The chamber fell silent.
Celestine held her ground, her pulse steady despite the storm brewing inside her. Malrik Varos—the Lord Regent of the Council—stood before them, his dark cloak flowing like shadows themselves.
His eyes, sharp and calculating, flickered to the Architect entity at her side. Not with fear. But recognition.
He knew.
He always knew.
Elias exhaled sharply. "Of course, the guy in charge shows up at the worst possible time."
Alistair kept his stance firm. "We don't have time for this."
But Celestine wasn't so sure. Malrik had positioned himself deliberately—blocking their only escape. If he had wanted them dead, he would've sent an entire battalion. Instead, he came alone.
Why?
Malrik studied her for a long moment before speaking.
"You've seen it, haven't you?" His voice was smooth, measured. "The truth beneath the city."
Celestine didn't answer.
Malrik sighed, as if disappointed. "I had hoped you wouldn't follow their path."
He turned slightly, gesturing toward the Architect. "But here you are, standing alongside a relic that should have remained buried."
The entity spoke, its layered voice echoing through the chamber. "You fear the past."
Malrik's expression didn't change. "No. I respect it."
A flick of his wrist, and the very air shifted. Celestine's instincts screamed just before the attack came—
A pulse of raw energy, faster than thought.
She barely dodged, rolling aside as the blast shattered the ground where she stood.
He wasn't just a politician.
Malrik was a warlock.
Alistair lunged, his blade aimed for Malrik's heart. But the Regent moved effortlessly, sidestepping and conjuring a barrier of dark runes.
"You think you can stand against the Council?" Malrik's voice was almost amused. "You are a fragment of something lost. A dying ember."
Celestine's anger flared. She rushed forward, her blade igniting with a pulse of Architect energy. The moment steel met magic, the chamber shook.
Malrik's eyes flickered with surprise. Just for a second.
"You've touched the Architects' power," he murmured. "Interesting."
Elias flanked him from behind, daggers ready. Malrik vanished.
No footsteps. No flicker of movement. Just gone.
Celestine's breath came fast. "Where—?"
Pain.
An invisible force slammed into her chest, sending her crashing against the vault's walls. Alistair and Elias were thrown back just as violently.
Malrik reappeared, his expression calm. "You are not ready for what you seek."
Celestine forced herself up. "Then I'll get ready."
The Architect entity stepped forward. The very ground beneath them trembled, responding to its presence. The runes along its form flared with ancient power.
Malrik exhaled. "So be it."
The chamber collapsed.
Stone and steel broke apart as the vault caved in. Celestine felt herself falling, the weight of gravity pulling her downward.
The last thing she saw was Malrik's cold gaze, watching as the abyss swallowed them whole.