Chapter 170: The Archive of Lies
The central spire of the Iron Citadel felt like a tomb. As the Alpha and Omega pushed past the silent, crimson-eyed guards, the Ancestor led them toward a hidden stone slab behind the High King's throne. With a touch of her silver aura, the slab slid away, revealing a spiral staircase that descended into the dark.
"The archives were built by the First Pack," the Ancestor explained as they hurried down. "But the High King turned this place into a vault of propaganda, burying the truth beneath centuries of rewritten history."
The basement was a labyrinth of dusty scrolls and metal tablets. But it wasn't just old paper; the room was alive with the same violet rot they had seen in the Barrens, now feeding on the forbidden knowledge kept here. The Omega felt the 'Star-Eaters' signal pulsing through the metal walls, its frequency trying to drown out her thoughts.
"There!" she pointed toward a pedestal in the center of the rot. It held a silver cylinder that glowed with a faint, steady light, untouched by the shadows around it.
As the Alpha moved to grab it, the general they had encountered at the gate—now fully transformed into a vessel of starlight—materialized before them. He didn't use a sword; he unleashed a wave of raw gravity that pinned them against the wall.
"You seek a map to a world that no longer exists," the Sentinel-General hissed. "The Star-Eaters have already rewritten the stars. Your map is nothing but a memory of a ghost."
The Omega, feeling the weight of the gravity, realized she couldn't fight this with power. She had to use the resonance. She began to hum the same frequency she used at the Spire, but this time, she aimed it specifically at the silver cylinder.
The archive began to glow, and for a split second, the lies of the High King vanished, revealing the true history of their world.