Chapter 48 – The Emperor’s Vault

The ruins of the Grand Forum lay quiet behind them, but the echoes of the fallen emperor still clung to their minds.

Riya lagged at the rear of the group, eyes flicking to every corner as though the shadows might breathe again. Toni walked beside Ankit, silently updating the map he was drawing on a floating glyph screen.

"Seventy percent cleared," he murmured, "but the remaining thirty… it's under the city."

Ankit nodded without looking. He could feel it too—like a pull beneath his skin. The emotional resonance of the floor didn't vanish with the crownless boy.

It deepened.

Raghav pointed to a narrow descending tunnel ahead, lined with imperial reliefs and walls etched in glowing golden ink. "There. The throne's base was just a key. The emperor hid everything below."

They stepped into the corridor, and the temperature shifted.

The further they went, the heavier their breaths became.

The tunnel sloped down for what felt like hours. Time warped here. Sana's healing aura flickered twice, and Vikram's light runes lost their consistency.

Eventually, the descent opened into a vast antechamber.

At the center stood a massive sealed door—twelve meters high, shaped like a hand pressed into the world itself. Each of its five fingers bore an emblem.

Toni stepped forward and read them aloud.

"Emotion. Sacrifice. Memory. Flame. Blood."

Kaido raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like a party."

"No," Ankit said quietly. "It's a test."

Toni pointed to a pedestal near the gate. A glowing screen hovered above it, flickering.

[Tower Directive: The Vault of Kings]

Only those who carry the legacy of the fallen may proceed.

Five keys. Five hearts. Choose who bears what.

Consequences are irreversible. Rewards… unmeasured.

Vikram grunted. "This again? Tower just loves messing with us."

Ankit stepped toward the pedestal.

"We choose. Together."

The door pulsed. Five circles lit up in front of it, awaiting blood—one for each trait.

They didn't know what would happen, only that whatever awaited them past the gate had once been sealed by a king who gave everything and still failed.

One by one, they stepped forward.

Emotion – Asha. The one who never hid her feelings, even in illusion. She pressed her palm down, and her tears fell silently.

Sacrifice – Riya. The one who walked alone so others could survive. She didn't flinch as the circle bit into her skin.

Memory – Toni. The strategist, the archivist. The one who remembered everything and bore the burden of planning everyone's survival.

Flame – Ankit. Not just for his weapon, but for the rage and warmth he wielded as leader. He placed his palm down with quiet resolve.

Blood – Kaido. The one born in bloodshed, who still chose laughter. He looked at his reflection in the circle's glow, then smirked and pressed his hand.

The vault trembled.

The massive door split down the center with a hiss. Dust and silence poured out, and then light.

Inside, an impossible hall unfolded—columns shaped like swords, walls layered with names that shifted when you stared too long, and above all, a floating crown of starlight.

Toni whispered, "This isn't treasure."

Sana stepped in behind them. "It's inheritance."

Dozens of sealed artifacts hovered inside suspended cages—soul weapons, scrolls, strange fruit wrapped in crystal vines. The air shimmered with barely contained magic.

Ankit approached the center where a console rose from the ground.

[Welcome, Inheritors]

You may each choose one.

What you choose will shape your path.

What you refuse… may come back for you.

No one moved immediately.

Then, Kaido broke the stillness, stepping toward a double-barreled sidearm infused with storm runes.

"This one's mine."

Riya reached out to a set of frost-threaded silk gloves that pulsed with subtle memory trails. "This used to belong to the last Empress," she whispered. "I can feel her sorrow."

Toni examined three different relics, each pulsing in rhythm with his mana. He settled on a crystalline quiver that glowed with echo arrows. "For accuracy. And insight."

Asha didn't hesitate. She chose a mirror-like shard that flowed with illusion and flame. It latched to her back like a second spine.

Then Ankit stepped up to the centerpiece.

His hand hovered above the starlight crown—but he didn't touch it.

Instead, he reached for what floated behind it.

A sword.

Single-bladed. No ornamentation. Simple. Perfectly balanced.

And yet…

It pulsed with a familiar warmth.

Like it had waited for him.

[Soul Weapon Resonance Detected – Talwar Lineage Extension]

Name: Vijra, Flame of the Broken King

Type: Awakening Variant

Compatibility: 98.9%

Status: Unbound – Initiating Soul Sync

Ankit gripped the hilt, and a flood of emotion crashed through him. Not his own—but the emperor's. Rage, grief, hope, surrender.

He withstood it all.

When the flood stopped, the sword dimmed—and became part of him.

The chamber dimmed, and the Tower's voice returned.

[Vault Cleared – Floor Completion Progress: 95%]

Bonus Path Unlocked: Remnant Soul Duel

Optional – Highly Dangerous

Reward: ???

Penalty: Team May Not Intervene

Toni turned immediately. "No. You're not taking it."

"I am," Ankit said.

Kaido growled. "It could kill you."

Ankit turned to all of them.

"You said it yourselves. This place remembers pain. What if the final echo needs someone to bear it… and not break?"

They hesitated.

Then Toni said, "One minute. No more."

Ankit nodded, then walked into the secondary chamber.

Inside stood a silhouette formed entirely from fire and shadow—a shape wearing no crown, but every burden.

It didn't speak.

It simply raised a blade.

Ankit did the same.

And the chamber closed behind them.