The bells had stopped.
The silence that followed felt unnatural.
Artyom stared at the Sanctuary map.
The red mark representing the Memory Vault pulsed steadily.
"They're inside."
Dmitri nodded.
"Yes."
Roman turned toward Caelum.
"How do we reach it?"
Caelum looked toward the stranger who had betrayed them.
"There's only one direct route."
The stranger smiled.
"And I know it."
Nikola immediately moved toward him.
"Then you're coming with us."
The stranger raised an eyebrow.
"You trust me?"
"No."
Nikola's expression remained unreadable.
"That's why you're coming."
Mikhail gave a quiet laugh.
"Fair."
They left the Chamber of Sovereigns.
Viktor remained beside Artyom as they moved through the ancient corridors.
The Sanctuary had changed.
Lights that had remained dormant for centuries were now glowing.
Doors were opening and closing on their own.
The entire city seemed to be responding to the invasion.
Artyom looked at the silver ring on his finger.
"Why does it feel like the Sanctuary knows something I don't?"
Viktor glanced at him.
"Because it probably does."
Artyom gave him a look.
"That isn't reassuring."
"I wasn't trying to reassure you."
A faint smile crossed Artyom's face.
For a moment, the tension eased.
Then they reached the Memory Vault.
The enormous doors were already open.
Dmitri stopped.
"They got here before us."
Roman's expression hardened.
"Then we're too late."
Caelum shook his head.
"No."
He stared into the darkness beyond the doors.
"They haven't taken the records."
"Why?"
"Because the vault won't allow anyone except the rightful heir to access the original archive."
Artyom stepped forward.
The moment he entered, hundreds of crystal tablets illuminated around him.
Names appeared.
Dates.
Bloodlines.
Ancient treaties.
Wars.
Everything the First Family had recorded for generations.
Then one tablet began glowing brighter than the others.
Artyom approached it.
A single name appeared.
ELARA VESPER
His breath caught.
"My mother."
The tablet opened.
A projection appeared.
Elara stood inside the memory, younger than the image they had seen before.
She looked directly at Artyom.
"If you're seeing this, then the Sanctuary has recognized you."
Artyom stood completely still.
Elara continued.
"There is something I could never tell you while I was alive."
The room became silent.
"I wasn't forced to leave you."
Artyom's eyes widened.
Everyone behind him went still.
"I chose to leave."
Artyom's face fell.
Then Elara continued.
"Because staying would have placed you in greater danger."
A second image appeared.
Sergei.
Andrei.
Elara.
Three figures standing together.
Dmitri stared at the recording.
"Sergei knew her?"
Caelum looked troubled.
"Apparently."
Artyom couldn't look away.
Elara's voice continued.
"Your father was not the only person who protected you."
The recording changed.
A document appeared.
PROJECT ORIGIN: SUBJECT AR-01
Artyom's expression hardened.
His own designation.
Then another name appeared beneath it.
AUTHORIZED PROTECTOR: ANDREI MOROZOV
Silence.
And suddenly...
Artyom understood.
Andrei hadn't simply been watching him.
He had been protecting him from the beginning.
But why?
Before anyone could speak, another file opened automatically.
Its title was different.
PROJECT ECLIPSE: ORIGINAL PURPOSE
Dmitri stepped closer.
"This is what they were looking for."
The document opened.
The first line appeared.
PROJECT ECLIPSE WAS CREATED TO PREVENT THE RETURN OF THE FIRST FAMILY.
Roman's eyes narrowed.
"But they're trying to capture Artyom."
Caelum shook his head.
"That's not the complete record."
The next line appeared.
THE FIRST FAMILY WAS NEVER THE THREAT.
A pause.
Then:
THE THREAT WAS WHAT THE FIRST FAMILY WAS CONTAINING.
Artyom stared at the words.
The same prisoner beneath the Sanctuary.
The same presence they had sensed earlier.
Everything was connected.
Viktor stepped closer.
"Then what is beneath this place?"
The final page began loading.
But before it could open—
The entire vault went dark.
A voice echoed from somewhere behind them.
"You're finally asking the right question."
Everyone turned.
A figure stood at the entrance.
The stranger who had betrayed the First Family smiled faintly.
"Now you'll learn why the Sanctuary was built in the first place."