War L

Aiden didn't let his guard down. The statues surrounding them weren't just decorations—they had shifted slightly, their hollow eyes now glowing with a faint, eerie light.

"The First Witness?" Aiden repeated, stepping forward cautiously. "An age forgotten? What do you mean?"

The obsidian sphere pulsed again, resonating with an unseen force.

"Before the heavens waged war… before the abyss clawed its way into existence… there was another cycle."

Aiden's team exchanged glances. Even Myne, who rarely showed hesitation, seemed wary.

"Cycle?" Dren asked, his hand resting on his dagger's hilt. "What cycle?"

The voice resonated through the chamber, deeper this time.

"Creation. Ascension. Destruction. Rebirth. The balance has been shattered, and you stand at the center of its reckoning."

Aiden felt something stir within him. A feeling he had experienced before—when he first glimpsed the truth behind the Akashic Records.