Chapter 15: The Sealed Archive
The strange whisper still echoed in Evan’s mind.
Find the beginning.
He stood before the sealed doorway beneath the Arclight Archive.
Kaela, Ronan, Liora, and the archivist stood behind him.
The four elemental symbols carved into the door had stopped glowing, but Evan could still feel a faint trace of mana coming from them.
He studied the ancient seal.
“How long has this door been sealed?”
The archivist folded his arms.
“Long before I became an archivist.”
“Who sealed it?”
“We don’t know.”
Evan frowned.
“You don’t know who created it, who sealed it, or what’s inside?”
The archivist shook his head.
“That’s why it has been called the Sealed Archive.”
Ronan examined the doorway.
“Then how did Elias know about it?”
The archivist paused.
“We don’t know that either.”
Evan sighed.
“Everything about Elias leads to another question.”
Kaela smiled.
“At least we’re getting closer.”
Evan glanced at her.
“You’re surprisingly optimistic.”
“Someone has to be.”
Evan couldn’t help smiling.
The archivist approached the wall beside the doorway.
“There may be another way to open it.”
He pressed several stones in a particular sequence.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
A faint click came from inside the wall.
A small compartment opened.
Inside was an ancient metal key.
Evan stared.
“That was hidden there?”
“Yes.”
The archivist carefully removed it.
“The records say this key belonged to Elias.”
Evan stepped closer.
“Then why hasn’t anyone used it?”
The archivist looked at the key.
“Because no one knew where it belonged.”
He inserted it into the lock.
Click.
The key turned.
A deep sound echoed through the chamber.
The four symbols on the door began to glow.
The flame burned brightly.
The water symbol shimmered.
Lightning flashed across its shape.
The dark crescent seemed to absorb the light around it.
Then the ancient door slowly opened.
A wave of cold air rushed into the chamber.
Evan’s Fourfold mark immediately reacted.
Kaela moved closer.
“Stay close.”
Evan nodded.
Together, they stepped inside.
The room beyond was smaller than Evan expected.
There were no treasures.
No weapons.
No magical artifacts displayed on pedestals.
Only books.
Hundreds of them.
Dust covered almost every shelf.
Liora looked around in amazement.
The archivist carefully examined the shelves.
“At least several decades.”
Evan walked toward a table in the center of the room.
A single book rested there.
Unlike everything else, it was completely clean.
Evan stopped.
“Someone has been here.”
Ronan immediately drew his sword.
“Everyone stay alert.”
Kaela scanned the room.
“Could it be the person who left the message?”
“Maybe,” Evan said.
He approached the book.
There was no title on its cover.
Only the Fourfold symbol.
Evan slowly reached for it.
The moment his fingers touched the cover, his mark began to glow.
The book opened by itself.
One page turned.
Then another.
Finally, it stopped.
At the top of the page was a name.
Elias Veyr.
Evan’s breathing slowed.
He began reading.
The first entry described Elias’s arrival in the World of Unknown.
He had appeared near a World Gate.
He knew nothing about the world.
He didn’t understand his powers.
He didn’t know why he had been brought there.
He had been frightened and confused.
Evan stared at the page.
“He was just like me.”
Kaela stood beside him.
“Then maybe you’re not alone.”
Evan continued reading.
Elias eventually learned to control the four elements.
He traveled across different kingdoms.
He studied the World Gates.
He searched for their origin.
Then he discovered something that changed everything.
Evan turned the page.
The next section had been badly damaged.
Only a few words remained.
THE GATES WERE NOT CREATED BY HUMANS.
Evan froze.
Ronan leaned closer.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
Evan carefully examined the damaged page.
Another sentence was partially readable.
THEY WERE BUILT TO CONTAIN SOMETHING BEYOND…
The rest of the sentence had been torn away.
Liora frowned.
“Contain something?”
The archivist’s expression became uneasy.
“Keep reading.”
Evan turned the page.
Another message appeared.
But this writing was different.
IF ANOTHER FOURFOLD TRAVELER FINDS THIS RECORD, DO NOT TRUST THE GATES.
Evan stared at the sentence.
Kaela looked at him.
“Why would Elias say that?”
“I don’t know.”
Evan turned another page.
Nothing.
Another.
Still nothing.
The final page was completely blank.
Four faint lines appeared across the paper.
They spread outward and formed an image.
A map.
Evan stared.
“It activated.”
The map showed several locations throughout the World of Unknown.
One was marked with the same star-shaped symbol Evan had seen beneath the seal.
Another location had a name written beside it.
Veyr Mountain.
Evan looked at Ronan.
“Do you know this place?”
Ronan’s expression changed.
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
“North of Arclight.”
Kaela stepped closer.
“What’s there?”
Ronan hesitated.
“An abandoned fortress.”
Evan looked back at the map.
“An abandoned fortress?”
“According to the surviving records, it once belonged to Elias.”
Silence filled the room.
Evan slowly closed the book.
“Then that’s where we’re going.”
The archivist immediately shook his head.
“Not yet.”
Evan looked at him.
“Why?”
The archivist pointed toward another part of the map.
“The map doesn’t only show Veyr Mountain.”
A small symbol had appeared near the northern border.
Four shapes resembling eyes.
The archivist’s expression became serious.
“That symbol belongs to the Voidborn.”
Kaela frowned.
“So they’re there too?”
“We don’t know.”
Evan looked between the map and the symbol.
Their next destination was becoming clear.
But something still bothered him.
Someone had entered this sealed room before them.
Someone had cleaned the book.
Someone had left it on the table.
And whoever had done it knew Evan would eventually find it.
Evan looked toward the doorway.
“Someone wanted me to find this.”
Kaela nodded.
“Which means they probably want you to go to Veyr Mountain.”
Ronan lowered his sword.
“And if it’s a trap?”
Evan looked at the map.
Then he smiled slightly.
“Then we’ll find out who’s waiting.”
Far above the city, a figure stood on the roof of the Archive.
They watched Evan and the others leave the underground chamber.
The figure held a small piece of black cloth.
The same Fourfold symbol was embroidered across it.
A quiet voice whispered,
“The Second has found Elias’s path.”
The figure turned.
A moment later, they disappeared into the shadows.
Far beyond Arclight, somewhere beneath the mountains, an ancient door slowly opened.
For the first time in decades.
Cold air escaped from the darkness beyond it.
Something inside moved.
Something that had been waiting.
And now, it knew the Second Fourfold Traveler had found the trail.