The three symbols continued glowing beneath Artyom.
The crown.
The broken chain.
The closed eye.
Everyone waited.
No one tried to influence his decision.
Even Roman remained silent.
Artyom looked at the crown first.
For years, people had decided what he should become.
An heir.
A political asset.
A rare Omega.
A weapon.
He looked at the broken chain.
Freedom.
The life he had always wanted.
No bloodline.
No throne.
No expectations.
Then his eyes moved to the final symbol.
The closed eye.
Silence.
A choice to bury the truth forever.
Artyom slowly shook his head.
"I don't want any of them."
Dmitri frowned.
"What?"
Artyom looked at the three symbols.
"I don't want to rule people."
"I don't want to erase the truth."
"And I don't want to spend my life running from my blood."
The symbols suddenly flickered.
Caelum watched carefully.
"Then what do you choose?"
Artyom raised his hand.
The King's Seal began glowing.
"I choose to know the truth."
The three symbols disappeared.
A fourth symbol appeared.
A simple circle.
No crown.
No chains.
No darkness.
Caelum's eyes widened.
"The Fourth Choice."
Lucien stepped forward.
"There hasn't been a Fourth Choice in recorded history."
"What does it mean?" Viktor asked.
Caelum looked at Artyom.
"It means the heir refuses the old system."
The entire chamber trembled.
The ancient records began opening simultaneously.
Thousands of memories appeared around them.
Wars.
Treaties.
Betrayals.
The rise and fall of empires.
And finally...
The First Family's final day.
Artyom watched his ancestors standing inside the Sanctuary.
Elara was there.
And beside her stood Andrei.
Artyom's eyes widened.
"That's Andrei."
The memory continued.
A younger Sergei entered the chamber.
He looked furious.
"You're asking me to take him?"
Elara held a newborn child in her arms.
Artyom.
The memory made his heart stop.
Sergei looked at the baby.
Then at Andrei.
"What happens if they find him?"
Andrei answered quietly.
"They won't."
Elara looked toward him.
"You promise?"
Andrei nodded.
"I'll protect him."
The memory shifted.
Sergei took the baby.
Andrei stepped backward.
Elara's eyes filled with tears.
"One day he'll know."
Andrei looked at the child one last time.
"Only when it's safe."
The memory ended.
Artyom stood frozen.
All the assumptions he'd carried for nineteen years were collapsing.
Sergei hadn't simply taken him.
Andrei hadn't abandoned him.
There had been a plan.
A plan designed to keep him alive.
Then another memory appeared.
A young Viktor entering the Volkov estate for the first time as a child.
Roman stood beside him.
Valentin watched quietly.
And somewhere in the background...
Andrei was speaking with Roman.
Artyom's eyes widened.
"Viktor's family knew."
Roman closed his eyes.
"Not everything."
Valentin looked at Artyom.
"But enough."
Viktor stared at his father.
"You knew about him?"
Roman nodded.
"We knew there was a child who had to remain hidden."
Viktor looked at Artyom.
"But I didn't know it was you."
Artyom said nothing.
The truth was finally coming together.
Too many people had protected him.
Too many people had carried secrets.
And now the Sanctuary had shown him why.
A final memory appeared.
Elara looked directly toward the future.
Toward him.
"If you're watching this..."
Her smile was gentle.
"...then you've finally reached the truth."
The image began fading.
"Artyom, whatever you choose next..."
A pause.
"Choose a life that belongs to you."
The memory disappeared.
Artyom lowered his head.
Viktor stepped beside him.
Neither spoke.
They didn't need to.
For the first time, Artyom understood that his past had never been as simple as abandonment.
It had been a sacrifice made by people who believed keeping him alive was worth losing him.