The newly opened gate yawned before them, its threshold shrouded in violet mist that recoiled as they approached—almost alive, almost watching.
Haruto led the way, blade unsheathed, every step muffled by the dust of centuries. The passage sloped downward into a chamber lit not by flame or magic, but by something older—veins of crystal laced through the walls, pulsing dimly like the heartbeat of a buried god.
Serenya whispered, "These aren't just lights. They're memory conduits. This whole place is a library… of souls."
Lucien frowned. "That's not comforting."
The chamber opened suddenly—an enormous, domed vault with spiraling walls carved from black obsidian. Along its circular walls were names. Thousands of them. Some glowing. Some fading. Some… missing entirely, with only scorch marks left behind.
In the center, a pedestal held an orb suspended in liquid starlight. As Haruto stepped forward, the orb pulsed, and voices echoed in the chamber—overlapping, layered, whispering things no human tongue had spoken in millennia.
"He returns."
"The blade has found its bearer."
"The gods have erred."
Haruto touched the orb.
A surge of memories flooded him—half-real, half-imagined. He saw a council of robed figures arguing beneath a shattered moon. A blade striking a god. A child torn from time and thrown into a world not his own.
The visions stopped. The orb dimmed.
Haruto stepped back, trembling. "It's… showing me who I was. Or who I could've been."
Serenya approached, placing a steadying hand on his arm. "These are echoes of lives bound to this place. Some were heroes. Some… weren't."
Lucien walked the perimeter, reading the glowing names aloud. "All these people were part of something ancient. Warriors. Rebels. Exiles."
He stopped at a name still glowing. Auren Sohl.
Below it: Deceased. Soul fragmented. Awaiting rebirth.
Another name blinked faintly—half-erased, with letters burned out: H——— A———.
Haruto stared. "That's… me?"
Before anyone could answer, a deep voice echoed through the chamber.
"Bearer of the Nullblade. Leave this place. Or your next memory will be your last."
The orb cracked.