The path to the Heartstone wasn't on any map.Because it wasn't meant to be walked.
Only bled.
And Blaise had bled enough.
Guided by the second mark and a page of runes burned into his memory, he reached the gate beneath the library's foundations —a place so quiet even ghosts refused to linger.
The archway recognized him.
And it opened with a scream.
The Stone Beneath Magic
The chamber was spherical.Its walls pulsed with runes older than Hogwarts itself — glowing softly in violet light.
At the center floated a crystal of immense gravity — jagged, colorless, humming.
"The Heartstone," Theo whispered behind him."The root of all channeling.They say it predated the wand.And the wand… obeyed it."
Blaise approached.
His mark pulsed.
But before he could speak—
The stone whispered.
Not to him.
"Rowan."
A New Target
Rowan froze.
The stone pulsed again.
"You… carry her line.""Selene's breath. Kaelen's bond."
"You were never meant to watch.You were meant to wake."
Blaise turned sharply.
"What is it saying to you?"
Rowan was pale.
"It knows my blood.""It knows… what my mother never told me."
She reached forward.
The Heartstone let her touch it.
The Echo It Showed
In a flash, the chamber vanished — replaced by memory.
Not of Ardyn.
But of Selene.
Running through fire, screaming names.Holding a blade of molten rune-glass.Locking away not just Netharien…
…but something else.
A girl. A child. Hers.
Left behind.
Bound.
Buried beneath the seal.
Final Scene – Rowan's Truth
When Rowan stepped back from the vision, her eyes burned violet for a moment.
Blaise asked quietly:
"Who are you?"
She answered:
"The daughter of Selene.
The flame's first vessel.
And your Guardians aren't listening to you anymore."
The Heartstone pulsed once.The runes along the wall shifted.
And one word appeared:
"Vessel."