The passage beckoned.
It breathed cool air, ancient, untouched, laced with minerals and memory. Kael stepped to the edge and peered into the rift. The violet light within shimmered like distant stars caught in stone.
Elira stood behind him, twins swaddled tightly in her arms. "We're meant to follow it."
Kael nodded. "It's not a trap."
"No," she agreed. "It's a door."
They descended slowly.
The path spiraled downward, etched with symbols neither of them recognized but both could feel. Each step buzzed beneath their feet like something aware of their presence.
The air grew denser. Heavier. But not hostile.
A chamber opened at the base, vast, round, its walls glimmering with veins of crystal. At the center, a raised platform of obsidian-like stone pulsed with violet light.
Kael approached, his limbs moving of their own accord.
The twins stirred.
The light responded.
Lines of runes awakened around the platform, encircling the stone with slow, measured energy.
Elira stepped forward. "This isn't just a place."
Kael's eyes were wide. "It's a memory. A remnant."
He placed his hand on the platform.
And the room answered.
Not in voice.
But in vision.
And the story that had been buried in the earth for eons rose to meet them.