Adrian hit the stone floor hard.
The impact knocked the air from his lungs.
For a moment, he could only stare upward.
The cavern ceiling spun above him.
Silver-black light flashed across the floating rings.
The roar of collapsing ancient machinery echoed through the depths.
Reality had returned.
But something was wrong.
Very wrong.
"Adrian!"
Kai's voice cut through the chaos.
A second later, Kai grabbed his arm and pulled him upright.
"You disappeared again."
Adrian blinked.
"What?"
"You vanished."
Kai pointed toward the Origin.
"For like three seconds."
Three seconds.
Only three.
Yet it had felt much longer.
The conversation with the Warden.
The chamber.
The door.
The voice.
The warning.
All of it had happened in the space of a few heartbeats.
Another tremor shook the cavern.
Much stronger than before.
A deafening crack echoed through the darkness.
Everyone froze.
The sound had come from below.
Deep below.
The Origin.
The older woman immediately turned toward the central pillar.
Her face drained of color.
"No..."
The floating projection devices around the cavern suddenly came alive.
Images appeared in midair.
Maps.
Measurements.
Seal integrity reports.
Every one of them flashed red.
Kai glanced at the nearest display.
"...I don't need to know what that means to know that's bad."
The older woman didn't disagree.
"The Sixth Seal just collapsed."
Silence.
The words spread through the gathered Sanctuary members like poison.
Some visibly staggered.
Others simply stood frozen.
The Seventh Seal had been weakening.
Now the Sixth was gone entirely.
Which meant—
Only one remained.
Adrian looked toward the pillar of silver-black light.
The connection was stronger now.
Far stronger.
The mark pulsed constantly.
No longer a heartbeat.
A beacon.
Calling.
Answering.
Responding.
And somewhere beneath all of it—
He could feel the voice.
Waiting.
The realization sent a chill through him.
Veyr stepped beside him.
His expression grim.
"You saw something."
It wasn't a question.
Adrian nodded.
"Yeah."
"What?"
For a moment, Adrian considered explaining everything.
The door.
The hand.
The voice.
The truth about the bond.
But before he could answer—
A scream echoed through the cavern.
Everyone turned.
One of the distant bridges had shattered.
Ancient stone broke apart and plunged into the abyss below.
Sanctuary members rushed backward.
Several nearly fell.
The entire structure was becoming unstable.
The older woman immediately began issuing orders.
"Evacuate the lower levels."
People moved instantly.
Years of training taking over.
But Adrian noticed something.
The panic.
The fear.
Not because the Sanctuary might collapse.
Because something might emerge.
The difference mattered.
A lot.
Then—
The mark flared.
Hard.
Adrian doubled over.
Pain shot through his arm.
The world blurred.
And suddenly—
He wasn't seeing the cavern anymore.
He was seeing below it.
Far below.
Past the floating rings.
Past the ancient foundations.
Past layers of stone and forgotten architecture.
Down to the Origin itself.
A massive circular structure sat at the center of an endless chamber.
The remaining seal glowed brightly around it.
Cracked.
Damaged.
Failing.
And standing before it—
Was someone.
Not the Warden.
Not Auren.
Someone else.
A woman.
Tall.
Motionless.
Silver-black energy flowed around her.
Her back faced him.
Yet somehow—
She knew he was watching.
Slowly.
She turned.
Adrian froze.
Because he recognized her.
Not from memory.
Not from history.
From the visions.
She had stood beside Auren.
Beside the Seven.
At the beginning.
One of the original bearers.
Her eyes met his.
Across impossible distance.
Across centuries.
And she smiled.
Then the vision ended.
Adrian staggered.
The cavern snapped back into focus.
Kai caught him before he fell.
Again.
At this point, Kai was developing impressive reflexes.
"What happened now?"
Adrian stared at the Origin.
His heart pounding.
"There was someone down there."
Silence.
The older woman turned sharply.
"What?"
Adrian looked at her.
"A woman."
Her expression immediately changed.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
Fear.
The same fear she'd shown when Auren's name appeared.
"Impossible."
Adrian was getting tired of hearing that word.
"You keep saying that."
"Because it is."
Her voice came out harsher than intended.
The room fell silent.
Then Veyr asked the obvious question.
"Who is she?"
The older woman hesitated.
Long enough for everyone to notice.
Then finally—
"...Lyra."
The name seemed to drain the air from the room.
Several Sanctuary members visibly froze.
One whispered something under his breath.
A prayer.
Or a curse.
Adrian wasn't sure.
Kai looked around.
"...Okay, that's definitely a famous name."
The older woman looked toward the Origin.
Toward the failing seal.
Toward the place where Adrian had seen the woman standing.
"Lyra was one of the Eight."
Silence.
Adrian's stomach tightened.
Eight.
Not seven.
Eight.
The number echoed through his mind.
Auren.
The Seven.
The First.
The bearers.
Everything he'd learned suddenly shifted.
"What do you mean eight?"
The older woman closed her eyes.
As if she had hoped never to answer that question again.
Then she spoke.
"There were eight original bearers."
The cavern became completely silent.
Even the tremors seemed distant for a moment.
Eight.
Not seven.
History had been wrong.
Or hidden.
Adrian immediately understood why.
Because one name had always been missing.
One person had been erased.
Lyra.
The woman beneath the Sanctuary.
The woman standing before the final seal.
The woman who shouldn't exist.
The mark pulsed.
And this time—
The voice returned.
Not loud.
Not overwhelming.
Just a whisper.
Directly inside his thoughts.
She's waiting too.
Adrian's blood ran cold.
Because somehow—
He knew it was true.
Auren had been waiting.
The Warden had been waiting.
The thing behind the door had been waiting.
And now—
So was Lyra.
The final seal trembled.
A crack spread across its surface.
Silver-black light leaked through.
And deep beneath the Sanctuary—
Something began to wake.