For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the chamber responded.
Light rippled across the exposed floor. Lines emerged where crystal had once been piled, revealing a vast magic circle etched directly into the floor.
But... it was not a single circle.
It was a system.
The circles unfolded in concentric arrays, stacked upon one another like strata of time itself. Some were simple enough for even less smart people to recognize.
"Preservation," one whispered.
"Stasis reinforcement," another added.
"Entropy suppression…"
But those were only the outermost layers.
Beneath them pulsed geometries that bent logic, symbols that refused to be fully perceived unless stared at indirectly.
Arctyx's voice was tight.
"This isn't a simple vault spell," he said slowly. "It's an engine."
Realization spread.
The Spirit Crystals hadn't been the treasure.
They had been the fuel.
Billions upon billions of condensed essence... fed the array continuously for over ten thousand years.
