The Memory Vault remained dark.
Only the silver glow of Artyom's ring illuminated the room.
The stranger stood at the entrance.
No one spoke.
Viktor moved slightly closer to Artyom.
"Start talking."
The stranger looked toward the ancient records.
"You've spent your entire life believing the First Family disappeared because they were hunted."
Caelum's expression hardened.
"They were."
"Partly."
The stranger walked toward the center of the vault.
"The truth is far worse."
Artyom stared at him.
"Then tell me."
The stranger looked at him for several seconds.
"The First Family discovered something beneath the Sanctuary."
Dmitri asked, "The prisoner?"
The stranger nodded.
"Not a prisoner."
A pause.
"A weapon."
The room fell silent.
Caelum's expression became grim.
"The First Family never created it."
"No," the stranger replied. "They found it."
He touched one of the ancient tablets.
"It was already here when the Sanctuary was built."
Artyom looked toward the floor.
"How old?"
"Older than every empire you know."
Roman's eyes narrowed.
"And the First Family kept it hidden."
"Yes."
"Why?"
The stranger looked at Artyom.
"Because it responds to your blood."
Artyom froze.
Viktor immediately looked at Caelum.
"You knew?"
Caelum shook his head.
"Not everything."
The stranger continued.
"The First Family discovered that the weapon could only be activated by a complete descendant."
Artyom looked at his silver ring.
"Me."
"Yes."
Silence.
Dmitri studied the ancient records.
"Then Project Origin..."
"Was an attempt to recreate the bloodline."
"And Project Eclipse?"
The stranger's expression became colder.
"An attempt to make sure the original bloodline never returned."
Artyom's thoughts raced.
"So everyone has been fighting over me because they think I'm the key."
"No."
The stranger corrected him.
"You're not the key."
A pause.
"You're the lock."
The words sent a chill through the chamber.
Viktor stepped forward.
"Then what happens if the lock opens?"
The stranger looked toward the floor.
"The thing beneath the Sanctuary wakes completely."
Another tremor passed through the building.
This time, the crystals on the walls flickered.
Dmitri checked his equipment.
"Something is moving."
Nikola looked toward the doorway.
"How long?"
Dmitri stared at the readings.
"Not long."
Artyom looked at Caelum.
"How do I stop it?"
Caelum didn't answer.
Instead, Elara's voice echoed softly through the chamber.
"You don't."
Everyone turned.
Her translucent figure appeared beside Artyom.
"You were never meant to destroy it."
Artyom stared at her.
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
Elara smiled sadly.
"Choose."
The floor beneath Artyom suddenly illuminated.
Three symbols appeared.
A crown.
A broken chain.
And a closed eye.
Elara's voice became softer.
"The Sanctuary is asking you what kind of heir you will become."
Artyom stared at the three symbols.
The crown represented rule.
The broken chain represented freedom.
The closed eye represented silence.
He slowly understood.
The choice wasn't about power.
It was about what he would do with the truth.
Viktor stood beside him.
"Whatever you choose..."
He looked directly at Artyom.
"...choose it because you want it."
Artyom looked down at the glowing symbols.
Then toward the sealed depths beneath the Sanctuary.
For the first time, he didn't feel like an unwanted son.
He felt like someone standing at the beginning of his own story.
And beneath his feet, something ancient answered with another deep rumble.