Chapter 40: Secrets of the Archive of Ages
—Narrated by Eli Whitmore
---
The Eastern Tower was forbidden for a reason.
It wasn't locked by spells or guards. No—the air itself warned you away. Cold drafts whispered through stone corridors. Old magic creaked in the walls. Even the light seemed to avoid it.
But that night, we went in anyway.
I led the way with my seal glowing beneath my chest, my friends close behind me.
Felix hummed low under his breath. "This place feels… haunted."
"It's not haunted," Ryker muttered. "It's holding its breath."
Thorne scanned the walls with sharp eyes. "These markings are ancient. Older than the Academy."
Luna held a floating orb of light in her hand. "The Archive of Ages. This used to be the true heart of the Institute."
Draven glanced over his shoulder. "Then why did they bury it?"
Good question.
The halls grew colder as we walked deeper. Runes shimmered on the floor—sigils of binding, memory, and silence. Dust rose around us like fog.
At the end of the corridor stood an arched door of black wood and bone, covered in vines of silver.
I reached for the handle—and the vines uncoiled.
The door creaked open.
We stepped into the Archive.
---
The Ancient Library – Archive of Ages
It was endless.
A cathedral of books and scrolls. Floating ladders moved on their own. Crystal lanterns lit softly as we passed. Shelves stretched beyond the eye—stacked with knowledge lost to time.
A gentle hum filled the space. Almost like… a heartbeat.
Felix's eyes widened. "There must be a thousand lifetimes in here."
"No," Thorne whispered. "More."
I walked slowly, my fingers brushing across the tomes. The seal on my chest grew warmer with each step—guiding me.
Until I stopped at a single book.
Bound in faded blue leather. Stamped with a moon and crown.
I pulled it free.
And the world shifted.
---
The Dream Between Worlds
The pages flipped on their own.
Wind rose around us. The bookshelves blurred—and suddenly, I wasn't standing in the Archive anymore.
I was dreaming.
But it wasn't sleep.
It was… something else.
I floated in a space between stars. Between doors. Between time.
Shapes moved in the distance—gates without names, shadows with crowns, eyes that blinked open and vanished.
Then… a voice.
> "You've found the fracture."
> "You've touched the edge of what was forgotten."
I turned.
A woman stood before me—her hair like starlight, her skin painted with inked constellations.
Not Seraphina.
Something older.
> "The Dream Between Worlds," she whispered. "It is the only way to reach what cannot be remembered."
> "The Forgotten Realm?"
She nodded.
> "You cannot find it in maps. You must feel it in sleep. In silence. In sorrow."
> "Then how do we reach it?"
Her eyes glowed.
> "When the Gate of Dreams opens, you must walk willingly into the fracture. But beware—the Forgotten does not like to be remembered."
The stars cracked around me like glass.
And I woke up—gasping—back in the Archive.
---
Seraphina's Memory Revealed
Everyone rushed to my side.
"Eli!" Thorne gripped my shoulder. "What happened?"
"I saw it," I whispered. "The Dream Between Worlds. The Forgotten Realm is real. It's sleeping. Waiting. It doesn't live in this world—it lives between them."
Felix helped me up. "Like a realm beneath the cracks of reality?"
"Yes." I turned toward the shelves again. "And Seraphina left more than just a clue. She left a key."
I followed the pull again—this time to a pedestal in the far corner.
A memory crystal rested there. Old. Cracked.
I placed my hand over it.
It sparked—and a vision poured out.
---
Seraphina's Message
She stood again—this time in the ruins of some forgotten palace. Stars fell like ash in the sky behind her.
> "To the one who bears my blood… I failed to destroy the throne. I could only hide it."
> "The Forgotten Monarch was not a king of men—but a king of minds. Of dreams. Of voids."
> "His realm was banished—its gates shattered. But if Nyxar opens them again… he will not come alone."
> "He will bring the Unremembered. Things so terrible, even history itself refused to write their names."
> "You must enter the dream. Find the door that does not belong. And seal it… with willing light."
The vision faded.
We were left in silence.
---
I stood in the center of the Archive.
The truth was clear now.
There were no maps. No spells. No road.
Only one path forward.
"I have to sleep," I said.
Ryker blinked. "Sleep?"
"Not just rest. Enter the Dream Between Worlds. That's how I find the Forgotten Gate."
Luna stepped forward. "We're going with you."
Thorne took my hand. "Where you dream, I'll follow."
Felix smiled faintly. "Even if I have to snore through the battle."
Draven cracked a rare smile. "If something grabs you, Eli… I bite back."
I looked around at them all.
The Seven realms were only the beginning.
Now, we journey into what should not exist.
And we do it together.
---
The Dream calls.
The fracture opens.
The Forgotten wakes.
---
To be continued…