Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 409. Full Moon IV
Angel nodded. "Like a trinket. She said she got it from a traveling merchant. Claimed it was just a good luck charm."
Silvan's face darkened. His fingers tensed on the edge of the table, gaze sharpening like a blade. "A merchant? That thing was circulating in the open?"
"She didn't know," Rose added quietly. "She wore it like it meant nothing."
"She was right about one thing," Silvan muttered, eyes fixed on the bracelet. "It brings luck. Just not the kind you survive. That thing wasn't left. It was hidden."
Angel leaned in, expression tight. "You saw that mountain too, didn't you? Erebus?"
Silvan slowly turned his eyes to her. "You saw it too?"
Angel nodded this time. "I tried to trace the memory inside it. A thread of dark energy runs through it—just enough to hold something like a trapped echo. But it's so faint. I saw the forest. The woman. Her fear. The mountain. But after that—nothing. It cut off. Like something wanted to be forgotten."
"Or something stronger forced it to be," Silvan muttered. "It's warded in more than one way. There's a curse here. One not designed to harm—but to obscure."
Rose tilted her head. "To hide the woman?"
"Yes," Silvan said slowly, his eyes still locked on the bracelet. "But there's more. I could feel it—woven deep beneath the layers. A spell... subtle, ancient. Not just meant to hide her from herself."
A long pause followed that. Even the fire fell still.
Angel finally spoke. "Is she still alive?"
Silvan looked at him grimly. "If she is… she's probably forgotten who she is. Or what chased her. Or what power she once held."
"And if she remembers?" Angel asked, voice sharper.
"Then I hope to the gods you're not in her way when she does."
Silvan stood slowly, his joints cracking like old wood. He moved to the nearest shelf and pulled down an ancient box—wood scorched, bound in red twine. He placed it on the table and opened it with a whisper.
Inside were vials. Runes. A silver-bladed needle. Dried herbs bound with iron thread.
"I'm going to try something," he said. "I can't promise anything. The soul echo inside this bracelet is rotting. But maybe—just maybe—I can tease it back into memory."
Angel nodded once. "Do it."
Silvan set the bracelet inside a small ceramic bowl, poured in a thin layer of ash from one of the vials, then pricked his thumb with the needle and let three drops of blood fall into the mix. He whispered something low—ancient. Ugly. Not meant for human mouths.
The bowl pulsed.
So did the bracelet.
Rose sat straighter. "Is it working?"
Silvan didn't answer.
The fire died.
All at once.
The whole room dimmed. Only the faint blue glow from the runes on the wall remained.
Then the bracelet began to hum.
The air turned colder.
Angel rose to his feet, instinctively placing himself between Rose and the bowl.
But then—
A voice.
Not clear. Not loud.
But there.
"I don't want to become his vessel… I'm a human… I want freedom… I'm not a revenge tool…"
It was female. Young. Breathless.
Then the hum became a scream—not from the bracelet, but inside all three of them.
A flash of the woman. Pale skin. Blood at her ankles. Eyes wide and filled with sheer panic.
Then nothing.
The bracelet cracked.
Just slightly.
Then went still.
The fire reignited on its own with a violent whoosh.
Silvan stumbled back into his chair.
Angel stared down at the bowl, unmoving.
Rose clutched her chest, fingers trembling.
Silvan wiped his brow. It was soaked in sweat. "Gods," he whispered. "That wasn't just a curse. That was a memory. Trapped. Preserved—barely."
"From her?" Angel asked, eyes locked on the now-cracked bracelet.
Silvan nodded slowly, gaze distant. "It wasn't just a message. It was a scream carved into magic. A last trace of will. Of someone desperate not to be erased."
Rose's expression darkened. "But is she still alive?"
Silvan hesitated. The firelight flickered across his face, highlighting every weary line. "I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. But what we saw—it was real. That forest. That fear. The mountain... Erebus."
Angel's jaw clenched. "Then that's where she was when this was made."
Silvan leaned back, as if the truth finally settled on his chest. "And something—someone—wanted to bury her. Not kill her. Not destroy her. Just... use her."
"For what?" Rose asked quietly.
"I don't know," Silvan said.
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