Zach paused the tape. "Orihime wasn't just some girl. She was the reason Grandpa built Vault One."
"And hid Vault Two," Ava said softly. "He loved her. Enough to bury her memory in codes and glitter bombs."
Shen pulled the scroll from Vault Two out of his coat pocket, scanning it again. "Vault Three is a moment—'when the truth is known and nothing is left to lose.' That's emotional nonsense, not science!"
"Grandpa was a ballroom-dancing, locket-wearing enigma," Ava replied. "Emotional nonsense was his native language."
Zach stood, his voice quieter. "There's more."
He opened the locket and pulled out a faded note, folded so tightly it was nearly a cube. Unfolding it revealed looping cursive:
> Zachary,
You'll understand when you find her. But understand this first: love doesn't break you—
It buries you alive so you can grow roots.
And Ava, darling—don't look for clarity. Look for courage.
Shen... try not to get arrested.
—L.S.
