The number hung over the cavern like a death sentence.
10%.
No one spoke.
No one moved.
Every projection floating above the platform displayed the same warning.
The final seal had fallen below ten percent integrity.
The last barrier protecting the Origin was collapsing.
And nobody knew how to stop it.
The cavern shook again.
This time, a section of the ceiling cracked.
Stone rained into the abyss below.
The impact echoed for several seconds before fading into silence.
Kai stared after it.
"...That's not supposed to happen."
"No," the elder replied quietly.
"It isn't."
Adrian looked toward the Origin.
The pillar of silver-black light had changed.
The colors were no longer separated.
Silver and black twisted together in spiraling patterns, flowing upward like two rivers merging into one.
The sight felt strangely familiar.
Like something he'd seen before.
Or something he was supposed to remember.
The mark on his wrist pulsed.
The pillar answered.
A matching pulse surged upward through the cavern.
Every light flickered.
Every symbol reacted.
And every person present looked directly at him.
Adrian sighed.
"I hate when it does that."
Kai nodded.
"At this point, I blame you automatically."
"That's unfair."
"It keeps being correct."
Before Adrian could argue, another alarm echoed through the cavern.
Louder than before.
Urgent.
The projections changed.
New images appeared.
Sanctuary corridors.
Observation chambers.
Ancient halls.
Every single one showed the same thing.
Cracks.
The fractures spreading throughout the mountain.
The seal wasn't the only thing breaking anymore.
The Sanctuary itself was beginning to fail.
A wave of unease swept through the gathered observers.
The elder stared at the projections.
Her expression growing darker with each passing second.
"We're running out of time."
The statement was obvious.
Yet hearing it aloud made everything feel more real.
More immediate.
More dangerous.
Adrian folded his arms.
"Then tell me something."
The elder looked at him.
"If the seal breaks, what happens?"
Silence.
No one seemed eager to answer.
That worried him.
A lot.
Finally, Veyr spoke.
"The truth is..."
He paused.
"...we don't know."
Adrian blinked.
"What?"
"The Seven never recorded it."
The elder nodded reluctantly.
"They succeeded before the final seal failed."
A chill ran through the cavern.
Nobody knew what happened next because nobody had ever reached this point before.
For centuries, everyone had been operating on assumptions.
And assumptions were about to collide with reality.
Kai rubbed his face.
"That's somehow worse."
No one disagreed.
The projections flickered again.
Then a new image appeared.
The room instantly fell silent.
It showed the chamber beneath the Origin.
A place no one should have been able to see.
Yet there it was.
The final seal.
The enormous circular barrier glowing with fading light.
And standing before it—
Lyra.
Several observers gasped.
Others looked away.
The elder simply stared.
As if seeing a ghost.
Lyra stood motionless.
Her silver-black cloak shifted in an invisible wind.
One hand rested against the seal.
And beneath her touch—
The cracks were spreading.
Not because she was breaking it.
Because it was responding to her.
The distinction mattered.
Adrian felt it immediately.
Lyra wasn't forcing anything.
The seal was reacting.
Recognizing.
The same way the mark reacted to him.
The same way the Chronicle had.
The same way the Origin had.
The realization hit hard.
The bond connected all of this.
All of it.
Suddenly Lyra looked up.
Straight into the projection.
Straight through it.
Straight at Adrian.
The cavern became completely silent.
Then—
She smiled.
Not a threatening smile.
Not an evil one.
A sad one.
The image shattered instantly.
Every projection went dark.
The room erupted into alarmed voices.
"What happened?"
"Why did the feed collapse?"
"Can she see us?"
Questions echoed through the chamber.
No answers came.
Because everyone was thinking the same thing.
Lyra had looked directly at them.
As if she knew they were watching.
As if distance didn't matter.
As if barriers didn't matter.
As if nothing mattered anymore.
The mark pulsed.
Hard.
A whisper brushed against Adrian's thoughts.
Come below.
His breath caught.
The voice wasn't the one behind the door.
It was Lyra's.
Calm.
Patient.
Waiting.
Come see the truth.
Adrian clenched his jaw.
Immediately the whisper faded.
But the message remained.
Kai noticed the change in his expression.
"...You heard something."
It wasn't a question.
Adrian nodded.
The elder stepped forward.
"What did she say?"
The room fell silent again.
Everyone waiting.
Everyone watching.
Adrian exhaled slowly.
Then answered.
"She wants me to go to her."
The reaction was immediate.
Several observers protested at once.
"No."
"Absolutely not."
"That's insane."
Kai pointed at them.
"See? Even they know it's a bad idea."
But Adrian wasn't listening anymore.
Because something else had caught his attention.
The Warden.
Across the cavern.
Near the edge of the nearest bridge.
Standing exactly where it had been before.
Watching.
Waiting.
The ancient guardian had remained silent for most of the chaos.
Now it raised its head slightly.
Its gaze met Adrian's.
And for the first time—
The Warden spoke directly into his mind.
Not aloud.
Not through the bond.
A warning.
The choice approaches.
Adrian froze.
Choice.
Not battle.
Not survival.
Choice.
The word echoed in his thoughts.
Auren.
Lyra.
The Seven.
Every story led back to the same thing.
A choice.
The Warden continued.
The First chose one path.
Images flashed through Adrian's mind.
Auren standing before the Origin.
Determined.
Desperate.
Trying to strengthen the seal.
Trying to stop the fracture.
Then another image.
Lyra standing alone.
Watching.
Waiting.
Choosing differently.
The vision ended.
The Warden's final words lingered.
Soon, you must choose as well.
The connection vanished.
Adrian stared across the cavern.
His pulse hammering.
Because he suddenly understood something terrifying.
This had never been about power.
Never been about controlling the bond.
Never been about defeating the Keeper.
Those were only steps.
Preparations.
Everything had been leading toward a single moment.
A single decision.
And somehow—
The fate of the Origin depended on it.
A deafening crack exploded through the abyss.
Everyone jumped.
The final seal flashed brightly.
Then dimmed.
The projections flickered back to life.
One number appeared across every display.
7%
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Absolute.
The countdown had begun.
And far below—
Something was waiting for Adrian to arrive.