The Vault of Kings

Location: Tavara – Damien's Study, Kane Estate

The ancient scrolls lay unfurled across Damien's desk, parchment yellowed by time, sealed with wax bearing the Kane family crest. Nora leaned over them, eyes scanning symbols and ciphers only an elite few could decipher.

"These markings…" she traced her finger across the faded ink, "they match the Scarlet Cloister's initiation code. But this—this is older. This predates even the Cloister."

Damien nodded grimly. "It's from the Arkanian Order. My grandfather discovered their ruins in the Eastern Ranges during a black op. He buried what he found—literally and politically."

Nora's eyes widened. "You think this Vault of Kings is real?"

"I don't think," Damien said. "I know."

> The Vault wasn't just a myth. It was a fortress buried beneath Tavara, said to hold relics that could either rule nations or destroy them. Technologies, secrets, and bloodlines—all sealed by ancient alliances.

Nora's voice dropped. "You think Xian's aiming for the Vault?"

"She doesn't want to control the world." Damien's eyes burned. "She wants to erase the bloodlines—wipe the board clean. The Vault has the key to every original pact. Destroying it would burn all lineage claims. Including yours. Including mine."

---

Location: Volvaran City – Cloister Sub-Basement Activation Grid

Metal grated as gears ancient and forgotten shifted into motion. Nora's voice rang through the cold air. "Cipher Sister One. Shadow Angel. I'm calling in the Ember Pact."

Static buzzed… then a voice echoed.

> "Nightshade… You survived."

"I did more than survive," Nora said calmly. "I evolved."

A blue silhouette formed in the hologram—Cipher Sister One, her face obscured by a veil of spectral encryption.

"Then we rise again. The Ember Pact is yours. Reawakening the Crimson Circuit. The Vault of Kings is now our mission."

---

Location: Xian's Fortress – Chamber of Bones

Lady Xian stood over a crystal chamber housing an obsidian sphere. Ravich and two other council members knelt nearby.

> "Release the Dread Consulate," she ordered.

The obsidian sphere cracked open with a hiss of pressure, revealing humanoid figures suspended in stasis—clad in black, eyes shut, bodies enhanced.

"The Vault will fall," she whispered. "And with it, the last of the old blood."

---

Location: Damien's Private Heliport – Nightfall

The engines of Damien's stealth heli-jet roared to life. Nora approached, suited in combat gear laced with light body armor. Her weapons were concealed, but lethal.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Damien asked.

She smirked. "You forget I'm the best doctor in the world. I can kill and heal in a single breath."

He held out a tracker embedded with her coordinates. "I'll cover you from the sky. We hit the Eastern Ranges. That's where the map ends."

She climbed aboard. "Then let's finish what the ancestors started."

As they lifted into the night, below them, the stars of Tavara shimmered. But in the East, a storm brewed—and history stirred in its grave.