The shadows over Flammensang deepened.
The failed assassination was no isolated incident—it was a signal.Old alliances cracked. Bloodlines once thought inviolable bled.In hidden halls and forgotten streets, a silent civil war brewed.
Maximilian Kriegswald knew the meaning:Ascend, or be consumed.
There could be no retreat now.Only forward.Only power.
The Summoning: A Black Sigil
Three nights after the chaos, a letter arrived at his quarters.
No courier.No witness.Just a black envelope bearing a mark older than memory:—a spiral of falling stars devouring themselves.
The mark of the Forgotten Vaults.
Within, a single line:
"Descend. Claim your dominion. Survive... if you can."
There was no choice.
There never had been.
Into the Vault
Beneath the Old Arcanum Tower, hidden from even the Archons, lay the entrance.
The gates — wrought of ancient iron and sealed by broken oaths — groaned open at Maximilian's approach, recognizing something within him.
Darkness yawned beyond.
He stepped inside.
The gates slammed shut with the finality of a grave.
The Forgotten Vault welcomed its new supplicant.
New Trial: Descent into Madness
The Vault was a labyrinth older than the University itself.
Twisting halls moved when unwatched.Walls wept crimson mist.Creatures, born of failed experiments and broken magic, prowled in the dark.
Maximilian adapted swiftly.
He spun Stellar Threads into shields and lances, weaving new battle magicks mid-fight.
He reconfigured his Soulblade, shifting its form in battle like a living extension of will.
For hours — or was it days? — he fought, bled, and pushed deeper.
But he was not alone.
Not entirely.
Allies and Enemies: The Choice
Near the third circle of the Vault, Maximilian found another survivor:
➤ Torn crimson robes.➤ Runes blazing across pale arms.➤ Blood matting vibrant hair.
Maelis.
Once a whisperer of prophecies. Now a hunted thing.
She stood, cornered by a monstrosity of fused bone and void essence.
"You can leave me," she rasped, "or you can save me—and seal your fate."
Maximilian didn't hesitate.
One arc of burning Stellar energy, and the monster fell.
Maelis stared at him with something between fury and awe.
"You don't understand," she said bitterly. "Now you're tied to me... and to my enemies."
They pressed on, together.
For now.
Betrayal Woven into Every Step
As they fought side by side, Maelis confessed pieces of the truth:
➤ She was once a Seer for the Children of the Broken Stars, an ancient sect that sought to reclaim the Prime Flame itself.
➤ She had betrayed them to the University—and now, hunted by both sides, her only hope lay in the Vault.
➤ The deepest layer, the Heart, housed something no mortal should touch.
"You want power?" she laughed bitterly. "Then you'll damn yourself as I did."
Maximilian listened—and learned.
But he trusted no one.
Not even her.
Especially not her.
Lore Drop: The Heart of the Vault
Buried at the center of the Forgotten Vault lay the Starfire Remnant:A fragment of the Prime Flame—the original source of all magic, stolen and hidden after the Betrayer Wars.
➤ A relic capable of granting Domain Authority over Stellar magic.➤ A source of unlimited power... and infinite corruption.➤ A prize that even the Gods feared.
Those who claimed it could tear down empires—or birth new ones.
Maximilian's blood burned at the thought.
He would claim it.
Or he would die in the attempt.
Item Profile:
➤ Name: Starfire Remnant➤ Origin: Fragment of the Prime Flame, sealed after the Betrayer Wars.➤ Effects:• Binds permanently to the user's soul.• Amplifies mana reserves beyond natural limits.• Unlocks Stellar Domain powers: limited reality alteration.• Allows creation of Stellar Constructs without external mana.➤ Drawback:• Persistent exposure corrupts mind and soul.• Extended use attracts Ancient Predators.
Only one exists.It will not accept weakness.
Bigger Battle: The Final Trial
At the Heart's chamber, Maximilian and Maelis found the Starfire Remnant blazing atop a floating monolith of broken stone.
But they were not the first.
A figure waited before the Remnant, his sword alight with blackened stellar fire:
Alwin.
Alive.Deadlier than ever.
"You survived," Alwin said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes."Good. It would have been boring otherwise."
He drew his blade, and the Vault itself seemed to shudder.
This was no duel.
This was a war for fate.
The battle shattered the air.
➤ Alwin bent stellar energy into spears that tore through stone.➤ Maelis summoned ancient glyphs, weaving time-staggered attacks.➤ Maximilian split his consciousness, wielding triple-layered spells simultaneously.
The Vault responded in kind: walls twisted, gravity fractured, raw chaos bled from the cracks.
Each moment was death balanced on a razor's edge.
At last, with blood pouring from dozens of wounds, Maximilian roared—unleashing the Stellarweave Core hidden within him.
A true Star Soul awoke.
Victory — and Price
Maximilian seized the Remnant.
Agony consumed him.
Visions tore through his mind:— A city burning under twin moons.— A throne of broken stars.— A hand reaching for a blade too bright for mortal eyes.
He collapsed to one knee—but rose again.
Changed.
Marked.
The Starfire Remnant was his.
At terrible cost.
Behind him, Maelis whispered:
"You've done it. You fool... you've done it."
But shadows stirred in the Vault.
The gods had felt the theft.
And they were coming.
End of Chapter 34: Heart of the Forgotten Vault