And The Truth That’s Been Buried For Eons—Will Stay Buried

'The bloodline could not accept?'

[Correct,] the system answered, tone unusually serious.

[The previous holder… he wasn't just misguided. He was dangerous.]

Ethan's expression sharpened. 'Because of how he used the power?'

[No,] the system said.

[Because of how he thought about it.]

[He believed the bloodline made him better than everything else. That the world should bend to his will simply because he carried it.]

'That's… insane.'

[It was worse than insane.]

[He treated everything—people, planets, knowledge—as things he was entitled to. Not to learn from. Not to respect. To own.]

Ethan's eyes narrowed. 'Was he the one who built the Vault?'

[Yes.]

[But don't let the place fool you.]

[He didn't build it to protect knowledge.]

[He built it to hoard it.]

Ethan looked around again. The ancient silence. The impossible scale. The beauty of it all.

And underneath it… Something colder.