through the tunnel, smooth and seamless despite their age.
Adrian ran his fingers along one section.
The metal felt warm.
Alive.
The moment he touched it, symbols ignited across the wall.
Silver-black light raced through ancient patterns.
The entire corridor awakened.
Everyone froze.
The lights spread deeper into the darkness ahead.
One after another.
As if announcing their arrival.
As if the path itself recognized him.
The elder stared.
"It responded."
Adrian sighed.
"Everything keeps doing that."
No one laughed.
Because this time, it felt different.
This wasn't reacting.
This was expecting.
The realization settled heavily over the group.
They weren't discovering the path.
The path had been waiting.
Minutes later, the corridor widened.
The group emerged into a vast underground chamber.
Everyone stopped.
The room was enormous.
Far larger than the Sanctuary above.
Massive pillars rose into darkness.
Ancient bridges stretched across impossible distances.
Silver-black crystals floated in the air like stars.
The entire structure seemed untouched by time.
Not ruined.
Not abandoned.
Preserved.
As if someone had intentionally protected it.
Adrian felt his pulse quicken.
Because he knew this place.
Not consciously.
Not from memory.
But from the vision.
The city.
The towers.
The forgotten civilization.
This chamber belonged to them.
The people who existed before Auren.
Before the Seven.
Before history itself.
Kai slowly turned in a circle.
"...Okay."
A pause.
"...Now I'm impressed."
Even Veyr seemed speechless.
The elder looked overwhelmed.
Everything she had believed was incomplete.
Everything.
Then Adrian noticed something ahead.
A structure.
Standing at the center of the chamber.
A circular platform.
Ancient.
Covered in the same symbols as the mark.
And standing beside it—
A figure.
The entire group froze.
The figure wasn't moving.
Wasn't speaking.
Simply standing there.
Watching.
Waiting.
At first Adrian thought it was a statue.
Then it moved.
Slowly raising its head.
Silver eyes opened.
The chamber instantly grew colder.
Not physically.
Instinctively.
The elder took a step backward.
"...Impossible."
Adrian was getting very tired of that word.
The figure looked human.
Mostly.
Tall.
Clothed in dark silver armor unlike anything Adrian had ever seen.
No age.
No weakness.
No sign of time.
As if centuries meant nothing.
The figure's gaze settled directly on Adrian.
Not surprised.
Not confused.
Expecting.
Then it spoke.
Its voice echoed through the chamber.
Ancient.
Calm.
Familiar.
"Bearer."
Silence followed.
Adrian frowned.
"You know me."
The figure tilted its head slightly.
Then answered.
"No."
A pause.
"I know what you carry."
The mark pulsed.
The figure's silver eyes brightened.
Recognition.
The same recognition he'd seen from the Chronicle.
The Origin.
The hidden path.
Everything.
The figure looked past him.
Toward the elder.
Toward Veyr.
Toward Kai.
Then back to Adrian.
"You arrived sooner than expected."
The statement sent a chill through the room.
Because it implied something terrifying.
This wasn't chance.
This wasn't coincidence.
Someone had expected him.
For a very long time.
Adrian stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The figure was silent for several seconds.
Then—
"I am the Last Keeper."
The words echoed through the chamber.
Not the Keepers that hunted him.
Not the guardians of the Threshold.
Something older.
Something original.
The elder visibly paled.
Veyr's eyes narrowed.
Kai simply looked confused.
"The last keeper of what?"
The figure's gaze shifted toward the darkness below the city.
Toward the depths beneath even this forgotten place.
Toward where the Origin waited.
Then it answered.
"The truth."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Ancient.
And somewhere far beneath them—
The final seal cracked again.
4%.
The countdown continued.
And Adrian had just met someone who might know how it all began.