The lower vaults were not on any map.
Beneath the Academy's shimmering towers — past sealed corridors and forgotten halls — the Inquisitors' sanctum pulsed with a cold blue glow. Rows of runic glass tubes lined the chamber, each filled with flickering light like trapped souls.
High Inquisitor Serath stood before the largest of them — a sphere of ancient machinery fused with bone and crystal. It breathed in slow rhythm, every exhale releasing a faint ember that vanished into the dark.
"The resonance from last night reached here," Serath said, his voice echoing. "Even after centuries of silence."
Sister Maerin adjusted the runes surrounding the core. "It responded to his name, sir. The boy — Kael Verrin. The flame recognizes him."
"Or remembers him," Serath murmured.
The sphere shuddered. A distorted whisper bled through the static — fragmented, yet ancient and alive.
"Vessel… restored…"
Maerin froze. "That… wasn't the machine."
Serath's eyes narrowed. "No," he said softly. "That was the Flame speaking."
He turned, his reflection fractured in the glass. "Activate surveillance. I want eyes on him at all hours. The moment he loses control again…" He paused, listening as the chamber's pulse deepened.
"…the world will know the gods never truly died."
Above them, the sound of the rain's last drops faded into silence.
⸻
Dawn crept across the Academy like a wary ghost.
Mist curled around the courtyard, softening the edges of statues and towers. Kael stood at the window of his dorm, staring out, his reflection pale and faint against the glass. He looked tired — older somehow — though the mark beneath his shirt still glowed with a faint, sleeping warmth.
Behind him, Rynna sat on the edge of the bed, wrapping her arms around herself. Liran leaned against the wall, quiet, while Eren stood by the door, half awake and frowning.
"No one's talking," Eren said finally. "But everyone feels it. The wards flickered three times during morning prayers. Even the instructors looked uneasy."
Rynna glanced at Kael. "They're running luminal checks again. Someone said the Inquisitors came out of the lower vaults before dawn."
Kael didn't answer. His eyes were locked on his reflection. It blinked — a heartbeat slower than him.
And then, just for a moment, the eyes in the reflection burned gold.
He stepped back sharply, breath catching. "They're watching us," he muttered.
Liran frowned. "Who?"
"The Inquisitors. The Flame. I don't know anymore," Kael said quietly. "But something knows."
Eren pushed away from the door. "Then we find out before they do."
Rynna stood, her voice barely above a whisper. "And if they already have?"
Outside, a single orb hovered at the tower's edge — its lens glowing faintly blue.
It shifted once, focusing on the dorm window.
Then, somewhere deep beneath the Academy, the ancient machinery stirred again — and the voice returned, faint but unmistakable:
"The vessel wakes."
The orb dimmed.
And the hunt began.