Two Hours Later…
The Flame Archives were deeper than expected—spiral staircases descending past heat-insulated walls, their bricks thrumming faintly with suppressed magic. Mana veins crisscrossed like arteries beneath the glassy floor. Every few steps, he passed a glyph—some for preservation, some for warding, others completely alien.
Elder Varesh met him at the gate. The old Dragonkin bowed stiffly, then pressed a scaled hand against the sigil-lock. The doors parted with a hiss of heated vapor.
Inside was a chamber unlike anything Ethan had seen.
Floating scrolls. Suspended crystals. Flame-imbued orbs that rotated midair around ancient tomes. A massive circular mural filled the back wall—depicting a primordial dragon wrapped around a labyrinth that coiled like an endless serpent.
Varesh watched as Ethan stepped forward.
