The deeper they traveled into Zeta's belly, the more the world twisted. The jungle gave way to obsidian cliffs and glowing crystal veins pulsing with buried magic. Alex could feel it humming in his bones — ancient, unfiltered, and terrifying.
The Vault of Oracles wasn't just a ruin. It was alive.
"Careful," Nyssa said as they descended the cracked stone stairwell leading into the main chamber. "These runes… they're reacting to your mana."
"Not just his," Kael added, drawing a blade etched with old Saint script. "This place remembers the blood that built it."
The air was thick with pressure — like reality itself bent inward. At the heart of the vault, a massive circular chamber stood beneath a dome of shifting light. Floating stone glyphs circled a suspended crystal monolith, each engraved with words from a language long lost.
Alex stepped forward, and the monolith flashed, reacting to his presence.
"It recognizes him," whispered one of the Twilight scholars. "He's the key."
As Alex laid his hand against the monolith, images flooded his mind — not visions, but memories sealed by time:
Humans kneeling before Saint rulers as golden chains bound their souls.
The sealing of Earth's mana fields by five imperial signatures.
A council of Saint elites voting to rewrite history — erasing humanity's role as the first wielder of mana.
And above them all, Emperor Orion Valerius, watching silently.
Alex stumbled back, gasping. The truth wasn't just damning — it was devastating.
"They... stole everything from us."
Kael nodded grimly. "We've always known, but this… This is evidence. Undeniable."
But before they could activate the relic to copy and transmit the data, the walls shook violently. A section of the dome exploded inward as Imperial soldiers poured in — Delta assassins cloaked in shadows, Beta warriors like armored titans, and arcane constructs glowing with Epsilon energy.
Leading them was a figure cloaked in red lightning — General Selene Valtieri, daughter of Empress Lysandra, and wielder of the Crimson Brand.
"I hoped it wouldn't be you, Alex," she said, landing with a thunderous crash. "But here we are."
"Did you come to kill me?" he asked, mana rising around him like a storm.
"No," she said. "I came to see if you were strong enough."
Then she charged.
---
Outside the Vault – A Twilight Evacuation
As the earth trembled, Nyssa and Kael fought to clear a path for the others. Explosions ripped through ancient corridors. Screams echoed. The sky outside turned crimson.
"Go!" Kael shouted. "Alex will hold her off!"
Nyssa hesitated, eyes locked on the flames consuming the vault entrance.
"He'd better survive," she said coldly, before disappearing into the chaos.
---
Within the Vault – A Battle of Bloodlines
Steel clashed with mana-forged fists. Lightning burned through air. Selene fought like a tempest, but Alex's power — raw and chaotic — was awakening with every strike.
"You're not like the Saints," she hissed. "Not like us."
"You're right," Alex spat, elemental energy swirling around him. "I'm not like you. I'm the storm you tried to bury."
His hand ignited in Voidflame, and he struck with everything — his father's memory, his mother's will, and the truth of his bloodline driving him.
The vault trembled. The monolith cracked.
The past screamed to be heard.