Lyra didn't move. She stood suspended between her ingrained human reality—where stone walls didn't dissolve—and the breathtaking, impossible vista before her. The chamber, far from being a cold, forgotten tomb, was an architectural masterpiece: a circular cathedral of knowledge. Its true scale was immense, the walls lined not with shelves, but with alcoves where books and scrolls rested on glowing energy fields. The crystalline orbs pulsed with a soft, steady, ethereal light, casting no harsh shadows.
Elias's gloved hand remained extended, a silent challenge and a compelling invitation. The man radiated ancient authority, but underneath the chilling exterior, Lyra sensed something else—a profound, weary solitude.
She looked at his hand, then at the birthmark on her wrist, which now seemed to be the source of the golden pulse. Fear was still a sharp, icy presence, but it was being rapidly eclipsed by a professional awe and a deeply personal curiosity. Her life was restoring the past; this man offered her the very living heart of it.
"Is this... a protected site?" Lyra managed, her voice barely a whisper. The idea of this room existing beneath the municipal archives was ludicrous.
"It is protected by ancient magic, Lyra, not by city ordinance," Elias replied, his eyes never leaving hers. He slowly lowered his hand when she made no move to take it. "It is the heart of the First Covenant, the reason my kind tolerates the world above. We call it The Vault of the Keeper. And you are the first human to ever see it."
Taking a deep, shaky breath, Lyra pushed past the fear of the predator and embraced the wonder of the historian. She stepped across the threshold, passing through the coppery mist where the wall had been. The temperature inside was perfectly stable, neither hot nor cold, yet the air was impossibly clean, charged with kinetic energy and the scent of ages.
"The books… they look untouched," she observed, her eyes wide as she gazed at the towering volumes.
"They are beyond the need for restoration," Elias stated, gliding smoothly beside her as she hesitantly walked further in. "They are eternal. They hold the true history of your species and mine, before the schisms and the fear."
He led her towards the center, where the light seemed to converge. The large, crimson-bound book—the Codex Aeterna—sat atop the obsidian pedestal. Lyra stopped a few feet away, instantly recognizing the material: it was bound in the supple, deep red hide of an animal long extinct, etched with symbols she knew instinctively were not letters, but energy conduits.
"What is the Codex Aeterna?" she asked, her voice steady now, focused by the pursuit of knowledge.
Elias stopped opposite the pedestal, using his body to shield the book from her touch, yet inviting her to observe. "It is the central text of the First Covenant, Lyra. It holds the prophecy of the Great Shadow and the instructions for preventing the final war between humans and vampires. It is sealed by a power we cannot breach—a seal represented by the mark on your wrist."
Lyra stared at the mark, then back at him. "A key? My birthmark is a key?"
"Not a key forged of metal," Elias clarified, his voice dropping in intensity. "A key of lineage. Three centuries ago, I was tasked with safeguarding this Vault because my lineage was the most stable. But the prophecy states that the seal will only yield to the Maiden of Light—a human descended from the bloodline of the original Covenanter—when the Great Shadow begins to stir. The Shadow, Lyra, is the Moroi Clan."
He turned, the full weight of his worry—centuries of vigilance—etched onto his marble features. "The Moroi are an ancient faction of my kind who reject the Covenant. They believe humanity is chattel, meant only for consumption. Their power has been growing in the deep Eastern territories. Recently, their activity has become bold, their scent corrupting the fringes of our territory. Their goal is the Codex. They believe that destroying the book will nullify the Covenant, granting them the freedom to enslave the world."
Lyra felt dizzy. She had worried about submitting her final paper on time; now she was being told she was the linchpin in a supernatural war.
"And you think I can open it?" she whispered.
"I know you can," Elias confirmed with absolute certainty. He extended his hand again, not towards her, but towards the pedestal, activating a discreet energy field surrounding the book. He drew back, his eyes finally showing a flicker of true fear. "But this is where the danger becomes acute. If I am correct, the Moroi are already aware that their key has manifested. They are hunting for the Maiden of Light."
He looked directly into her eyes, the glacial blue demanding her full attention. "Lyra Pramesti, by merely stepping into this room, you have placed yourself outside the protection of the human world. I brought you here to send you away, to hide you. But now that I have seen the resonance, I understand: you cannot be hidden. You must remain here, within the Vault, until we understand how to use the power of the Mark to stabilize the Covenant, or else you will be the reason the Moroi prevail."
"Remain here?" Lyra echoed, looking around the vast, beautiful prison. "You want to keep me captive?"
"I want to keep you alive," Elias countered, his tone harsh with urgency. "The world you know is no longer safe for the key you carry. I offer you sanctuary, Lyra. But it is a sanctuary without escape."