Chapter 127 – The Vault of Echoing Time

The wind screamed like an omen as the skies above the eastern edge of the realm began to ripple.

Here, lightning never ceased. Not the kind born of storms—but ancient, temporal lightning, dancing through cracks in time itself. Twisting arcs of blue and gold writhed across the air like serpents made of fate. The last remnants of a broken divine barrier tried to seal itself, but it was too late.

Chen had already broken through.

He landed softly atop obsidian stone, the Soulflame cloak billowing around him. Mei and Lanmei flanked his sides, while Ye Yue hovered above, riding the threads of moonlight that clung to her skin like silk.

Sarina knelt nearby, her fingers spread across the map etched into the rock, deciphering its movements as the Vault shifted before their very eyes.

"This place... it's alive," she whispered. "It rearranges itself, remembering battles long lost and victories erased."

"It's a memory," Chen said. "One the courts wanted buried."

The Vault loomed before them, a spiraling tower split in three. Each level shimmered with a different aura:

The First Spiral, glowing crimson—rage, blood, and shattered loyalty.

The Second Spiral, gold and quiet—regret and sacrifice.

The Third, near-invisible—nothing but silence and anticipation.

"We'll split," Chen said. "Each level holds something the courts left behind. They'll be watching soon, and I want answers before they arrive."

First Spiral – Sarina and Lanmei

Sarina moved like a shadow between ancient gears and blades, deciphering the runes as Lanmei fought off animated memories—warriors made of flame and sorrow. Blood-red spirits screamed ancient names as they charged. Lanmei's crescent blades sang through the air, severing memory from muscle.

At the heart of the chamber, Sarina pulled free a glowing fragment—The Sigil of Severance.

"A command rune," she whispered. "To control divine constructs. Like the Titan…"

They exchanged a glance. This wasn't just history. It was a weapon.

Second Spiral – Ye Yue and Mei

The golden corridor whispered regrets with every step. Mei moved carefully, blades drawn, while Ye Yue gently touched the walls, absorbing echoes.

"This place remembers every betrayal, every divine fall," Ye Yue murmured.

A mirrored chamber unfolded at the end of the path, revealing echoes of themselves—versions twisted by fate, temptation, or failure. The two women fought shadows of what they could have been, blades clashing with fears they never voiced.

When the illusion broke, a soft orb hovered in its place. The Pearl of Recollection—a relic of memory, able to reveal unfiltered truth to any who dared.

Ye Yue took it. "This will show us what the Courts tried to erase."

Third Spiral – Chen Alone

The silence was absolute.

Chen walked the spiral without flame or fury, sensing the weight of time folding in on itself. Here, divine power didn't roar—it listened.

At the center, he found it: a cracked throne of black stone, and floating above it, a single silver hourglass, slowly draining light from one end to the other.

As his hand reached out, it pulsed—not with heat, but with understanding.

"You walk not to conquer, but to remember."

A voice, feminine, ancient, and kind. Lysaria's voice.

He gripped the hourglass.

A wave surged through him—images of the past, of the rebellion that nearly broke the heavens. The truth of the divine war, and the injustice that shaped the system he now threatened.

And in the final moment of the vision, he saw her: Lysaria, bound in chains of starlight, eyes still glowing with hope.

His hand tightened. "I'll free you. I'll change everything."

The hourglass ignited in silver flame, fusing into his palm. The Vault began to collapse.

Outside the Vault

The skies broke open.

Divine auras began converging—Frost, Thunder, Sea, and even fragments of the shattered Flame Court. But they were too late.

Chen and his group emerged in a storm of Soulflame, the relics secured.

And the war... had truly changed.