Chapter Thirty-Four – The Cipher of Kael (2025)

Hours passed. Or perhaps it was moments—time had lost meaning in the underground sanctum. Liam paced the edge of the pool where the portrait had vanished, while Rajan examined the carvings in the stone.

Then a low mechanical whir filled the room.

The floor shifted beneath them. A hidden panel cracked open and from it rose a pedestal, holding an object wrapped in crimson silk.

The Voice Beneath the Water gestured silently. Liam stepped forward and removed the cloth.

It was a book.

But not any book. Bound in scaled leather with a lock of obsidian and thorns. No title. No markings. Only a single emblem burned into its cover—a flame spiraling around an eye.

"What is this?" Rajan asked.

"The Cipher of Kael," the Voice said. "His thoughts, his fears, his truths... all written in a language only he understood."

Liam opened it. The pages shifted on their own, fluttering wildly before stopping on a page that shimmered in violet ink. It showed a drawing—Kael kneeling in front of a tomb marked with his own name. Around it, shadows loomed—some with wings, some with chains.

There were words beneath it:

"To hide a kingdom, bury it in myth. To protect a truth, veil it in madness."

The moment Liam read the line, a sudden pulse of energy knocked him back.

"Are you alright?" Rajan ran to him.

Liam sat up, dazed. "I saw... something. Kael's voice, but... not his. Like it was echoing through someone else's mouth."

The Voice's tone darkened. "You are drawing closer to him. But Kael is not just a man or a memory. He is a cipher himself. Unravel him, and you risk unraveling everything."

A wall cracked behind them, revealing a spiral staircase leading upward—lit not by torches, but by glowing symbols.

The Voice turned away. "Follow the cipher. But remember... not every truth wants to be known."

Liam and Rajan exchanged a look, then stepped into the next path of riddles, shadows, and uncertain salvation.

To be continued...