The circular door of ancient silverwood opened soundlessly, revealing darkness sealed for millennia. The air escaping the Keepers of Balance Archives felt heavy and dry, carrying scents of decaying parchment, ozone from dormant runes, and a silence so profound it felt like a physical substance. Nihil stepped over the threshold, followed by Lyraelle moving with the wariness of a predator entering foreign territory.
The chamber itself was an architectural marvel of antiquity. A vast circular atrium, shelves carved from the fossilized heartwood of colossal trees soared into a dark dome. No torches or light orbs. The only illumination came from glowing moss growing in spiral patterns along the shelves, emitting an eerie, soft blue-green light. At the room's center, an intricate crystal and silver model of a solar system floated slowly, rotating to an unheard cosmic rhythm.
