The doors of the Vault no longer waited—they welcomed.
As the three stood before the entrance, the ground beneath them pulsed like a slow heartbeat, ancient and aware. The massive stone slabs parted soundlessly, revealing a long corridor carved from obsidian and vein-laced crystal, glowing faintly with silver light.
No torches. No flames.
Just a pull.
A beckoning.
Cassian placed a hand on his sword, but it was Aeron who murmured, "Magic this old doesn't attack. It seduces."
Liara nodded, her voice barely above a breath. "That's what makes it dangerous."
Their steps echoed as they descended. The air was cooler here—still, but not empty. The deeper they went, the more time seemed to distort. Memories whispered across the walls in forgotten voices, echoes of a realm that predated their world.
They passed murals—faded but still haunting.
A woman bathed in celestial light, arms outstretched.
A warrior with burning eyes.
A figure draped in stars, half his face hidden in shadow.
Kael.
Even here, he watched.
At the base of the spiral, they entered a chamber of mirrored stone. The walls reflected not just their forms—but their fears, their desires, their past selves.
Cassian's reflection flickered—first as Kaerin, the Blade of Oaths, then as the boy who'd once lived only to survive.
Aeron saw the flame within him split between protector and destroyer.
Liara saw herself with Kael—not in battle, but in intimacy.
She flinched.
Cassian stepped closer, catching it. "He's playing with you. With all of us."
"No," she said quietly. "He's showing us what we left behind… and what we still carry."
Then came the voice.
Soft. Alluring. Familiar.
"You've finally come."
The walls pulsed silver. A figure stepped from the far end of the chamber—slow, graceful, not a ghost but flesh.
Tall. Ethereal.
Hair like silver threads woven through moonlight. Eyes deep as nightfall, brimming with emotion too complex to name.
Kael.
Liara's breath caught. For a moment, the world narrowed to just him—this man who had haunted her dreams and lived inside her past.
He smiled gently. "I never forgot you."
Cassian stepped forward, drawing his blade. "We're not here for nostalgia."
Kael didn't flinch. His eyes swept over all three of them, warm and knowing. "You're here because the world cannot survive without you. Without us."
Aeron's voice was steel. "Then speak your truth."
Kael tilted his head. "I will. But first... let me show you what lies beneath the Vault."
He turned and walked into the darkness.
The others hesitated.
Liara looked at Aeron. Then at Cassian. Both nodded.
Together, they followed Kael into the shadows.
The true test had begun.