The pressure seal didn’t just hiss; it roared with the sound of a thousand dying stars. The obsidian walls of the spire groaned under the weight of the Mediterranean, the structural integrity of the Vathek buckling as the Architect’s desperate sabotage began to pull the ocean into the chamber.
Giulia stood in the center of the chaos, the blade of white light vibrating in her hand. The light was so intense it began to cauterize the salt air, creating a halo of ozone around her. She looked at the Architect, her brother, whose face was now a frantic mask of ego and terror. Then she looked at Matteo, who stood perfectly still amidst the rising flood, his eyes anchored on hers.
"The ledger doesn't close because you're afraid, Luca!" Giulia’s voice rose above the screaming vents.
The ancient
