The Vault door responded to the reforged bond with a deep, resonant chime, and began to open—not with force, but reverence, like an altar accepting an offering.
Light flooded outward, cool and silver, and yet pulsing with a heat that vibrated in their bones.
Inside was not a prison.
It was a sanctuary.
At the center of a vast hollow chamber floated a crystal—massive, fractured, and bleeding energy. Black veins of corrupted magic pulsed through it, like a heart struggling to beat.
Kael stepped toward it.
"This is the origin," he whispered. "The place where it all began."
Cassian's eyes narrowed. "That crystal… it's alive."
Aeron's magic flared instinctively. "What is it?"
Kael didn't answer right away. His expression was unreadable.
Liara stepped beside him. "Kael?"
He turned slowly—and for the first time, they saw something ancient in his gaze. Something inhuman.
"It's me," he said quietly. "Or rather… it was."
Thousands of years ago, Kael had not been born—but created.
Forged as a vessel.
A container for an ancient force that predated kingdoms and gods. A living seal designed to hold back the collapse of worlds. The crystal was what remained of his first form—before he tore his own soul apart to anchor the Vault.
"The Trinity Bond wasn't just forged to stop a force. It was created to keep me stable," Kael said, voice tight. "To divide the burden of this power across three souls."
He turned to Liara, Aeron, and Cassian.
"That's why you were born. Why you were drawn together. Not just to love. But to bind me."
Liara's breath caught. "You knew all along?"
Kael's voice broke. "I remembered… only when the Bond began to fray. That's why I ran. Why I disappeared. Because if the Vault failed—I would fail. And this force... would consume me again."
The crystal pulsed, and the chamber shuddered.
A fracture split through its core.
"It's waking," Kael said, eyes glowing now—too bright. "And I don't know if even the reforged Bond is strong enough to contain it."
Aeron moved beside him. "Then we don't contain it."
Cassian stepped to Kael's other side. "We channel it."
Liara placed a hand over Kael's heart. "We don't let you carry it alone this time."
Kael closed his eyes. For the first time in centuries… he didn't feel alone.
The Vault, once a cage, now pulsed like a heart ready to beat again.
But what it would become… would depend on what they chose next.