The answer Bren wants hangs in the dust between them, right where she first blocked the way and demanded the truth. The hidden passage yawns open at Kynes's side, but Bren does not step aside.

Kynes fits the cold glass key against the metal seal. Their pulse answers each other with a low violet thrum, and the runes in the wall seam flare brighter.

Bren's guarded look cracks into focused hunger. Not greed for the relic alone, but recognition, as if she has been chasing this mechanism for a long time.

The tower shudders hard enough to rain grit from the ceiling. Bren shifts aside at last, still watching the seal, and gestures toward the dark passage beyond.

Kynes answers the seal with a low wash of violet power, guiding it through key, metal, and stone. The runes sink inward, then turn, as if a buried hand has finally found the correct pressure.

The wall seam widens with a dry scrape. Dust spills out, and a hidden slab unlocks with a deep, settling click from somewhere below the landing.

Bren catches her breath, eyes locked on the opening. The hunger in her face sharpens into startled understanding.

Inside the gap, a second sigil flashes once, clearer than before, its pattern matching the seal in Kynes's hands. For a heartbeat, the tower's groan fades under the pulse of old magic.

A fresh shower of grit rains from overhead, and the dark opening waits at Kynes's side while Bren holds his gaze, ready for his next move.