She was gone. Marinette had vanished into the shadows of the cave, leaving behind only the faint heat signature of her passage. Lucian stared into the darkness where she'd been, gripping the Emberfang tightly.
Jace ran up, panting. "She's gone, isn't she?" Lucian nodded once. "She led them here, then ran. I knew she was still one of them."
"No," Lucian said slowly. "She knew we were going to lose this fight. She ran for a reason."
"What reason could justify what she's done?"
"Maybe to stop something worse." Lucian frowned
They didn't have time to argue.Shochers poured into the outer ring of the cave. Kia triggered a pulse trap that collapsed the entrance, buying them precious minutes.
"We need to reach the tomb now," Lucian said."The Vault isn't even open yet" Rhen started.
"I don't care. We have to seal it before it does." They moved fast, deeper into the underground. Roots grew denser. The light dimmed. The walls turned to black stone laced with silver veins. At the base of a spiral descent, they reached a huge stone door carved with Solvahr sigils. Lucian placed his hand on the seal. It glowed red, then gold.
The door slid open. And the Tomb of Kings lay before them.
It wasn't just a tomb, it was a cathedral with massive pillars stretched upward, touching a ceiling painted with celestial constellations. Coffins of gold and darksteel lined the hall, each marked with the name of a dead Solvahr ruler. And in the center stood a glass dome, pulsing faintly with a lock.
"The Vault," Rhen whispered. Jace walked around it. "This whole place was built to bury it." Lucian stepped forward the Emberfang was burning hot in his palm. "It's waking up," he said quietly. Suddenly, a wind blew through the tomb though nothing had moved. And then Lucian heard it again.
A voice very loud almost bursting his ear drums. "Heir of Ash. Do you accept your purpose?"ucian staggered back. "Did anyone else hear that?!" But the others shook their heads.
Kia looked worried. "Lucian… what did it say?" Lucian didn't answer because deep in his mind, the voice continued. "Break the lock, and I'll give you everything. Power. Memory. Revenge." "Refuse… and I will still rise, I'm already in you anyway"
"Seal it now," Rhen said. Lucian raised the Emberfang ready to drive it through the Vault's core.
But then,the Vault pulsed and Marinette appeared from the shadows. She looked different. Her eyes glowed faintly. Her veins shimmered silver.
"Don't," she said softly. Lucian froze. "What did you do?" "I found another way in. A backdoor to the Vault's memory bank. It showed me things."
"What things?"She stepped closer, voice shaking. "Your mother lied."
Lucian's jaw clenched. "Don't."
"She tried to seal Vel'Kar… but she didn't defeat him. She merged with him." Everyone stared. "What?" Jace asked, stunned. "Lucian," Marinette said, eyes bright, "You're not just his vessel. You're her legacy." Lucian shook his head. "You're lying."
"She is the Vault. She became it. The only way to destroy it is to destroy her." Lucian's heart twisted. "No. That's not true."
Then, everything exploded. A Shocher blast blew open the upper tomb gates. Dozens of soldiers poured in led by Director Veyne himself.
He was tall. Armored. Calm.
He raised his gloved hand toward Lucian. "Thank you for unlocking the path." Rhen threw a charge at him but he deflected it with a flick of his wrist. Lucian raised his blade but Veyne didn't flinch. "Don't bother," Veyne said. "You've already done your part. The Vault is awake. And the blood of Solvahr has broken the final seal." The glass cracked. Light burst upward and from it, a shadow began to form.
Vel'Kar!
The others screamed. Kia jumped in front of Lucian, shielding him.Rhen tried to throw another pulse grenade but it flew backward, sucked into the swirling energy. Jace lunged at Veyne and was thrown into a wall.
And Lucian…he stood frozen. "You were born to open me," the voice said.
"Now become what you were always meant to be."
But something happened then. Kia turned and his body flickered not like holograms. Like… he wasn't fully human. His eyes glowed pale blue. His skin shimmered. Lucian stared. "What are you?"
Kia hesitated. Then he said " well,as you can see I'm not from this world."
"What?" "I was left here. Long ago. A fail-safe. A watcher in case the Vault ever woke." Jace groaned. "You knew this would happen?!"
"I knew something like it," Kia said. "But I didn't think he would wake this fast." Lucian grabbed him. "Can you stop it?" Kia looked at him sad. "Not alone."
Marinette stepped forward. "We can seal it. But it'll cost you." Lucian's breath shook. "What do you mean?"You have to give up the Emberfang." Lucian blinked. "What?"
"It's linked to your blood, your soul. That's what Vel'Kar needs."
"If you cast it into the Vault — you will never have power again. Never be king. Never avenge your people."
"Never be anything but ordinary."
Time slowed Lucian's mind swirled with voices past and present. His mother's words. Vel'Kar's whispers. The promises of legacy. And the pain of everything he'd lost.
Then he turned to Kia. "Will it stop him?"Kia nodded. Lucian looked at Marinette. "Will you come with me?" She looked at him and nodded. Then Lucian took a deep breath. Walked to the Vault's edge and cast the Emberfang inside.
A flashand then a scream, more like a screech.The Vault shook, the glass shattered and light exploded in all directions. And Vel'Kar's voice roared "No!"
Then silence unfolds quite eerie but serene.
When Lucian opened his eyes, the Vault was gone.Collapsed into dust, the tomb was empty. Veyne had vanished. So had the Shochers.Only the four of them remained.Lucian ,Kia , Jace ,Rhen.
Marinette stood at the back of the chamber, her eyes dimmed. Whatever power had touched her was fading now. Lucian stepped toward her. "You okay?"
She nodded slowly. "It's over." Lucian looked down at his hands.The Emberfang was gone and so were the markings on his right hand.
And for the first time in a long time,he felt free.