The lower levels of the Novaah compound weren't on any blueprint.
No stairs led there. No doors. Just memory—and a choice to follow it.
Skyler stood before the western wall of the main library. It pulsed faintly now, like a heartbeat trapped behind stone. Three flame-glyphs on his skin shimmered in resonance.
"It's a recall-locked barrier," Orias said, stepping forward. "Only a bloodline memory strong enough can open it."
Skyler didn't answer. He simply placed his hand on the wall.
A low hum filled the chamber. Then—a hiss. Stone melted into shadow. The wall peeled away like ash in reverse, revealing a spiral staircase descending into flickering, violet light.
"This chamber hasn't been opened in nine thousand years," Saya whispered.
"It predates even the Book."
As they stepped downward, the light dimmed. The air grew heavy, rich with forgotten power. Skyler's flame pulsed against the darkness—flickering in time with his heartbeat.
They reached a vast, circular chamber. Dust hung like stars in the air. Books floated lazily above a pit of black fire. The walls were covered in shelves—some upside down, some sideways—etched with glyphs that pulsed as if alive.
In the center of the chamber:
A mirror.
But not just any mirror.
A Blood Archive Conduit. A living fragment of memoryspace.
It shimmered with a thousand versions of Skyler—older, younger, twisted, divine, broken, reborn. All flickering in and out, watching him as he approached.
A voice echoed through the room—not spoken aloud, but etched in the very air:
"To remember is to burn. To awaken is to fracture. To witness is to risk becoming the flame."
Skyler stepped toward the mirror.
And it reacted.
Visions assaulted him:
A young Aeria, carving runes into the bones of gods
Orias whispering to flame-spirits in the dead tongue
The original Archive collapsing as Witnesses were hunted
The Novaah Line reduced again and again… until only four remained
"This chamber holds the suppressed memories of our ancestors," Orias said softly. "The ones too dangerous to keep in the Book."
Skyler turned to him, hand trembling. "Then why bring me here?"
"Because to break the Third Seal," Orias replied, "you need to remember something no Novaah has dared recall since the First Collapse."
He handed Skyler an ancient flame-blade—cold to the touch, but vibrating with internal heat.
"This was your first weapon. Before your name was Skyler. Before you forgot what you were."
Skyler grasped it—and the glyphs on his arms lit up like constellations.
The black fire surged.
The chamber groaned.
And the mirror began to speak back.
"You are not Skyler Novaah."
"You are the memory of Veritas, sealed inside flesh."
"The flame is ready. Break the Seal. Reclaim the Forgotten Flame."
And as the Third Seal flared in his chest, Skyler saw himself…
Burning.
Remembering.
Becoming.