Chapter 78: One Percent
1%.
The number hovered above the ancient platform like a final warning.
No alarms sounded.
No voices spoke.
The chamber had become too quiet for panic.
Too quiet for denial.
Everyone understood what it meant.
The final seal was almost gone.
One more fracture.
One more failure.
And whatever had waited behind the Origin for countless ages would finally be free.
The Last Keeper stood motionless.
Its silver eyes fixed on the projection.
Watching the end approach.
Watching history repeat itself.
Kai stared at the glowing number.
"...I really liked it better when we had no idea what was going on."
"No, you didn't," Adrian replied.
Kai thought about it.
"...Fair."
Another tremor rolled through the forgotten city.
This one was different.
Not violent.
Not destructive.
The entire structure seemed to shudder in anticipation.
Like a living thing taking a breath.
The floating crystals brightened.
Ancient symbols awakened across walls and bridges.
The city itself was reacting.
The Last Keeper slowly turned toward Adrian.
"It has begun."
Adrian felt the mark pulse.
Not once.
Not twice.
Constantly.
Like it was no longer waiting.
The bond had changed.
Again.
The connection to the Origin felt clearer than ever.
Stronger than ever.
Closer than ever.
And beneath it all—
The voice.
Waiting.
Patient.
Certain.
The Keeper stepped aside from the platform.
Revealing something hidden beneath it.
A staircase.
Ancient stone steps descending into darkness.
Even deeper than the forgotten city.
Even deeper than the hidden passage.
Adrian stared.
The mark immediately reacted.
Recognition.
The staircase was the final path.
The route to the Origin.
The route to Lyra.
The route to the door.
The Keeper spoke quietly.
"Beyond this point, no guide can help you."
Silence settled over the chamber.
The meaning was obvious.
The journey ahead belonged to Adrian alone.
Kai looked at the staircase.
Then at Adrian.
Then back at the staircase.
"...I hate this."
Adrian smiled faintly.
"You've mentioned that."
"No, I mean it."
Kai folded his arms.
"For once, I can't follow you."
The joke was gone.
The sarcasm too.
Only concern remained.
Adrian's smile faded.
Because he knew Kai was right.
The staircase wasn't reacting to anyone else.
Only him.
The Last Keeper nodded.
"The path recognizes its bearer."
The elder looked uneasy.
"Then there's no other way?"
"No."
The answer was immediate.
Final.
The chamber grew silent.
Veyr stepped forward.
His expression remained calm.
But Adrian could see the tension in his eyes.
The worry.
The uncertainty.
Something he rarely showed.
"You know what waits below?"
Adrian shook his head.
"Not really."
"Good."
Adrian blinked.
"What?"
Veyr's mouth twitched slightly.
"If you knew, you'd probably overthink it."
Kai nodded.
"He's got a point."
Adrian rolled his eyes.
For a brief moment, things felt normal again.
Then the projection above them flashed.
The number disappeared.
The image changed.
Everyone froze.
The final seal filled the display.
A massive circular barrier covered in fractures.
Silver-black light leaked through countless cracks.
The structure was moments from failure.
And standing before it—
Lyra.
The Eighth Bearer.
The forgotten one.
She looked exactly as before.
Calm.
Patient.
Waiting.
Then something changed.
For the first time—
She bowed her head slightly.
Not to the seal.
Not to the Origin.
To Adrian.
The gesture sent a chill through the room.
The image flickered.
Then vanished.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Kai looked at Adrian.
"...That's probably significant."
"Probably."
The Last Keeper's gaze darkened.
"She knows you are coming."
The realization settled heavily in Adrian's chest.
Of course she knew.
Auren had known.
The Warden had known.
The voice beyond the door had known.
Everyone had been waiting.
Everyone except him.
The irony wasn't lost on him.
Then the mark burned.
A sudden vision seized him.
Not a memory.
Not an echo.
Something happening right now.
He stood before the door again.
The impossible door.
The crack had widened.
Silver-black light poured through.
And through the opening—
He saw an eye.
Just one.
Watching.
Not hostile.
Not angry.
Curious.
Ancient beyond comprehension.
The eye blinked.
And the vision shattered.
Adrian staggered.
The chamber returned.
The staircase.
The Keeper.
The others.
Everything.
His breathing was uneven.
His pulse racing.
Kai immediately noticed.
"You saw something."
Adrian nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
"What?"
For a moment, he couldn't answer.
Because the truth sounded impossible.
Then again—
Impossible had become normal.
"There was something behind the door."
The chamber fell silent.
The Last Keeper closed its eyes briefly.
As though confirming a fear.
When it opened them again, there was sadness there.
Ancient sadness.
"The door is opening faster."
The statement chilled everyone.
The Keeper looked toward the staircase.
Then back to Adrian.
"The choice can no longer be delayed."
Another tremor shook the city.
A massive crack split one of the distant bridges.
Stone collapsed into darkness.
The forgotten city was beginning to fail.
The prison was failing.
Everything was failing.
Everything except the path.
The staircase remained untouched.
Stable.
Waiting.
The Last Keeper stepped aside completely.
"There is no more time."
Adrian looked toward the descending darkness.
Toward the place where answers waited.
Toward the place where history had led him.
The mark pulsed.
Steady.
Certain.
The voice whispered once more.
Not from the bond.
Not from the Origin.
From somewhere deeper.
Come and see.
Adrian exhaled slowly.
Then looked at Kai.
At Veyr.
At the elder.
At the Last Keeper.
Every path behind him had ended.
Only one remained ahead.
Without another word, he stepped onto the staircase.
The ancient symbols ignited instantly.
Silver-black light flowed down into the darkness below.
The path had accepted him.
And somewhere beneath the forgotten city—
A door began to open wider.