Chapter 108: Chapter 103: The Heralds of the Void(2)
The chamber shook as another wave of corrupted guardians surged from the surrounding corridors.
John did not hesitate.
"Hold the line!"
His command rang across the battlefield.
The dwarves responded immediately, locking their shields together into a solid wall. Ancient runes flared across the metal, forming a shimmering barrier just as the first guardian crashed into it.
**BOOM!**
The impact drove the front line back several steps, boots grinding against the crystal floor.
"Again!" Thargrum roared.
Axes rose and fell in perfect rhythm. Crystal limbs shattered beneath the relentless barrage, but for every guardian that fell, another emerged from the darkness.
"They’re endless!" one of the scholars cried.
"No," Aerion replied, cutting down a construct with a single silver arc. "They’re being called."
His gaze shifted toward the black corruption spreading through the chamber.
"As long as that corruption remains, they’ll keep coming."
John followed his line of sight.
The darkness wasn’t merely staining the crystal.
It was growing.
Thin tendrils crept through ancient runes, extinguishing their golden light one after another.
The Heart Beneath watched in silence.
Its immense eyes remained calm despite the corruption inching closer.
"Dragon," the ancient voice echoed within John’s mind alone.
John instinctively looked toward the abyss.
"I can hear you."
"The corruption seeks the Archive’s Heart."
John frowned.
"I thought you were the Heart."
A pause followed.
Then the colossal being answered.
"I am its guardian."
"The Heart... lies deeper still."
John’s pupils narrowed.
There was another secret beneath the Eternal Archive.
One even the expedition had not imagined.
Before he could ask another question, a sharp whistle cut through the battlefield.
"Lad!"
Thargrum pointed toward the eastern corridor.
"They’re breaking through!"
A massive corrupted guardian burst from the passage, dwarfing the others. Four crystal arms protruded from its torso, each wielding a different weapon.
Its crimson eyes fixed upon the wounded gathered behind the dwarven line.
John’s wings exploded outward.
"I’ll take it!"
Dark mana gathered around his claws as he launched into the air.
The guardian met him head-on.
Their collision shook the chamber.
Crystal and darkness erupted together.
The construct swung all four weapons in rapid succession.
John twisted through the barrage, one blade grazing the scales along his shoulder.
Pain flared.
He ignored it.
His tail whipped around, striking the guardian’s side with enough force to crack its armor.
The construct stumbled.
John seized the opening.
"Abyssal Rend!"
His claws carved deep across its chest.
Black energy surged into the fractures, spreading like lightning.
The guardian convulsed before collapsing into fragments.
Cheers erupted from the dwarven line.
But they were short-lived.
Another roar echoed through the corridors.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Lythriel landed beside John, breathing heavily.
"I’ve counted at least five more elites."
She forced a grin.
"And I was hoping today would be relaxing."
John chuckled despite himself.
"You have strange ideas of relaxation."
Before she could answer, Sylvara’s voice rang out.
"John!"
He turned.
She was kneeling beside one of the glowing pillars, her hands pressed against ancient inscriptions.
"They’re not decorations."
"What?"
"They’re conduits."
Her eyes widened as mana flowed through the runes.
"The entire Archive is one enormous magical formation."
Aerion joined them, his sword still humming with silver light.
"What kind of formation?"
Sylvara swallowed.
"I think..."
She hesitated.
"I think this place isn’t just storing knowledge."
"It’s storing power."
The words settled over the group like a heavy curtain.
John looked toward the abyss.
Toward the Heart Beneath.
Toward the endless golden light rising from below.
"So this tower..."
"...has been feeding the seal all this time."
The ancient guardian slowly closed its eyes.
"You understand."
Its voice carried a hint of approval.
"The knowledge preserved here was never its greatest treasure."
"The true purpose of the Archive..."
"...was to ensure the seal endured."
John’s thoughts raced.
Every floor they had crossed.
Every library.
Every magical vault.
Every impossible mechanism.
None of it had been built merely to preserve history.
The knowledge itself had been part of the seal.
Every inscription carried mana.
Every spell engraved into the crystal strengthened the prison below.
The Eternal Archive had never simply been a library.
It had been the lock.
A distant explosion interrupted the conversation.
Cassian’s laughter echoed from somewhere beyond the battlefield.
"So you’ve figured it out."
His voice seemed to come from every corridor at once.
"It hardly matters now."
"The seal has already begun to fail."
John’s claws tightened.
"Where is he?"
Aerion closed his eyes, extending his senses.
His silver aura spread through the chamber like rippling water.
Moments passed.
When he opened his eyes again, his expression darkened.
"He’s gone."
"Gone?"
"He isn’t among the guardians."
Silence fell.
Cassian had vanished.
