The trio returned to the small, secluded safe house in Riverton, but the unease from the disappearing texts followed them like a shadow. Even the books and manuscripts they had left behind in the house were suffering the same fate—their pages blank, as though the ink had never been there.
Evelyn sat at the table, surrounded by the remnants of the knowledge they had fought so hard to collect. The texts were meaningless now, the words gone, and with them, the last connection to the ancient civilization that had nearly destroyed itself through its attempts to control The Source.
"It's like trying to hold water in your hands," Marcus muttered, pacing back and forth. "No matter what we do, it's slipping away."
Claire, who had been sitting silently, suddenly perked up, her eyes narrowing as a thought crossed her mind. "Wait," she said softly. "There's something we haven't considered."
Evelyn looked at her, hope flickering in her chest. "What is it?"
Claire hesitated for a moment before standing and moving toward the bookshelf in the corner of the room. There, tucked between two larger volumes, was a small, unassuming book—one that they hadn't paid much attention to during their earlier searches. It was worn and battered, its leather cover cracked with age, but as Claire pulled it out and opened it, her eyes lit up with recognition.
"This book," she said, her voice trembling with excitement. "It's written in a different language. One we didn't focus on before because it wasn't relevant to The Source."
Evelyn and Marcus moved closer, peering at the pages of the small book. The symbols inside were unlike anything they had seen before—curved lines and intricate patterns that seemed to flow together like a river of ancient script. It was beautiful, but entirely unreadable.
"What language is this?" Marcus asked, frowning.
Claire shook her head. "I don't know. But something about it feels… familiar."
Evelyn studied the symbols, her mind racing. It didn't match any of the texts they had seen in the Lost City or the manuscripts they had recovered from the Library of Secrets. This was something different—something older, perhaps even more ancient than the civilization that had created the vault.
"Maybe this is the missing piece," Evelyn said quietly, her fingers brushing over the symbols. "The reason everything is disappearing. We've been looking at the wrong puzzle all along."
Claire's eyes widened as she flipped through the pages, her excitement growing. "This book—it predates everything we've found so far. It might even be older than the Lost City itself."
Marcus raised an eyebrow. "How is that possible? What does it mean?"
"It means," Claire said, her voice steady, "that the knowledge we've been relying on was only part of the story. This language, whatever it is, holds the answers we've been missing."
Evelyn's heart raced as she took the book from Claire, flipping through the pages with growing urgency. "If we can decipher this, we might be able to understand why everything is vanishing. Maybe it's tied to something even deeper than The Source—something that's been hidden for centuries."
"But how do we read it?" Marcus asked, his voice tense. "We don't have the tools to translate this."
Claire's brow furrowed as she considered their options. "There's only one person I know who might be able to help."
Evelyn looked at her, hope flickering in her chest. "Who?"
"The archivist," Claire said. "In the capital city. He's an expert in ancient languages and relics. If anyone can help us decipher this, it's him."
Marcus frowned. "The capital is days away. Are you sure we have time?"
Claire nodded. "If we don't figure this out, we could lose everything. The knowledge, the history, the truth—it's all fading, and we're running out of time."
Evelyn's mind raced. The capital city was far, and they were vulnerable. The Arcane Order might still be hunting them, and Lucian was out there somewhere, licking his wounds and plotting his next move. But if this book held the answers they needed, they couldn't afford to wait.
"We leave at first light," Evelyn said, her voice filled with determination. "We need to get to the archivist before it's too late."
________________________________________
The journey to the capital was grueling, and every step of the way, the sense of urgency grew stronger. Evelyn, Marcus, and Claire traveled day and night, barely stopping to rest, knowing that time was slipping away. The disappearing texts had only been the beginning. Now, they could feel it—reality itself was unraveling. The more they moved away from the vault and the relic, the more fragmented their memories became, as if the world was trying to erase their very existence.
By the time they reached the capital city, they were exhausted, but they wasted no time. The archivist's office was tucked away in a forgotten corner of the city, hidden among the maze of narrow streets and old buildings. When they finally found it, the door was slightly ajar, and the smell of old parchment and dust filled the air.
Inside, the archivist was a frail, elderly man with sharp eyes that belied his age. He greeted them with a curious smile, his gaze lingering on the worn book in Claire's hands.
"I see you've found something… remarkable," the archivist said, his voice soft and knowing.
Claire stepped forward, holding the book out to him. "We need your help. This language—do you recognize it?"
The archivist took the book from her, his eyes scanning the symbols with a mixture of awe and reverence. "This language," he whispered, "is older than anything I've ever seen. It's the language of the first civilization—the one that existed before all others. The one that discovered The Source."
Evelyn's heart pounded. "Can you read it?"
The archivist nodded slowly. "I can. But be warned—what you seek may not be what you expect."
As the archivist began to translate the ancient text, Evelyn, Marcus, and Claire waited in tense silence. The room seemed to hum with energy, the air thick with anticipation. They were on the cusp of uncovering the truth, the final piece of the puzzle that had eluded them for so long.
When the archivist finished, he looked up, his expression grave.
"This language tells the story of a time before time itself," he said quietly. "A time when the first civilization discovered The Source and realized its true power. But they did not seek to control it. They sought to hide it, to protect the world from its influence."
Evelyn's breath caught in her throat. "Hide it?"
The archivist nodded. "The disappearing texts, the fading knowledge—it's all part of the plan. The first civilization knew that anyone who learned of The Source's power would be tempted to use it. So they created a safeguard. If The Source was ever sealed, the knowledge of it would vanish from the world, erasing the temptation to seek it out."
Claire's eyes widened in disbelief. "But we've already learned so much. Does that mean everything will disappear? Will we forget it all?"
The archivist's gaze softened. "Not everything. Some memories, some truths, will remain. But the knowledge of The Source, the texts, the relics—they will fade, leaving behind only whispers and legends."
Evelyn's heart sank as she realized the full extent of what was happening. They had sealed The Source, but in doing so, they had triggered the final safeguard—a safeguard that would erase everything they had fought to uncover.
"But we can stop it, right?" Marcus asked, his voice filled with urgency. "There has to be a way to hold onto what we've learned."
The archivist shook his head sadly. "Once the process has begun, there is no stopping it. The knowledge will fade, and soon, it will be as though none of this ever happened."
Evelyn felt a pang of sadness, but also a sense of closure. They had done what needed to be done. The Source was sealed, and the world was safe. Even if the knowledge of their journey disappeared, even if the pages vanished, they had succeeded.
And that was enough.
As they left the archivist's office and stepped out into the bustling streets of the capital, Evelyn looked at Marcus and Claire, a bittersweet smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
"We may not remember all the details," she said softly, "but we'll always know that we did the right thing."
Claire nodded, her expression filled with a quiet resolve. "And that's what matters."
Together, they walked into the future, knowing that their story—though forgotten by the world—would live on in the choices they had made.