The city streets at midnight were silent, but Klaus and Rio were moving quickly, cutting through the stillness. Their synchronized footsteps echoed on the sidewalks, and Klaus's heart beat at an accelerated pace. The exhaustion had reached its peak, but the feeling of an opponent waiting for him motivated him.
They arrived at the Archives building, a massive stone structure resembling a silent castle. The doors were slightly ajar. Klaus cautiously pushed the door open, and they entered. The air was cold and heavy, smelling of old paper and ink. Hundreds of shelves extended into infinity, holding the entire history of the city.
In the heart of the archives, the scene was pure madness. "Julian," the archivist, a polite old man, was tied to his seat, while the masked man stood in front of him, holding a glass vessel. The vessel was sucking pages from the shelves, completely destroying them, turning them into dust that disappeared into the air.
Klaus: (In a voice that cut the silence) Stop!
The masked man turned, his empty eyes behind the metal mask staring at Klaus.
The Masked Man: (In a calm voice) You came just in time, Klaus. I wanted to show you something.
Klaus: (Takes a step forward) Why are you destroying all of this? Why are you stealing everything?
The Masked Man: I'm not stealing. I'm deleting. I'm erasing mistakes. History is just a mistake, Klaus. It's a collection of lies and stories told by fools.
The masked man pointed to the vessel, which was sucking a page from an old history book.
The Masked Man: This is "the machine." Every piece I stole, every person I "freed," was part of building this machine. "Truth," "Time," and "Sound" are just parts of something much bigger. I am now gathering all these ideas to create a new world, without the mistakes of the past.
Klaus: (In a voice filled with anger) I won't let you!
The Masked Man: (Laughs softly) I'm not asking for your permission. I am challenging your genius. The last piece of the puzzles is the key itself. "The echo that no one touches" is the key, and it lies in the heart of the forgotten "Royal Vault," which holds all the secrets of the ruling family. I will go and take it.
The masked man stopped working and looked at Klaus.
The Masked Man: (In a challenging voice) Choose, Klaus. Either you try to save this man and lose all of this, or you come after me and witness the birth of a new world.
The masked man extended his hand, and a secret opening appeared in the wall, and he disappeared. Klaus looked at Julian, who was trembling, and at the glass vessel that was sucking pages of history, and he had to make a difficult decision.
Klaus didn't hesitate for a moment. He chose to save a life rather than chase a shadow. He ran toward Julian, while Rio went straight for the glass vessel.
Klaus: (Shouts) Rio, stop the device!
Rio knelt down and placed her metallic hands on the vessel. Her fingers made a faint sound, and she began to analyze the device's frequencies. The criminal's techniques were complex, but Rio's mind was able to decipher them. Within seconds, the vessel made a sharp sound and stopped pulling the pages. But a large part of history had already turned to dust.
Klaus unbound Julian. The archivist was trembling, his eyes filled with terror.
Julian: (In a broken voice) He destroyed... he destroyed everything.
Klaus: (Places his hand on his shoulder) Not everything. What was he talking about? The key? The vault?
Julian: (Nods slowly, his eyes filled with tears) The key is not a physical thing. It's a truth. A truth buried in the heart of the royal family.
Julian began to speak, his voice weak but clear. He spoke of an old betrayal that happened long ago, when one of the royal children hid a secret symbol that proved their family's achievements, to prevent them from reaching power. This symbol, which the criminal was about to erase from history, is now the only key to entering the vault. This symbol was "the Silent Flower," a flower that was grown in the royal gardens.
Klaus: (Whispers to himself) "The echo that no one touches." It's not an echo of something. It's an echo of a symbol!
Julian: The symbol is in the "Hall of Silent History" at the palace. No one visits it. No one knows what it represents.
Klaus: (Stares at the horizon, his eyes lighting up with a new flame) I understand. He wants to erase everything, to build a new world on the ruins of the past.
Klaus jumped to his feet, his determination renewed. The exhaustion was still there, but this time, he wasn't running after a criminal. He was running to save history.
Klaus: Let's go, Rio. We must find the key before the criminal finds a way to get in.