Chapter 5: The Vault Beneath Blackridge
Chapter 5: The Vault Beneath Blackridge
The voice faded.
Its echo lingered beneath the mountain.
No one moved.
Even the Blood Wolf lowered its head.
The ancient doorway continued rising until it stood nearly twenty feet above the fractured courtyard.
Silver runes pulsed across its surface.
They glowed in rhythm with Aria's heartbeat.
She couldn't explain how she knew.
She simply felt it.
The iron key in her hand grew warm.
Selene stepped closer.
"Only a member of House Vale can open it."
The masked commander raised his hand.
"Then we take her alive."
Every soldier wearing the Crimson Eclipse crest advanced at once.
Their footsteps were perfectly synchronized.
Kael forced himself to his feet.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
He lifted his sword again.
"You'll go through me first."
The masked commander chuckled.
"You still think this battle is about your territory."
"It isn't."
"It never was."
His words unsettled everyone.
The Blackridge elders exchanged worried glances.
"What is he talking about?" one whispered.
Selene answered without looking away from the enemy.
"Blackridge was only the hiding place."
"The Vault was always the true prize."
Another explosion shook the valley.
This time it came from behind the Crimson Eclipse forces.
A scout raced toward the battlefield.
He slid to one knee before the masked commander.
"My lord."
"More armies are approaching."
The commander's eyes narrowed.
"So soon?"
The scout nodded.
"They carry no banners."
"They're moving too fast to identify."
For the first time that night, uncertainty crossed the commander's face.
Aria noticed.
Whoever was coming frightened him.
The Moonblade suddenly flared with brilliant silver light.
A beam shot toward the massive doorway.
The iron key trembled violently.
Without thinking, Aria lifted it.
The key floated from her hand.
It crossed the courtyard on its own.
Every eye followed it.
The key slipped into a hidden keyhole that had not existed seconds earlier.
A loud metallic click echoed through the mountain.
The runes blazed like stars.
The ancient doors slowly parted.
A rush of cold air poured from the darkness below.
It carried a scent unlike anything anyone had ever known.
Not wolf.
Not human.
Older.
Stronger.
A wide stone staircase descended into the earth.
Crystal lanterns lining the walls ignited one by one without a single flame.
The passage illuminated itself.
Lydia stared into the opening.
"There are treasures down there."
"There is history," Selene corrected.
"And secrets powerful enough to start another war."
The masked commander pointed his sword.
"Go."
Two Crimson Eclipse soldiers hurried down the stairs.
They disappeared into the darkness.
Seconds later...
A scream echoed upward.
Then another.
The sound ended abruptly.
Silence returned.
Neither soldier came back.
No one dared breathe.
"What happened?" one elder whispered.
No answer came.
Instead, slow footsteps echoed from deep inside the Vault.
One.
Then another.
A lone figure emerged from the shadows.
He wore weathered silver armor scarred by countless battles.
His long cloak dragged across the stone steps.
His hair was white.
His face carried the weight of many lifetimes.
He stopped before the doorway.
His sharp gray eyes swept across the battlefield.
They paused on Aria.
He smiled.
"I was beginning to think no one would ever come."
The masked commander immediately stepped backward.
"Impossible."
"You died centuries ago."
The old warrior laughed quietly.
"So the stories say."
He drew a magnificent silver spear.
Its blade shimmered beneath the moonlight.
"I've simply been waiting."
He turned toward Aria.
When he spoke again, his voice was gentle.
"You have your mother's eyes."
"And your father's courage."
Aria's heart skipped.
"You knew my father?"
"I trained him."
The old warrior rested the spear against his shoulder.
"He was the finest Guardian I ever had."
Aria took an instinctive step forward.
"Is he alive?"
The old warrior's expression darkened.
"I don't know."
"But I know who betrayed him."
Before Aria could ask another question, the masked commander suddenly shouted.
"Kill the Guardian!"
Every Crimson Eclipse warrior charged.
The old man did not flinch.
He simply struck the butt of his spear against the stone.
A wave of silver light burst across the courtyard.
Weapons shattered.
Armor cracked.
The Blood Wolf was hurled backward as though struck by an invisible giant.
The entire battlefield froze.
The Guardian looked at Aria one last time.
"The Vault has awakened."
"So has your destiny."
"But destiny always demands a price."
As if answering his warning, the moon above Blackridge slowly changed color.
Its pale silver glow faded.
Within moments, it turned a deep, haunting crimson.
Every wolf present felt the same terrifying realization.
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The Blood Moon had risen.
And with it, an ancient prophecy had begun.
