The heavy silence that followed Elizabeth’s declaration hung like a curtain over the chamber. Her voice still echoed faintly off the ancient stone walls, the words binding her and everyone else in the vault to a future now shaped by her decision to guard the Crown of Echoes, not wield it.
A shiver ran through the air. The torches flickered as if the castle itself exhaled.
Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment, steadying herself. The Crown sat within the circle of ancient sigils, glinting faintly under the torchlight, its surface too perfect, too polished. Its presence was oppressive a reminder of the countless lives it could command if it ever slipped into the wrong hands.
"We can't stay here long," Finn said, breaking the hush. His voice was low but urgent. "Others must have felt the
