Chapter 99: Valmira’s Future
The Archive Vault lay beneath the Academy’s western wing in a maze of iron corridors that once stored forbidden grimoires and collapsed flags. Now it held a different secret. Flickering torches cast quivering light on the vaulted ceiling as Valmira led me through the narrow passages, her steps as quiet as a scholar’s whisper. Her usual calm had given way to something more urgent. She clutched her Codex tightly as though it might slip away.
"We seldom venture here," she said, voice soft. "Because knowledge can be... heavy."
I glanced around at the aging shelves, each door sealed with silver runes. Some barrels of clay still held fragments of broken spells. The air smelled of parchment, dust, and faint ozone from recent magical activity. I touched one of the seals and felt a thrill of power humming beneath my fingertips.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
Valmira paused at a double door carved with the image of an open eye. The runes glowed at her approach. "To the Chamber of Futures," she replied. "A section of the Archive rarely opened. It contains prophecies and recordings of possible worlds—versions of Arcadia that never came to be."
I frowned. "We’re venturing into prophecy?"
She nodded. "It is not prophecy if you help write it. We must understand the futures we face, so that we can choose what comes next."
With a soft whoosh the doors parted, revealing a circular room lined with glass vials, scrolls, and crystalline orbs. In the center stood a tall pedastal supporting a single open book restrained by silver chains. Above, mirrors of polished steel reflected the faint starlight that filtered in from hidden alcoves.
"This is the Future Codex," Valmira said. "It writes itself, recording every potential outcome of major choices made in this academy and beyond."
I approached the pedestal, careful not to disturb the chains. Valmira stood beside me, eyes glittering with anticipation and apprehension.
"Look," she whispered.