A cold wind swept across the Sky Palace.
Morning had arrived, but the golden light did little to ease the tension.
Zayden stood before the giant map of the Layers.
Four stars were now dim.
The number had changed overnight.
Captain Lyra noticed it too.
"Another one..."
The Keeper lowered his eyes.
"The Third Layer."
Silence settled over the room.
No alarms.
No explosions.
Just... another world gone.
Aria clenched her fists.
"We didn't even know they were under attack."
The Keeper answered quietly.
"The Null King doesn't invade."
"He waits."
"By the time anyone notices..."
"The Layer has already begun disappearing."
Zayden looked at the fading map.
"There has to be a pattern."
"There is."
The Keeper touched the glowing crystal.
Silver lines spread across the map, linking one Layer to another.
"They're connected like roots."
A pause.
"The Null King isn't choosing random worlds."
"He's cutting the oldest connections first."
Zayden frowned.
"Why?"
Before the Keeper could answer...
A deep rumble shook the palace.
A guard burst into the chamber.
"Captain!"
"The Archive!"
"The forbidden vault has opened by itself!"
---
Beneath the palace...
A massive stone door stood open.
It hadn't been opened in nearly a thousand years.
Dust floated through the air.
Ancient shelves stretched endlessly into the darkness.
Books.
Scrolls.
Crystals.
Records from countless ages.
Captain Lyra whispered,
"No one has entered this place since the first Guardians."
The Keeper's expression changed.
Almost... nervous.
Zayden noticed.
"You've been here before."
"...Yes."
"And?"
The Keeper looked toward the center of the archive.
"I hoped I would never return."
They walked deeper.
At the heart of the vault stood a single pedestal.
Empty.
Aria frowned.
"Something was here."
"It was."
The Keeper's voice was barely audible.
"The Chronicle of Origins."
"The first record ever written."
Zayden looked around.
"Who took it?"
A calm voice echoed through the hall.
"I did."
Everyone spun around.
A young woman stepped out from between the shelves.
She couldn't have been older than twenty-five.
Long silver hair flowed to her waist.
Golden eyes reflected the archive's light.
She wore a white cloak embroidered with symbols none of them recognized.
Captain Lyra immediately lowered her spear.
"The Archivist..."
The woman inclined her head.
"My name is Elysia."
Her gaze settled on the Keeper.
"It's been a long time."
The Keeper sighed.
"Too long."
Zayden stepped forward.
"You know each other."
"We do."
Elysia smiled sadly.
"We were once partners."
The room fell silent.
Aria blinked.
"You never mentioned that."
"There were many things I never mentioned."
The Keeper didn't deny it.
Elysia looked directly at him.
"You told them about the Null King."
"Yes."
"You told them about the Layers."
"Yes."
She folded her arms.
"But you didn't tell them the most important truth."
Zayden's eyes narrowed.
"What truth?"
Elysia answered before the Keeper could speak.
"The Null King..."
"...was never your enemy."
Silence crashed over the archive.
The Keeper closed his eyes.
As though he had known this moment would come.
Aria looked from one to the other.
"What does that mean?"
Elysia stepped toward the empty pedestal.
"The Null King and the Keeper were created for the same purpose."
A pause.
"They were brothers."
No one moved.
Not even the Keeper.
Elysia continued.
"They were the first two Keepers of the Layers."
"One believed every world should remain free."
"The other believed every world should be protected."
She looked at Zayden.
"They both wanted peace."
"The difference..."
Her voice grew quieter.
"...was the price they were willing to pay."
The Keeper finally spoke.
"I should have told you."
Zayden stared at him.
"You lied."
"No."
A pause.
"I left out the truth."
"There's a difference."
Before anyone could answer...
The entire archive trembled.
A page drifted down from the ceiling.
Old.
Burned around the edges.
It landed at Zayden's feet.
Across the page, written in faded silver ink, were six words:
"Only one Keeper may remain."
The silence that followed felt endless.
---