The vault's heavy door sealed behind them with a low metallic hum, leaving Eliar and Selene bathed in the eerie blue glow of dormant glyphs etched across the walls. The silence was thick—almost sacred—as if the very air remembered what had once lived and died here.
Selene's steps were confident as she moved through the broken rows of stasis tubes and shattered consoles. "This was hidden beneath the Academy for how long?" Eliar whispered.
"Hundreds of years," she replied. "The records were wiped. My mother found the first clue by accident—an encrypted pattern buried deep in an ancient tome."
The deeper they walked, the more unreal it felt. Half-organic cables slithered along the ceiling, ancient AI cores glowed softly behind crystal glass, and remnants of armors that looked part-machine, part-magic lined one wall.
Eliar paused at a terminal. It flickered on, reacting to his presence. Selene raised an eyebrow.
"That only happens for someone recognized by the system," she said. "This vault wasn't just tech... it was built by the early Founders. The creators of the bloodlines."
"Wait," Eliar muttered. "You mean this is connected to the Five High Bloodlines?"
Selene nodded. "Yes. But not just them—this place is older than the Houses. It predates the current age of Elyndor."
They came across a holographic map showing the five quadrants of the Elyndor Continent. The fifth quadrant was represented only as a blank void. Before Eliar could ask, Selene turned away quickly. "Let's keep moving."
A moment later, they found it—a chamber sealed in obsidian rune-stone. The moment Eliar stepped closer, the lock clicked open.
"You really don't know what you are, do you?" Selene murmured.
The room inside was stark. A single pedestal stood at its center, holding a cracked orb humming faintly with silver light. As Eliar reached out, the orb flared and a projection flickered into view—an old man in ceremonial armor with the Vellore insignia.
Selene gasped. "That's… Kyren Vellore."
The message began:
> "If you're seeing this, then the vault has acknowledged you. Bloodline confirmed. Legacy fragment secured."
> "To the one who bears the mark—know that your enemies are not who you think. This is only the beginning."
> "The Vault contains more than just relics. It holds truth."
With a flicker, the projection shifted, revealing a massive blueprint of a sealed underground facility beneath the Academy.
"Another vault?" Eliar whispered.
Selene's voice was barely audible. "No… that's not another vault. That's Project Thorne."
The air went cold.
"What the hell is Project Thorne?" Eliar asked.
Selene stared at the blueprint. "Something your father hid from the world."
Suddenly, the room trembled. The orb cracked further, and sirens began to echo from the upper levels.
A cold mechanical voice echoed:
> "Unauthorized access. Purge protocol initiating."
"Run," Selene said.
They turned just in time to see the entrance slam shut. The floor beneath them hissed with rising steam.
Eliar's pulse spiked. "We're not alone here."
And then they heard it.
A low, rattling growl from the shadows beyond the vault.
[To be continued…]