NOVEL NEXT Chapter 123: The Flame Archives
Two Hours Later…
The Flame Archives were deeper than expected—spiral staircases descending past heat-insulated walls, their bricks thrumming faintly with suppressed magic. Mana veins crisscrossed like arteries beneath the glassy floor. Every few steps, he passed a glyph—some for preservation, some for warding, others completely alien.
Elder Varesh met him at the gate. The old Dragonkin bowed stiffly, then pressed a scaled hand against the sigil-lock. The doors parted with a hiss of heated vapor.
Inside was a chamber unlike anything Ethan had seen.
Floating scrolls. Suspended crystals. Flame-imbued orbs that rotated midair around ancient tomes. A massive circular mural filled the back wall—depicting a primordial dragon wrapped around a labyrinth that coiled like an endless serpent.
Varesh watched as Ethan stepped forward.
"These archives hold records of all sanctum encounters known to Vorsha," the elder said. "You'll find the names of fallen strongholds… sanctums that vanished… and those few that rose to dominance."
Ethan's eyes scanned the mural. His fingers touched the edge of the etched Labyrinth.
"Has anyone ever claimed all the sanctums?"
Varesh gave a dry chuckle. "Only fools and gods try. So far, neither has succeeded."
Ethan turned, expression unreadable.
"We'll see."
---
Later That Night...
The Sanctum buzzed quietly under moonlight. Ethan sat on the edge of the spire's landing platform, Kaeryx beside him, wings stretched lazily over the horizon. From here, he could see Grosh'ka faintly glowing in the far south, a tiny beacon of green in the vastness of the Labyrinth.
David approached, holding a wrapped parchment.
"Compiled report," he said. "Our people found four sealed vaults—one's dragon-specific, another is a sealed soul chamber. We'll need Kaeryx's help opening the first. And… there's more."
He hesitated.
Ethan raised a brow. "What?"
David exhaled. "The scouts. They found something strange—old carvings near the northern ledge. It speaks of a convergence… something called The Throne Reforged."
Ethan's gaze sharpened.
David handed him the parchment. "It's fragmented, but there's mention of 'when five flames are claimed, the sixth shall rise.' We don't know what that means, but it sounds important."
Ethan smiled faintly. "We're two flames in already."
"And you're still breathing," David added with a grin.
Ethan stood, letting the wind whip against his cloak. His gaze drifted over the endless maze of the Great Labyrinth.
"This world doesn't give us anything for free," he said. "But if the sixth flame exists… I'm going to claim it."
"Even if gods failed?"
Ethan looked over his shoulder, eyes glowing faintly with purpose.
"I don't care who failed before me."
The stone still pulsed faintly under Ethan's fingertips. His blood, now absorbed, had linked him to the second sanctum—the Sanctum of Vorsha. He could feel it in his core, in the subtle shifts of mana around him. Like Grosh'ka, this sanctum had accepted him… but this time, there was no tension. No fear. Only awe and silence.
Behind him, the others slowly stepped forward.
"Still not used to seeing you do that," David said with a wry grin, arms folded.
Ethan turned, calm and composed. "Hopefully, you get used to it. This is only the second."
A stunned silence lingered over the group. No resistance. No drawn-out battle. Just Kaeryx's presence, Ethan's infiltration, and the instant domination of the rune stone. The Dragonkin had submitted—not out of cowardice, but recognition. An instinctive understanding born of bloodline. Kaeryx's presence had suffocated any notion of rebellion.
Nelda, the Minotaur woman, chuckled softly as she leaned on her axe. "Remind me to never piss off your dragon."
One of the human scouts exhaled sharply. "They didn't even fight back..."
Kaeryx, perched now on a ledge above the sanctum's center plaza, stretched his wings slightly, his silver-scaled body gleaming beneath the labyrinth's strange light. His eyes, faintly glowing with ancient wisdom, swept over the kneeling drakekin population.
"They didn't need to," Ethan said. "This wasn't war. It was submission to dominance they couldn't fight."
A few of the drakekin elders began to approach, their heads bowed low in reverence.
"We accept your rule," one said. His voice was gravelly, thick with age and pride tempered by defeat. "Your companion is… unmistakable. He carries the will of an ancient line. We will not oppose you."
Ethan nodded. "I'm not here to crush anyone. But I will bring order. And I expect loyalty. Earned loyalty."
Another murmur ran through the scouts behind him. They couldn't believe it. Two sanctums. Two peaceful, overwhelming victories.
That night, a feast was held.
