Selphira kept recounting the story, this time without the sanitized edges Sirius had given his daughter.
"The door did open. Not immediately after the statues descended. But later. When the ancient mechanisms finished processing their... sacrifice."
Ren absorbed this, connecting pieces.
"And the crystallized hearts?"
"Were keys. Not just for that door but for the entire ruin system." Selphira's expression darkened. "The ancients built failsafes. Required living sacrifice transformed into crystal to access deepest secrets. Maybe because they believed only those willing to pay the ultimate price deserved knowledge that could reshape the world."
She paused.
"Maybe they were idiots… But very powerful idiots."
"When Orion activated the final mechanism with the Platinum core," Selphira continued, "he completed the sequence. The door opened."
"And?"
♢♢♢♢
And around him, the survivors of the expedition began to process what had happened.
