Chapter 98: The Inner Sanctum and the Mirrors of the Past
The massive stone doors of the Inner Sanctum stood before them, engraved with runes that hadn't been seen by mortal eyes for over a millennium. The air here was different—it didn't just feel cold; it felt heavy with the weight of forgotten history. Every breath was a struggle, as if the oxygen itself was being squeezed out by the sheer density of the ancient mana lingering in the hall.
Von (Volt) stepped toward the doors, his hand pulsing with a violet rhythm that matched the glowing runes on the stone. He didn't need a key. He didn't need a spell. He simply placed his palm against the cold surface, and the mountain itself seemed to recognize its master. With a groan that sounded like the earth splitting apart, the doors slowly swung inward, revealing a chamber filled with a soft, ethereal blue light.
"Whoa..." Aki breathed, stepping past Von into the chamber. "I thought there would be more gold. You know, piles of coins, maybe a few diamond-encrusted statues? But this... this looks like a library for ghosts."
The "Inner Sanctum" was a vast, circular hall filled with thousands of floating shards of crystal, each one glowing with a different memory. In the center of the room stood a throne made of dark obsidian, identical to the one Von had seen in the spectral vision earlier. Behind the throne was a massive mirror, but it didn't reflect the room. It reflected a world that no longer existed—a city of black marble and silver towers, flying under a sky of permanent twilight.
Rena walked toward one of the floating shards, her fingers trembling. "These aren't just crystals. They're soul-records. This is the entire history of the Fallen Kingdom, preserved in light." She looked at Von, her eyes filled with a mixture of awe and fear. "The Academy tells us this place was a dungeon where you kept your victims. But this... this is a sanctuary."
Von ignored the throne and walked directly to the mirror. As he stood before it, his reflection didn't show the young student he had become. It showed a man in obsidian armor, his wings unfurled, his eyes burning with a fire that could consume worlds.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Main Quest Update. Reach the Inner Sanctum: Complete. Synchronization with 'Ancestral Memories' beginning. Warning: High risk of personality overlap. Do you wish to continue?]
"Continue," Von whispered.
Suddenly, the room was filled with the sound of a thousand voices. Memories began to flood Von's mind—the smell of the first rain in the Twilight City, the sound of the celestial trumpets signaling the start of the Great Betrayal, and the feeling of the spear of light piercing his chest as he fell toward the earth.
Sai stood guard at the entrance, his shield ready, though there were no enemies in sight. "Something is coming. The mana in this room is shifting from blue to red. Aki, stop touching things!"
Aki, who was trying to poke one of the floating memory shards, jumped back. "I was just checking if they were edible! You never know with ancient magic." But then he saw Von. "Uh, guys? Look at Von. He's starting to... glow? And not the 'heroic' kind of glow. More like the 'I'm about to explode' kind."
Von's body was indeed radiating a dark, violent energy. The mark on his hand had spread up his arm, forming intricate black tattoos that looked like weeping shadows. [ALERT: Synchronization at 90%. Accessing Skill: 'Abyssal Overload'. Warning: Physical vessel at 95% capacity.]
"Von! Stop it!" Rena cried, running toward him. "If you take in any more of that energy, your soul will burn out! You aren't that king anymore, you're a person now!"
Von turned to her, and for a second, his eyes were no longer crimson, but a deep, sorrowful gold. "I have to remember, Rena. If I don't remember, the gods have already won."
Just then, the mirror behind the throne shattered. A figure made of pure, blinding white light stepped through the shards. It was a projection of a Celestial Judge, much like the one that had defeated Von a thousand years ago. "The error has returned to the source," the figure spoke, its voice cold and mechanical. "The sanctuary must be purged."
The floating memory shards began to turn red, then black. The sanctuary was being overwritten by a celestial self-destruct sequence.
"Purge this?" Von growled, his voice dropping into a register that made the entire mountain vibrate. He drew the Void Reaper, and the blade absorbed every memory shard in the room, turning from a sword into a scythe of pure darkness. "This is my home. And you are trespassing."
[SYSTEM ALERT: Hidden Quest Triggered: Defeat the Celestial Projection. Reward: Full Restoration of the 'Crown of Eternal Night'. Success Rate: 12%. Failure: Permanent Erasure.]
Aki looked at the Celestial Judge, then at Von's scythe, then at the exits which were now sealed by white light. "Well... at least it's not a sewer," he muttered, drawing his daggers. "Let's kill a god, shall we?"