The sensation of falling stopped abruptly. Zain landed on smooth stone, his knees buckling. The silver light behind him winked out, leaving only the muted glow of hundreds of lanterns suspended in midair.
They lit a city carved entirely into the sides of a massive cavern. Bridges of bone-white stone connected towers shaped like hourglasses. In the distance, waterfalls of glowing blue liquid cascaded into dark pools.
"This…" Zain's voice cracked. "This can't exist."
The girl smirked. "It's been here longer than the country you live in. Longer than your history books want to admit."
She led him down a bridge toward a central hall where a ring of robed figures waited. The oldest among them stepped forward—a man with silver eyes and a face lined like cracked parchment.
"Keyholder," the old man said, bowing slightly. "We have waited centuries for you."
Zain held up his hands. "I think you've got the wrong—"
The man cut him off with a wave. "Eight hundred years ago, the one you call the wizard forged the Covenant of Lines. He knew the empire of magic was falling. He knew science—your 'technology'—would rise in its place."
A woman in the circle added, "So he bound the two together. The first telescopes were crafted using rune lenses. The first engines, fueled by elemental cores. But over time, humans forgot the source. They believed they invented these wonders alone."
Zain's head spun. "You're telling me the entire scientific revolution was… powered by magic?"
The old man nodded. "A controlled leak. Enough to guide your world forward, but never enough to let it destroy itself again. Until…" His gaze sharpened. "…the Shadow keeper's learned of the Vault."
The girl stepped forward. "And now, they're not just after the crystal. They want the Lines themselves. All of them."
"Lines?" Zain asked.
The old man pointed at the golden mark on Zain's chest. "They are the pathways the wizard drew through time itself—connecting magic to invention, the past to the present. Break them, and both worlds collapse."
Before Zain could respond, a low tremor rattled the bridge beneath them. Somewhere in the cavern, an alarm bell began to toll.
The girl's hand went to her blade. "They found us."