Chapter 4: The Weight of Knowing
The temperature in the preservation lab felt colder than before.
Ethan sat across from Dr. Graves, staring at the document in his hands.
She had just given him permission—not to stop digging, but to keep going.
Most people in Argon Heritage worked under controlled knowledge, only seeing what their clearance allowed. Aldrich wanted it that way. But Graves had just offered him a different path.
It wasn't full access, but it was something.
"You don't seem excited," Graves observed, watching him carefully.
Ethan hesitated. "I just know that once I see something, I can't unsee it."
A small smile crossed her lips. "Good. Then you're already ahead of most researchers here."
She stood, walking over to a climate-sealed storage case. With a few taps on the access panel, the glass shield retracted, revealing a collection of aged documents, some brittle with time.
"This," she said, "is where we begin."
Ethan leaned in, his eyes scanning the handwritten records, some in languages he couldn't recognize. They weren't artifacts—at least, not in the traditional sense. They were records about artifacts.
And more importantly, they were records that no longer existed in the official archive.
---
A Lost Entry in the Archives
Ethan's fingers hovered over the first document—a faded manuscript with half-erased ink. Graves passed him a pair of archival gloves, and he carefully lifted the page.
"This is an internal report from the 1970s," she explained. "Back then, Argon Heritage wasn't as tightly controlled. Some researchers documented their findings… before those findings disappeared."
Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Disappeared how?"
Graves tapped the side of the document. "Look at the cataloging code."
Ethan followed the numbers. They looked normal—until he reached the end. The last digit had been scratched out and rewritten.
A reclassification. Just like the dagger.
His pulse quickened. "So whatever this document originally recorded—someone altered its status later?"
Graves nodded. "Now look at the content itself."
Ethan scanned the faded text, struggling with the old handwriting. Then he reached a section that made him stop.
> Artifact #R-2191
"Item recovered in unstable condition. Possible connections to pre-classical mythological weaponry. Object moved to deep storage for further analysis."
He glanced up. "'Deep storage'?"
Graves exhaled. "Argon Heritage has several classified levels of storage. What you see on the main archive? That's only the first layer."
Ethan felt a chill. "How deep does it go?"
Graves didn't answer right away.
Instead, she glanced at the storage case behind her, fingers grazing the edge of the metal frame. It was a small, unconscious movement—like someone touching a scar they had long stopped acknowledging.
When she finally spoke, her voice was level, but something in it felt… careful. "Let's just say that if an artifact ends up in deep storage, it's not meant to be found again."
Ethan's grip on the document tightened. So how many artifacts had been buried under layers of bureaucracy and secrecy?
How much history had already been erased?
---
A Warning from the Outside
His phone vibrated in his pocket.
Ethan pulled it out, expecting another casual message from Aryan or Li Wei. But instead, it was from Nadia.
> Nadia: You need to stop looking.
A sharp contrast from her last message. Before, she had warned him to be careful. Now, she was outright telling him to stop.
> Ethan: I thought you wanted to know the truth too?
A pause. Then:
> Nadia: Some truths are meant to be forgotten.
Ethan's grip on the document faltered for a second. His pulse hammered against his wrist.
Not a warning. A command.
She wasn't just guessing. She had seen something.
Before he could type another response, Graves spoke again. "You're distracted."
Ethan hesitated, then pocketed his phone. "Just a message from a friend."
Graves studied him but didn't push. Instead, she handed him another document.
"Then I hope your friend understands that once you start down this path," she said, "you don't get to turn back."
Ethan stared at the half-erased records in front of him.
He already knew that.
But for the first time, he wondered if he'd regret not turning back while he still could.
Would he lose his position here? Would Aldrich find out and shut him out completely?
Or worse—would he find something that made him wish he had never started looking in the first place?
Whispers in the Dark
The air inside Argon Heritage was colder than usual.
Ethan hadn't noticed it before, but today, standing in the Artifact Verification & Preservation Wing, the silence felt different—not just the quiet of a library, but something heavier.
Maybe it was because of the unmarked case from yesterday, still burned into his thoughts. Maybe it was the conversation with Li Wei last night, warning him not to dig too deep. Or maybe it was just paranoia.
Either way, something had changed.
And he wasn't sure he liked it.
---
A New Assignment
Ethan walked into the research wing, expecting to report to Professor Aldrich as usual. But when he checked his tablet, a new notification popped up.
> Assignment Update: Report to Dr. Lillian Graves (Senior Preservationist)
Task: Artifact Documentation & Analysis
Ethan frowned. Dr. Graves was well-known in the historical research world—sharp, methodical, and rumored to have no patience for incompetence.
Some interns had joked that she hadn't smiled in two decades.
