The halls of Ashveil Academy were eerily silent after the warning bell. Lanterns flickered as students and instructors alike hurried toward the western gate, but Otoku and Arthelia slipped through a narrow side corridor instead.
Otoku's heart pounded. "We're not going out there," he urged, voice low. "We need answers first—before we face whatever they unleashed."
Arthelia nodded. Her blindfolded eyes—glowing faintly silver—guided her steps. "The Vault lies beneath the old library. I know a way down."
---
Discovering the Secret Passage
They reached the library's grand entrance: towering oak doors etched with ancient runes. Otoku placed a hand on the wood.
The Codex fluttered at his side, as if urging him onward.
Arthelia traced her fingers along a carved symbol of a broken flame. She whispered a phrase in a lost tongue. The runes around the doors shivered, then slid apart like living wood—revealing a spiraling stair plunging into darkness.
Otoku inhaled, steadying himself. "I didn't know this existed."
She offered a wry smile. "Few do. Let's hope the Vault hasn't fallen to those… intruders."
---
Descent into Shadows
Torchlight danced on the curved stone walls as they descended. Every step echoed, and the air grew colder—like the hush after a final heartbeat.
Gravy's presence shimmered at Otoku's hip. The pup's golden eye flickered with worry. "This place tastes of old sins," he warned.
"Stay close," Otoku murmured. He gripped the hilt of his dagger.
At the bottom, a massive iron door barred their way. Carved into it was a sigil of interlocking stars—a seal of ancient power. Above it, an inscription in fractured runes read:
> "Here lies the Fallen Flame; awaken not what was once undying."
Otoku's breath caught. He laid a palm on the door.
The Codex pages fluttered of their own accord.
On its pages appeared a new map—an overlay matching this seal exactly, with a warning scrawled in Lirael's bloodred ink:
> "Break not the seal, or all loops end in ash."
---
The Watcher's Presence
A distant echo of footsteps reached them—slow, deliberate. They froze.
Arthelia's hand dropped to a hidden dagger. Otoku's void-eye flared.
From the stairwell emerged a figure cloaked in midnight-blue robes, face hidden beneath a hood. In one hand, he bore a lantern whose flame pulsed with an otherworldly light.
"Curiosity," the stranger said, voice gentle yet hollow, "is a dangerous gift."
Otoku tightened his grip. "Who—?"
The hooded figure lifted a slender, gloved hand, revealing a ring etched with the same interlocking-star sigil.
> "I am the Warden of the Vault," he intoned. "And you… are children of rebirth. You do not belong here."
Arthelia stepped forward, unafraid. "We seek truth."
He laughed softly—an echo of brittle glass. "Truth? The Vault feeds on lies. It is your fate that it awakens—whether you seek it or not."
---
Cliffhanger Moment
Without another word, the Warden pressed his ring against the seal. The iron door trembled—and the runes began to glow with dreadful light.
Otoku and Arthelia exchanged a glance fraught with dread.
> "We have no choice," Otoku whispered.
> "Then let us learn before we fight," Arthelia replied.
As the seal cracked, a surge of raw magic rolled outward—shocking them both.
The Nexus Vault was stirring.
---