The chamber was quiet, their bodies still entangled in the fading warmth of what they had just shared. For a fleeting moment, time stood still.
Then the Vault began to hum.
It started low—like a breath drawn from the earth itself. The ancient runes etched into the walls flickered to life, their pale glow deepening into shades of gold and crimson. The pulse of the Vault, once dormant, now surged in response to the connection forged between them.
Liara stirred, her skin tingling as if touched by invisible hands. The air had shifted. It was no longer just warm—it crackled with magic, dense and alive. Her body trembled as the energy brushed against her spine like a whisper from something beyond.
Cassian rose on one elbow, eyes narrowed. "What did we wake up?"
Aeron sat up slowly, his bare chest streaked with soft light from the runes. "Not what," he said, voice thick with realization. "Who."
The center of the chamber glowed. The floor, smooth as glass, split open with a soft groan—revealing an ancient sigil beneath, one that pulsed in time with their hearts. The Vault had responded not just to Liara, but to the three of them together.
It recognized their bond.
Symbols spiraled outward, connecting the place where they lay with the pedestal at the center. The orb atop it floated upward—hovering mid-air like it was weightless—and then flared with light.
Liara gasped. A thread of that same light curled out, wrapping around her wrist. Another reached for Cassian's chest, and another for Aeron's heart.
None of them pulled away.
Instead, they felt it. A rush of understanding, of memory—flashes of a story not yet fully known.
A key was not just a person.
It was a trio.
Three souls bound not by blood or prophecy, but by choice, trust, and love.
The Vault had been waiting for them.
Liara stood, her body still bare but glowing faintly, illuminated by the ancient energy. She took Aeron's hand in one, Cassian's in the other.
"I think this was meant to happen," she whispered.
Cassian raised a brow, smirking slightly. "Saving the world through sex. I like this version of destiny."
Aeron exhaled slowly, but even he couldn't hide the glint in his eyes. "It's not the act," he said, his voice steady, "it's the bond. The Vault responds to unity… not power."
The orb spun faster now, the air lifting strands of Liara's hair as the light intensified.
And then—it stopped.
With a blinding flash, the light exploded outward in a ring that passed through them harmlessly but cracked the outer shell of the Vault.
A doorway formed. One that had not been there before.
A path forward, hidden until now.
Liara met their eyes. "We opened something…"
Cassian nodded. "And I think it's time we find out what's inside."