Ethan wasn't sure what to make of the reassignment. Did Aldrich push him out, or was there another reason?
Either way, he had no choice but to follow orders.
---
Dr. Graves & The First Lesson
Dr. Lillian Graves didn't waste time with pleasantries.
"Sit," she said the moment Ethan walked into her office. Her desk was covered in ancient documents, half-translated scripts, and preservation logs.
Ethan sat.
"You were with Aldrich yesterday," she said, flipping a page in an old ledger. "Do you know why you're here now?"
Ethan hesitated. "No one told me."
Dr. Graves nodded as if she expected that answer. "Aldrich is careful. He believes in controlling information—only revealing knowledge when he deems it necessary."
Ethan frowned. "And you don't?"
A flicker of amusement crossed her face. "I believe in understanding first—then deciding what's too dangerous to know."
Ethan considered that. It was a subtle difference, but it mattered.
Dr. Graves leaned back. "Let me ask you something, Carter. Would you rather be told what's important, or would you rather decide for yourself?"
Ethan didn't hesitate. "Decide for myself."
Dr. Graves smiled for the first time. "Good. Then let's begin."
---
The Dagger with No Past
Dr. Graves led Ethan into the artifact preservation lab, a space filled with climate-controlled cases, scanning equipment, and rows of ancient relics under careful examination.
"Your job today is simple," she said, stopping at a sealed glass display. "Document the condition of this artifact and verify its record history."
Ethan leaned closer.
Inside the case was a bronze dagger, its blade covered in intricate carvings of a forgotten script.
"What's this?" he asked.
"Recovered from a private collection in Eastern Europe," Dr. Graves said. "Originally thought to be ceremonial. But analysis suggests otherwise."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
She tapped a microscopic scan result on a nearby monitor. "Traces of blood dating back over a thousand years. This wasn't decoration—it was used."
Ethan studied the carvings on the blade. "What do they mean?"
Dr. Graves sighed. "That's the problem. The script doesn't match any known language from that region."
Ethan's interest sharpened.
"So either the dagger is far older than we thought," she continued, "or history is missing a piece of the puzzle."
Ethan exhaled slowly. How many more artifacts like this existed? How many stories had been rewritten?
He shook his head. "And what happens if we figure it out?"
Dr. Graves gave him a pointed look. "That depends on whether you're ready to know the answer."
---
A Cryptic Message
Ethan was taking notes when his phone vibrated in his pocket.
A message from Aryan.
> Aryan: How's life at the world's most exclusive library?
Ethan smirked.
> Ethan: Less reading, more deciphering ancient weapons.
> Aryan: You say that like it's NOT a secret cult.
> Ethan: It's a museum.
> Aryan: Yeah? And I bet they DON'T have hidden vaults filled with lost artifacts?
Ethan hesitated.
Aryan was joking.
But after yesterday's unmarked case, it didn't feel like a joke anymore.
Before he could reply, another notification appeared.
Nadia was typing…
Then she erased the message.
Ethan frowned.
> Ethan: You okay?
> Nadia: Just be careful.
> Ethan: Of what?
She didn't answer.
---
The Missing Record
By the afternoon, Ethan was nearly finished with his assignments.
Dr. Graves had stepped away, leaving him alone in the lab. He used the time to double-check artifact records, ensuring everything matched official documentation.
Most did.
But when he pulled up the dagger's historical entry, something was missing.
The "Known Origin" section was blank.
Frowning, Ethan searched for older versions of the report.
That's when he saw it.
A previous entry—from five years ago—listed the dagger differently.
It had originally been categorized under a different classification:
> "Artifact of Unknown Significance – Vault Storage Recommended."
But at some point, someone had deleted that classification.
The dagger had been relabeled and moved to general storage.
Ethan leaned back, a cold feeling settling in his chest.
This wasn't just a missing translation or a cataloging error.
Someone had deliberately erased part of its history.
And if that was the case…
What else had been rewritten?
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A Late-Night Call
That night, Ethan sat at his desk, staring at the dagger's file on his tablet.
His phone rang.
He didn't even check the caller ID before answering.
Li Wei's voice came through. "You're up late."
"So are you," Ethan said.
A pause. Then: "Did you find something?"
Ethan hesitated.
Then he said the truth. "I think I found something that shouldn't exist."
Another pause. Then, softer: "Then maybe it's best if you pretend you didn't."
Ethan ran a hand through his hair. "That's not really my style."
"I know," Li Wei sighed. "That's why I'm worried."
Ethan didn't respond.
Because the more he stared at the missing records, the more certain he became—
This wasn't just a lost artifact.
It was a secret. And someone had already tried to erase it once.
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End of Chapter 3