The damaged section of the archive felt colder than the rest of the vault.
Not physically.
The spiritual energy itself had become thinner here, unstable around the fractured formations lining the walls. Several crystal pillars remained dark and inactive while broken inscriptions flickered weakly beneath layers of ancient dust.
The farther they moved into the ruined section-
The quieter the archive became.
Krishak walked ahead silently.
The faint traces of spiritual energy left behind by the unknown intruder still lingered throughout the corridor ahead, though they were gradually fading.
Disciplined.
Controlled.
Ancient.
That feeling bothered him most.
Because modern awakened cultivators did not move like this.
Behind him, Director Rao kept one hand near his weapon constantly while several Bureau operatives scanned the surroundings through portable detection arrays.
None of the devices functioned properly anymore.
Spatial interference from the deeper archive distorted almost everything.
Dev looked at his flickering scanner blankly.
"This machine cost more than my future salary."
The screen immediately shut off completely.
·I want compensation."
"You don't even have a salary yet," Ishita replied calmly.
"That somehow makes this more tragic."
Despite the conversation, tension remained obvious throughout the group.
Everyone understood the same thing now.
They were no longer merely exploring ancient ruins.
Someone else had already entered this place.
And possibly understood it better than modern humanity did.
The hidden corridor gradually narrowed as they advanced deeper underground.
Unlike the main archive, the walls here were rougher, older, almost unfinished in appearance. Ancient support pillars stretched unevenly through the darkness while faded formation marks covered portions of the stone floor.
This part of the ruins predated the archive itself.
Professor Devika brushed her fingers lightly across one of the walls.
"These construction layers are different."
Krishak nodded once.
"The archive was built over something older."
That realization unsettled everyone again.
The corridor eventually opened into a smaller circular chamber.
And immediately-
They saw the damage.
One side of the room had collapsed inward violently, exposing shattered stone and broken formation structures beneath the mountain. Ancient inscriptions across the floor had been forcefully disrupted, leaving deep fractures spreading through the chamber walls.
But that wasn't what drew everyone's attention.
At the center of the room-
A massive stone door stood partially open.
Silence filled the chamber instantly.
Because the door clearly did not belong to the archive systems surrounding it.
Its surface was black instead of silver.
No Stellar Hall inscriptions.
No moon or star symbols.
Instead-
Strange spiral markings covered the ancient stone like twisting roots or flowing rivers.
Completely unfamiliar.
Ananya frowned immediately.
"This architecture is different."
"Yes," Krishak answered quietly.
Very different.
And old.
Far older than the Sealing Era...
The Keeper's projection suddenly flickered violently beside them.
Its normally calm expression shifted for the first time since activation.
"Restricted sector detected."
Its voice became distorted briefly.
"Warning. Archive authority incomplete beyond this boundary.
Director Rao looked sharply toward the projection.
"You didn't mention another structure beneath the archive."
"Data corruption present.
The Keeper's silver form destabilized slightly again.
"Lower historical layers remain inaccessible."
Dev slowly stared at the partially opened black door.
"I deeply dislike every word spoken during the last two minutes."
Nobody argued.
Krishak stepped closer carefully.
Ancient spiritual energy flowed faintly from beyond the doorway.
Not corruption.
Not hostile.
But heavy.
Like something buried for an extremely long time.
Raghav observed the fractured formation lines around the chamber floor.
"The intruder opened this?"
"Most likely," Professor Devika answered quietly.
Her gaze remained fixed on the black stone markings.
"These symbols don't resemble anything from the Stellar Hall records."
That immediately raised another question.
If the archive civilization had built above this place
Then what originally existed here?
The faint pulse beneath the mountains grew stronger suddenly.
One beat.
Then another.
Steady.
Rhythmic.
The entire chamber vibrated lightly with each pulse.
Ananya instinctively stepped back slightly.
"That's not a formation."
No.
It wasn't.
Krishak's expression sharpened subtly.
The energy beyond the black doorway felt ancient in a completely different way than the archive.
The Stellar Hall ruins carried refinement.
Civilization.
Order.
But this
Felt primal.
Suddenly, one of the Bureau operatives near the back of the group spoke nervously.
"Sir..."
Everyone turned immediately.
The operative pointed toward the chamber floor.
Footprints.
Fresh footprints.
Leading directly through the black doorway.
The atmosphere tightened instantly.
Whoever entered the ruins had not left yet.
Or at least
Had gone deeper underground instead.
Director Rao's expression hardened.
"All units prepare for possible contact.
Weapons activated softly throughout the chamber while spiritual energy gathered around the awakened operatives cautiously.
Even Dev stopped speaking entirely now.
Krishak continued staring toward the dark opening beyond the stone doorway.
Something inside was calling spiritual energy toward itself subtly.
Not enough for ordinary detection.
But enough for the Starheart inheritance to notice.
Then suddenly-
A faint sound echoed from deep beyond the doorway.
Not footsteps.
Not combat.
A voice.
Ancient.
Calm.
And speaking in a language no modern human should have understood.
Yet Krishak understood it instantly.
"So.... the stars have finally returned."