The voice faded.
The Hall of Faces fell silent once more, but its presence lingered in the air like the final note of a forgotten song.
Uriel remained on one knee, his breathing uneven.
Fragments of memory still drifted through his mind.
Master Arcturus.
The Hall.
The Mask.
Kaelen's frightened eyes.
None of it felt like a dream anymore.
It felt real.
Painfully real.
A sharp clang of steel pulled him back to the present.
Captain Darius staggered backward beneath Voren's relentless assault, his shield splitting down the center. Ellis rushed to intercept, his sword locking against the giant's greatsword just long enough for Darius to regain his footing.
"Commander!" Darius shouted.
"We're losing ground!"
Veyra glanced toward the battle before looking back at Uriel.
"Can you stand?"
He nodded.
"I have to."
Using his sword for support, he rose slowly.
The Keeper's Mask no longer burned.
Instead...
It felt strangely calm.
As though it had been waiting for him to remember.
Voren saw him standing.
"So..."
"You've seen it."
Uriel met his gaze.
"The Hall."
"The ceremony."
"The oath."
For the first time since they had met, Voren lowered his weapon.
A weary smile crossed his scarred face.
"I was hoping your memories would stay buried."
"Why?"
"Because remembering changes everything."
Another assassin lunged toward Uriel.
Before the blade reached him, one of the ancient guardians stepped between them.
Its stone fist crushed the assassin's chestplate with a single strike.
The guardian turned its glowing eyes toward Uriel.
"The* Keeper must *endure."
The remaining guardians answered together.
"The* Oath *remains."
Their voices echoed through the Vault, causing the dragon emblem beneath the floor to shimmer with golden light.
Maera stared in amazement.
"They're drawing strength from you."
"I don't know how."
"You don't need to."
She pointed toward the Hall of Faces.
"You awakened something."
Another tremor shook the Vault.
This one was stronger.
Cracks raced across the ceiling.
Ancient books tumbled from towering shelves.
One shelf collapsed entirely, spilling hundreds of scrolls onto the marble floor.
Among them lay a single black scroll tied with crimson thread.
It rolled to Maera's feet.
She hesitated before picking it up.
The seal had already broken.
She slowly unrolled the ancient parchment.
Her eyes widened.
"No..."
Veyra noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
Maera struggled to speak.
"This..."
"This is the First Oath."
Uriel turned toward her.
"The oath the elders spoke about?"
She nodded.
"The original words."
Captain Darius fought off another Black Blade while shouting across the chamber.
"Read it later!"
"We've got company!"
More assassins poured through the shattered entrance.
Their numbers seemed endless.
The soldiers tightened their formation.
Ellis moved beside Garron.
Tovin planted his spear at the narrow passage leading to the Hall, refusing to yield an inch.
Lyra loosed arrow after arrow from the upper gallery, each shot buying precious seconds.
Despite their exhaustion...
They held.
Maera looked from the scroll to Uriel.
"I think..."
"I think you should hear this."
Uriel nodded.
She began reading aloud.
> "When darkness rises beyond the reach of kings..."
> "When fire consumes both the guilty and the innocent..."
> "One shall bear the Face that remembers."
> "One shall surrender his name so the world may keep its own."
Her voice faltered.
She continued.
> "He shall be feared by those he protects..."
> "Hunted by those he once loved..."
> "And forgotten by history until the Wheel turns once more."
Silence settled across the Vault.
Even the battle seemed distant.
Uriel stared at the floor.
"Surrender his name..."
Maera slowly lowered the scroll.
"The Keepers weren't remembered."
"They chose to disappear."
Captain Darius finally forced an assassin back and shouted,
"So the world forgot its heroes?"
Maera nodded sadly.
"That was the price."
Voren closed his eyes.
"You see now."
"This was never a blessing."
"It was a sentence."
Uriel looked toward him.
"You know far more than you're telling us."
Voren laughed quietly.
"I've spent my entire life studying the Keepers."
"My father before me."
"And his father before him."
He rested his greatsword against the marble.
"I don't fight you because I hate you."
"I fight you because history always repeats itself."
Veyra narrowed her eyes.
"What does that mean?"
"It means..."
Voren looked directly at Uriel.
"...every age ends with a Keeper."
Another violent tremor interrupted him.
The dragon emblem beneath the floor cracked.
Golden light burst through the fracture.
The Hall of Faces responded instantly.
The twelve carved masks surrounding the archway began glowing one after another.
The Keeper's Mask pulsed.
Then another memory struck.
Not a vision.
A voice.
Soft.
Ancient.
Filled with sorrow.
"Remember* your *promise."
Uriel gripped his head.
The words echoed endlessly.
"Remember."
"Remember."
Suddenly—
He saw it.
Not clearly.
Only a single moment.
A younger Uriel standing beneath the ash trees with Kaelen and Veyra.
The three of them pressing their hands together.
Swearing an oath beneath the setting sun.
Then the memory vanished.
Uriel lowered his hand slowly.
"I made another promise."
Veyra stepped closer.
"What promise?"
"I can't remember."
"But it wasn't to the Keepers."
"It was to Kaelen."
At the mention of his name, Voren's expression hardened.
"You should pray you never remember the rest."
Captain Darius didn't give him another chance to speak.
With a roar, he charged.
Their weapons collided once again.
The Vault shook violently.
This time, the tremor didn't come from above.
It came from below.
The marble floor split open.
A massive crack tore across the dragon emblem.
From the darkness beneath...
A blinding pillar of crimson light erupted toward the ceiling.
Every guardian froze.
Their golden eyes turned toward the abyss.
Together, they spoke.
"The* First Gate has *opened."
The crimson pillar slowly began taking shape.
Not into a man.
Not into a beast.
Into a towering silhouette wrapped in living fire.
No face.
No features.
Only burning eyes.
The temperature within the Vault dropped instantly.
The figure raised one arm.
Every Black Blade fell to one knee.
Even Voren lowered his head.
His voice was barely audible.
"The Warden..."
The burning figure looked only at Uriel.
Then it spoke.
"Keeper ..."
"Do you remember why you were chosen?"