The ancient Sentinels knelt in complete silence.
Golden spears lowered.
Armored heads bowed.
And at the center of the ruined street stood Luke, frozen in confusion as the pendant around his neck burned brighter than ever before.
"The Blood of Dawn…"
The words echoed through the sanctuary like forgotten prophecy.
Lucien immediately stepped closer to his son, sword still drawn. His infernal flames flickered violently around him as he stared at the kneeling guardians suspiciously.
"What does that mean?" he demanded.
The lead Sentinel slowly raised its head. Behind the cracked helmet, ancient white light flickered like dying stars.
"You carry her resonance," the Sentinel answered. "The Daughter of Dawn."
Luke's heart skipped painfully.
"Mum…" he whispered.
The Sentinels lowered themselves even further.
"The sanctuary remembers Celestia."
Silence followed instantly.
Even the Father of All looked stunned by those words.
Luke tightened his grip around the pendant unconsciously.
"She was really here…"
The Spirit Guide's silver eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Not merely here, it murmured internally. She may have been chosen by the sanctuary itself.
The lead Sentinel slowly rose back to its feet. Its movements sounded ancient and heavy, like forgotten machinery waking after endless sleep.
"For ages we waited for the resonance to return," it said. "We believed all heirs had perished with the architects."
Luke frowned slightly.
"Heirs?"
The Sentinels exchanged silent glances.
Then the leader spoke words that shook everyone present.
"Before the First Balance fell… there existed guardians born directly from the Heart of Creation itself."
The Father of All's expression darkened immediately.
"The Dawnblood lineage…"
The Sentinel nodded once.
"They were the first keepers of Balance."
Luke looked between them anxiously.
"What does that have to do with me?"
The ancient guardian stared directly at him.
"Everything."
The pendant suddenly pulsed again.
WHOOM.
Golden light spread across the street violently as ancient symbols awakened beneath Luke's feet. The sanctuary itself seemed to hum around him now.
He then saw another vision.
A younger Celestia stood within the sanctuary long ago.
Luke's breath caught immediately.
This vision felt clearer than the others. More real.
She walked through the same golden streets smiling softly while ancient Sentinels bowed respectfully as she passed. The pendant rested around her neck exactly as it did now around Luke's.
"She really came here…" Luke whispered.
The vision continued.
Celestia eventually entered a massive crystal chamber deep within the sanctuary where a colossal door covered in living golden runes stood waiting.
The Heart Chamber.
Luke instinctively knew it immediately.
In the vision, Celestia placed her hand against the door gently.
The entire sanctuary responded to her touch.
Then an ancient voice echoed from beyond the sealed chamber:
The child of Balance shall return.
Luke's eyes widened.
Celestia looked frightened.
Not for herself.
For him.
"She knew…" Luke whispered shakily.
The vision shifted again.
Luke saw Celestia speaking with the Sentinels urgently. Ancient maps floated around them while primordial shadows moved across the skies outside the sanctuary.
"The Primordials will awaken again," Celestia said. "And when they do… my son must never face them alone."
Luke's throat tightened painfully.
Even now… even back then… she had been thinking about him.
The vision slowly faded.
Luke staggered slightly as reality returned. Lucien immediately steadied him.
"Easy."
Luke looked up at him, shaken.
"She came here before I was born."
The Father of All closed his eyes heavily.
"So Celestia truly discovered the sanctuary during the war…"
The Spirit Guide looked unusually thoughtful now.
Which means she likely learned truths none of us ever knew.
The lead Sentinel stepped aside slowly.
"The Heart Chamber awaits the heir."
The massive streets around them trembled softly.
Far ahead, beyond the glowing towers and rivers of light, a colossal crystal structure began illuminating beneath the eternal sunrise.
Luke stared at it in awe.
The Heart Chamber.
Even from this distance, he could feel something calling him from inside it.
Warm. Ancient. Familiar.
But then the sanctuary suddenly shook violently.
The golden skies flickered unnaturally.
Every Sentinel immediately turned toward the horizon.
The Spirit Guide's wings spread sharply.
No…
Darkness had appeared beyond the outer edges of the sanctuary.
Not ordinary darkness.
Primordial corruption.
And it was spreading rapidly.
One of the Sentinels stepped forward urgently.
"The Devourer has found the sanctuary."
Lucien cursed instantly.
"How is that possible?"
The lead Sentinel looked toward Luke grimly.
"The Heart awakened when the heir arrived."
Luke's eyes widened slowly.
"And Vaelthoros followed the resonance."
As if responding to those words, the eternal sunrise above the sanctuary dimmed slightly for the first time in ages.
Massive shadows moved beyond the floating towers.
Ancient screams echoed through distant ruins.
The Primordial was approaching.
The Sentinels raised their glowing spears immediately.
"The sanctuary will hold the outer corruption as long as possible."
The lead Sentinel looked directly at Luke now.
"But the heir must reach the Heart Chamber before the Devourer breaches the city."
Lucien stepped protectively beside his son, infernal flames roaring around him.
"Then we move."
Far beyond the sanctuary walls…
Vaelthoros watched the glowing city with thousands of hollow eyes.
And deep within the darkness of its monstrous form…
It sensed something it had hunted since the age before creation.
The Heart of Creation had awakened.