Chapter 12: Echoes of the Fallen

The ground continued to rumble underfoot as the four pressed forward through the endless corridors. Every step felt heavier, like the stone itself resisted their movement, whispering to them to turn back.

"We're getting close," Talia said grimly. "The Vault isn't far now."

Aiden wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling the strange energy still burning beneath his skin from the fight. His hand trembled, not from exhaustion—but from fear. Fear of himself.

"What's in the Vault?" he asked.

Cassian threw him a sidelong glance. "The last thing they ever wanted you to find."

They passed through a towering archway into a narrow passage. The walls here were different—smooth, polished, and covered in ancient script. As Aiden brushed his fingers over the letters, a ghostly whisper filled the air.

"Beware the blood-born..." the voices breathed.

Aiden yanked his hand back, his heart pounding.

"It's the echoes," Talia explained. "Memories trapped in the stone. They remember the wars... and the betrayal."

They reached a vast iron door embedded in the end of the passage. Strange locks twisted across its surface—locks that shimmered and shifted, alive somehow.

Jax stepped forward, examining the locks. "Not mechanical. These are bloodseals."

He turned to Aiden, a grim look in his eye. "Only you can open it."

Aiden hesitated. "What if it's a trap?"

"It is a trap," Cassian said without emotion. "Everything about this place is a trap. The question is—do you have a choice?"

Aiden swallowed hard. He didn't. He never did.

He placed his hand against the cold iron.

Immediately, pain lanced through him, and the seals came alive, winding around his arm like molten chains. Symbols flared to life on the door, burning brighter and brighter until they formed a sigil—a phoenix wreathed in flame, a sword pierced through its heart.

The door shuddered and slowly groaned open.

Inside was darkness. Pure and endless.

They stepped through.

At first, Aiden thought the Vault was empty. Then he saw it: a pedestal at the center of the room, and upon it, a small, unremarkable black shard. It pulsed with a dim, sickly light.

"What is that?" Aiden asked, voice barely a whisper.

"The Echo Shard," Talia answered. "The first fragment of the Covenant's betrayal."

Cassian circled the pedestal warily. "They stole power from the ancients, bound it to themselves. This is what remains—the proof."

"But why is it here?" Jax asked. "Unprotected?"

Talia's face darkened. "Because they wanted you to take it."

The moment she spoke, a booming clang echoed behind them.

The door had sealed shut.

From the shadows, forms emerged—warped creatures of mist and bone, wearing the faces of the dead.

Aiden's heart stopped.

They were surrounded.

"This was never about stopping you," Talia said, raising her staff. "It was about binding you."

The creatures lunged.

The battle for the Echo Shard had begun.

---