The darkness beyond the archway was not empty.
As their eyes adjusted to the Deep Archive's entrance chamber, crystalline formations became visible along the walls—not prison cells as Saguna had expected, but something far more ancient. Display cases carved from living shadow, each one containing objects that pulsed with their own inner light.
"A repository," Marius said, his voice carrying reverence despite his corruption. "The most dangerous artifacts of the old sanctuary, sealed away for good reason."
Sahara's singing continued from somewhere deeper in the complex, her voice echoing through passages that led further into the Archive's depths. But Marius had stopped walking, his attention fixed on one particular display case near the chamber's center.
"Before we proceed to your sister," he said, his tone growing more serious, "there's something we need to retrieve. Something essential for her rescue."