Which meant the battle in the chamber had been nothing more than a distraction.
John’s gaze drifted toward a narrow staircase descending along the edge of the abyss.
Fresh footprints marked the crystal dust.
Leading downward.
Straight toward the hidden depths beneath the Eternal Archive.
"He wasn’t trying to defeat us," John said quietly.
"He was buying time."
Aerion nodded grimly.
"And now he’s heading for the true Heart."
The realization settled over everyone.
Every corrupted guardian.
Every ambush.
Every delay.
Everything had been orchestrated to keep them occupied while Cassian descended alone.
Thargrum slammed his axe into the ground.
"That snake!"
Crystal dust leaped into the air.
"I should’ve crushed him the first time we met."
John looked toward his companions.
The decision came instantly.
"Aerion, Lythriel, Sylvara—you come with me."
He turned to Thargrum.
"Can you hold this chamber?"
The dwarf king rested his axe upon his shoulder and grinned.
"We’ve held mountain passes against armies ten times this size."
He drove the axe into the crystal floor.
"A few corrupted constructs won’t break dwarven resolve."
The surrounding warriors answered with a thunderous roar that echoed throughout the enormous chamber.
"For the King!"
"For the Archive!"
"For the mountains!"
The sound alone was enough to shake the crystal walls.
John smiled.
Even after countless battles...
Even after witnessing horrors beyond imagination...
The courage of the dwarves never failed to inspire him.
He walked toward Thargrum and extended his forearm.
The dwarf king grasped it firmly.
"No dying while I’m gone."
Thargrum laughed.
"That’s my line, lad."
"If you keep throwing yourself at monsters bigger than castles, I’ll run out of insults."
A rare smile appeared on Aerion’s usually stoic face.
Lythriel rolled her eyes.
"You two really choose strange moments for jokes."
"They’re old warriors," Sylvara replied softly.
"They know laughter keeps fear away."
For a brief moment...
The battlefield grew strangely peaceful.
The sounds of combat seemed distant.
John looked back toward the gigantic guardian.
The Heart Beneath had reopened its enormous eyes.
Golden light reflected within them like countless stars.
"Dragon."
"I know."
"The path below will test more than your strength."
John frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"The Heart judges all who approach."
"It remembers."
"It sees."
"It reveals."
John exchanged a glance with Aerion.
"Sounds unpleasant."
The guardian’s deep voice echoed once more.
"Truth often is."
Without another word, the colossal being returned its attention to maintaining the seal.
Golden streams of energy continued flowing from its body into the depths below.
Yet John noticed something unsettling.
The streams were weaker than before.
Several had become tainted by thin streaks of black corruption.
Each passing second allowed the darkness to spread farther.
There wasn’t much time left.
John took a slow breath.
"Let’s move."
He spread his wings.
With a powerful leap, he crossed the broken battlefield and landed upon the ancient staircase.
The crystal steps spiraled downward along the wall of the endless abyss.
No railing protected them.
Only darkness stretched below.
Aerion landed beside him almost silently.
Lythriel followed with effortless agility, while Sylvara floated down using gentle currents of wind magic.
The instant the four stepped onto the staircase...
The runes beneath their feet ignited.
Golden symbols awakened one after another, stretching endlessly into the darkness below.
"They’re responding to us," Sylvara whispered.
"No."
Aerion knelt briefly, brushing his fingers against the glowing inscriptions.
"They’re recognizing him."
He looked toward John.
"The Archive knows you’re a dragon."
John stared at the runes beneath his boots.
Some resembled dragons with outstretched wings.
Others depicted ancient beings chained beneath mountains.
Several symbols looked disturbingly similar to the mysterious emblem that had appeared on his chest after touching the Archive earlier.
None of them had been there before.
Or perhaps...
They had remained dormant until now.
Lythriel glanced over the edge of the staircase.
"I still can’t see the bottom."
John looked down as well.
The abyss swallowed even his enhanced draconic vision.
Only faint pulses of golden light flickered somewhere far below.
Like stars hidden beneath an endless ocean.
A cold breeze rose from the darkness.
It carried whispers.
Thousands of them.
Ancient voices speaking in forgotten languages.
Fragments of prayers.
Broken oaths.
Names long erased from history.
Sylvara shivered.
"Do you hear them?"
John nodded slowly.
"I do."
"They aren’t hostile."
"They’re... remembering."
No one truly understood what that meant.
But everyone felt it.
The Eternal Archive itself had awakened.
And deep below...
Something ancient waited for them.
Something older than kingdoms.
Older than dragons.
Older than history itself.
Without speaking another word, the four continued their descent into the unknown, while far above them the thunder of battle echoed relentlessly through the Eternal Archive, growing fainter with every step they took toward the hidden Heart that lay beneath the world.
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