⋱⌘⋰ Lore Scrap ⋱⌘⋰
"The vault does not keep secrets. It collects those who try."
⋯⋱⧉⋰⋯
The grief-knot hadn't stopped humming. Even when sealed. Even when hidden beneath a lead-lined rune basin. It pulsed faintly — like it still remembered the name it wanted. Eira hadn't told Cael. Instead, she followed the pull. Back through the corridors, past the last indexed glyph. Past the chalk lines and whispered warnings. To the Vault. It stood where it always had — veiled in chains, humming with locked memory. But this time, it opened. The pendant at her neck pulsed hot. The runes peeled back like petals, slow and deliberate. The chains unhooked themselves. Cael was behind her. Silent. Watching. He should have stopped her. He didn't. The air beyond the door was colder. Not with wind, but with presence. A hush so complete it felt like forgetting. Eira stepped through. The Vault was vast. Circular. Layered in shadow and iron-shelved memory. Books, scrolls, fragments of thought — all unstable, all faintly glowing. These were the names the Library had refused to forget. And in the centre, on a cracked obsidian pedestal, sat a locket. Her mother's. It shouldn't have been here. She reached for it. The moment her fingers brushed the chain, the whisper struck. Not sound — sensation. A scream that wasn't voiced. A name that wanted to be spoken. Julian. The whisper shot through her. Past. Memory. Ink. She staggered, dropped to her knees, clutched the locket. "It's a decoy," Cael said, stepping forward. "A memory shard. Bait." "Why?" Her voice was hoarse. "To lure you here." Lights flared across the Vault. Not flame. Not magic. Whispers. They were waking. The Vault didn't just store memory. It consumed it. Cael moved quickly, drawing a ward in the air. The symbols resisted. Ink hissed. "We need to go," he said. But Eira had turned. A single shelf stood open. And on it — a book. Bleeding. Her name was written on the spine. "That's not possible," Cael said sharply. "It knows me," she whispered. The book snapped open. The Vault roared. And the door slammed shut.
⋯⋱⧉⋰⋯ To be continued…
⸻ ❖ Archive Fragment ❖ ⸻ Some vaults don't lock to keep you out. They lock to keep you in.
⋱◈⋰ End Chapter ⋱◈⋰