The floor shattered
Not from spell or strike
From the altar
Echo's clones ripped through the masked figures
Bones flew
Sigils burned out
The second altar cracked in half
Kyren screamed
But not from pain
From loss of control
The crystal cores above froze mid-spin
Then dropped like rain
Each one hit the floor
And broke
Releasing fragments of memory
Magic
Soul
The tower lights died
Azel reached Kyren and clashed blades
Sparks lit the dark
Kyren's eyes glowed red now
His blade was blackglass
Forged from forbidden core ore
You think you've won
Kyren hissed
This tower is just a lock
Break it and you break the gate
Azel locked blades with him
Then I'll break the whole system
Echo fell to one knee again
His shadow trembled
Something below called to him
Not a voice
A pulse
It echoed with his name
Sera reached his side
Echo
What's under us
He didn't answer
He just stood
Walked to the edge of the shattered altar
And dropped through the hole
Azel ducked under Kyren's slash and followed
Sera leapt in after
They fell
But not through air
Through time
The tunnel beneath the tower wasn't built by the academy
It was older
Walls pulsed with ancient script
Lanterns lit without flame
At the bottom
A gate waited
Massive
Circular
Covered in carvings of beasts long forgotten
The pulse came from within
Echo stepped forward
The gate responded
It opened slightly
Mist poured out
And a whisper
Not language
But meaning
Welcome back
Azel's blade pulsed
Sera flinched
Something inside the gate knew them
Or versions of them
Kyren dropped behind them battered bleeding
Still alive
Still smiling
You fools
You just opened the true path
Now nothing can stop what comes
Echo turned
Eyes glowing silver now
Then we walk it first
Behind the gate
A stairway waited
Not down
Not up
Sideways
Reality twisted
And they stepped through
Into the forgotten layer of the academy
The place erased from maps
Where the first Sovereigns were born