The observatory's silence pressed in until Kael broke it with a frustrated sigh.
"So what, we just wait for this thing to consume him?" he snapped, jerking his thumb at Rayan.
Liora shook her head. "No. We find the one who came before him."
Kael frowned. "You just said there were other Vessels. Where's this one now?"
"Dead," Liora said bluntly. "But they left something behind."
Rayan's throat tightened. "A warning?"
"Maybe," she said. "Or maybe… a way out."
She led them out of the tower and down a side corridor that Rayan didn't recognize. It was narrow, dimly lit, and ended at what looked like a wall of stone. Liora pressed her palm to a particular brick, murmuring a phrase too quiet for them to catch.
The wall shifted. Stones rearranged themselves with a low grinding sound, revealing a dark archway.
Inside, dust lay thick over everything — old desks, broken shelves, parchment curling with age. And in the far corner, a trunk sat chained shut with runes glowing faintly blue.
"This was her room," Liora said softly. "The last Vessel. Her name was Eryndra."
Kael ran his hand over the desk. "This place hasn't been touched in years."
Liora nodded. "The Headmaster ordered it sealed after she… disappeared. No one was supposed to find it."
Rayan approached the trunk. "Can we open it?"
"Not easily," Liora warned. "These wards will tear apart anyone who doesn't have the key."
Kael smirked. "Lucky for us, I'm good at breaking rules."
Rayan shot him a nervous look. "And magical death traps?"
"Working on it," Kael said, crouching beside the trunk. His hands moved with careful precision over the glowing runes. For a few minutes, the only sound was the faint crackle of magic.
Finally, there was a sharp click. The chains fell away, and the trunk creaked open.
Inside, under folded cloth and brittle papers, lay a single leather-bound journal. The cover was worn, the clasp broken.
Rayan picked it up and opened to the first page.
The handwriting was sharp, deliberate:
To the one who comes after me — if you are reading this, then the Bound One has chosen again.
Rayan's hands tightened on the journal.
Kael leaned over his shoulder. "Looks like you've got some bedtime reading."
Liora's gaze stayed on Rayan. "Be careful. If Eryndra's fate is any clue… the answers in that book may not be the kind you want."