Silence crashed over the chamber.
"They're coming to kill you."
Amara stared at Orion.
For a moment, she thought she had misheard him.
"Me?"
Orion nodded.
"Not me?"
"No."
"The Keeper?"
"No."
"Elias?"
Elias immediately pointed at himself.
"Thank you for remembering I exist."
Despite the situation, Orion almost smiled.
Then the expression vanished.
His silver eyes hardened.
"They want you."
The First Root trembled overhead.
Silver leaves drifted from its branches like falling stars.
The chamber itself seemed to react to Orion's words.
As if the fortress already knew what was coming.
Kael stepped forward.
"How many?"
Orion listened for a moment.
His eyes unfocused slightly.
As though he were hearing something far away.
Then he answered.
"Too many."
Elias folded his arms.
"That's a very dramatic way of saying you don't know."
Orion looked at him.
"Twenty-three thousand."
The room fell silent.
Elias blinked.
"Never mind."
Kael closed his eyes briefly.
The Keeper remained motionless.
Twenty-three thousand.
An army.
Not hunters.
Not assassins.
An army.
Marching toward the First Ruin.
The realization settled heavily over everyone.
Amara swallowed.
"Who are they?"
Orion's expression darkened.
"The Covenant."
The name seemed familiar to Kael.
His face immediately tightened.
The Keeper looked equally concerned.
Amara noticed.
Of course she noticed.
Everyone always reacted to names she didn't understand.
And she was getting tired of it.
"What is the Covenant?"
The answer came from Kael.
"An order."
"Of what?"
"A very old mistake."
Orion actually laughed.
A short, humorless laugh.
"That's one way of describing them."
The ground suddenly shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Another horn echoed from somewhere above.
Closer.
Much closer.
The fortress was no longer hidden.
The First Ruin had awakened.
And now the world was gathering around it.
Orion turned toward the center of the chamber.
The silver light surrounding him intensified.
"We don't have much time."
The Keeper nodded.
"The lock has chosen."
Amara frowned.
"The lock has what?"
The silver mask turned toward her.
"The Seventh Lock awakened when you arrived."
"Yes."
"It only awakens for one reason."
A pause.
Then—
"To choose a Warden."
The words hung in the air.
Heavy.
Ancient.
Important.
Amara suddenly had a very bad feeling.
The Keeper looked directly at her.
"You."
Of course.
Of course it was her.
Why wouldn't it be her?
Elias rubbed his face.
"I miss the days when we were just being chased by mysterious cults."
No one laughed.
The situation had long since stopped being funny.
The Keeper raised one hand.
The black door at the center of the chamber began glowing.
Silver symbols floated into the air.
Thousands of them.
Spinning.
Shifting.
Forming patterns.
The lock was alive.
And it was responding to Amara.
A deep pulse echoed through the fortress.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
A voice.
Not Orion.
Not the Keeper.
The lock itself.
The choice approaches.
The words resonated through the chamber.
Through the stone.
Through Amara's bones.
Her heartbeat quickened.
"What choice?"
The symbols brightened.
To bind.
A pause.
Or release.
Cold silence followed.
The answer was simple.
Terrifyingly simple.
She could either restore the prison.
Or destroy it completely.
The realization hit her like a physical blow.
The prison.
The thing holding the Hollow King.
The Empty One.
And who knew what else.
The responsibility was impossible.
No one should have that kind of power.
No one.
The lock spoke again.
The Warden decides.
The symbols slowly faded.
The chamber became silent once more.
Elias looked at Amara.
"No pressure."
She glared at him.
"Helpful."
"You're welcome."
A distant impact shook the fortress.
Everyone froze.
Then another.
And another.
Something was striking the outer walls.
The army had arrived.
Far faster than expected.
The Keeper's voice sharpened.
"They're attacking."
Kael moved immediately.
"We need to get to the upper levels."
Orion shook his head.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
The silver-eyed man stared toward the ceiling.
Listening.
Calculating.
Then his expression darkened.
"It's too late."
The fortress trembled violently.
A deafening boom echoed from above.
Stone cracked.
Ancient mechanisms groaned.
Another impact followed.
Then another.
The Covenant wasn't merely attacking.
They were breaking through.
The First Ruin had stood for thousands of years.
And yet somehow—
They were forcing their way inside.
The Keeper looked stunned.
"How?"
Orion's answer came quietly.
"They brought one."
Silence.
Kael's face lost all color.
"No."
Amara immediately noticed.
The fear.
The real fear.
Not concern.
Not worry.
Fear.
"What did they bring?"
Nobody answered.
Another explosion echoed through the fortress.
A section of the ceiling collapsed in the distance.
Dust filled the chamber.
The silver leaves of the First Root shook violently.
Something was coming.
Something powerful.
Then—
A scream echoed through the fortress.
Not from nearby.
Far above.
A scream filled with terror.
Then another.
And another.
The sounds multiplied.
Guards.
Watchers.
Protectors of the ruin.
Dying.
Fast.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Whatever had entered the fortress—
It wasn't an army.
It was a weapon.
Orion's eyes narrowed.
"It's here."
The chamber darkened.
The silver flames flickered.
A low growl rolled through the corridors beyond.
Deep.
Ancient.
Wrong.
The sound didn't resemble any animal Amara had ever heard.
It felt like reality itself protesting.
The growl came again.
Closer.
The stone floor cracked.
The air became heavy.
The shadows stretched unnaturally.
Then a figure appeared at the far end of the chamber.
Huge.
Towering.
Wrapped in chains covered with glowing runes.
Its body seemed carved from black stone and darkness.
Its eyes burned with golden fire.
The moment it entered, every light in the fortress dimmed.
Even the First Root reacted.
Its silver branches recoiled.
As though afraid.
The giant creature slowly lifted its head.
Its burning eyes locked onto Orion.
Then onto Amara.
And smiled.
The expression should not have been possible on something so monstrous.
Yet it smiled.
Knowingly.
Patiently.
Like someone greeting an old friend.
Or an old enemy.
Orion's face hardened.
The Keeper stepped backward.
Kael whispered a single word.
A name.
One that made the blood drain from everyone's face.
"The Executioner."
The creature's smile widened.
And the chains around its body began to break.
One by one.