It wasn't anything extravagant. The labyrinth didn't allow for luxuries. But food was shared—game from recent hunts, foraged fruits and strange mana roots cooked into edible stew. The scouts sat beside dragonkin for the first time, tensions high but slowly easing as Kaeryx curled up in the distance, his mere presence keeping things civil.
David approached Ethan again, quieter this time. "What's next?"
Ethan leaned back on the sanctum's steps, eyes scanning the horizon. "We reinforce. We stabilize. This place needs to be converted into a proper stronghold, like Grosh'ka."
"You thinking defense?"
"I'm thinking long-term. These sanctums are keys to something greater, David. I can feel it."
David nodded slowly. "You're changing things. You know that, right?"
Ethan's gaze didn't waver. "That's the point."
---
The morning after the celebration at Vorsha Sanctum dawned with an eerie quietude. Thin streaks of lavender sunlight filtered in through the skeletal ridges overhead, refracted strangely by the warped mana sky above. Ethan stood at the edge of a wide terrace overlooking the sanctum's inner court. The Dragonkin moved below with the steady rhythm of duty—orderly, even reverent.
He didn't need to exert control. His presence alone had already become a symbol of order, of power unchallenged. Kaeryx sat nearby, tail flicking with quiet amusement as he listened to the ambient thoughts and movements of the sanctum. Though Kaeryx couldn't sense system notifications, he could always feel the mood that swirled around Ethan—his emotions, his determination.
"This place is responding well to you," Kaeryx remarked telepathically.
Ethan gave a small nod, arms crossed. "For now. Two sanctums. But we've only taken the first step."
Behind him, footsteps echoed. David appeared, already dressed in hardened leather reinforced with faint mana lines, a sign of his growing awareness of the dangers that lay ahead.
"The scouts are regrouped," David reported. "They've mapped out the surrounding sectors around Vorsha. Several strange anomalies, but no clear sign of nearby sanctums yet. Still, we've got several locations flagged as suspicious."
Ethan glanced over. "Good. We need to send patrols and gather more intel. But before that, let's talk about the reinforcements. I want this sanctum fortified better than Grosh'ka."
David raised a brow. "You expecting retaliation?"
Ethan exhaled. "Not yet. But the more sanctums we claim, the more attention we draw. If there's any faction out there watching—be it human, beast, or something worse—they'll notice us eventually."
Down below, some of the drakekin had begun setting up basic smithing stations, using elemental tools and mana-bound anvils. It was clear they were adapting quickly to Ethan's leadership. Not just out of fear or reverence, but a deep-seated instinct to follow power.
Ethan descended the steps and entered the central plaza where the Sanctum Rune Stone still glowed faintly with his imprint. A few of the scouts and volunteers—humans, minotaurs, orcs—had started organizing work groups. Defensive barriers were being constructed, wards inscribed on walls, hunting squads dispatched for sustainable food supplies.
Ethan began assigning teams with David's help:
Orcs and Minotaurs were tasked with fortifying the outer walls and crafting siege barriers.
Human mages and engineers began tracing out new rune traps and constructing defensive turrets powered by ambient mana.
Dragonkin warriors, well-versed in aerial maneuvering, were stationed on cliff ridges and natural overlooks as sentries.
Everything moved with precision. It was a well-oiled machine being born from the raw survival instincts of disparate peoples, bound together now by a singular will—Ethan's.
Later that afternoon, Ethan stood before the Sanctum Rune Stone again. A soft glow pulsed as his fingers brushed the surface. A holographic map flickered into view—a partial layout of the Great Labyrinth, now updated with the two claimed sanctums. And there, in the corner of his vision, a notification glowed faintly.
[Ding!]
[Sanctum Progression: 2/??? Claimed]
[Sanctum Authority Level Increased]
[New Feature Unlocked: Sanctum Relay Network (Beta)]
Ethan blinked. "Relay network...?"
Information streamed into his mind. With two sanctums under his control, Ethan could now establish a rudimentary communication link between Grosh'ka and Vorsha using the mana resonance of the Rune Stones. Not teleportation yet—but messages, alerts, maybe even mana flow between sanctums.
"This... could change everything," he murmured.
Kaeryx, who had flown down silently, perched behind him. "The Labyrinth rewards dominion. You're beginning to shape it."
As the sun set—if the shifting sky could even be called that—Ethan knew one thing for sure:
He was no longer just surviving the Great Labyrinth.
He was starting to rule it.
And this was only the beginning.
***
A/N
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