Chapter 56: Echoes of the Forgotten
The sky above the Labyrinth Garden shifted hue—no longer the soft twilight it once mimicked, but a deeper violet, tinged with the veins of crimson lightning that webbed across its canvas. The Garden was awakening, but it was not peaceful. Its pulse echoed like a forgotten heartbeat, louder and more insistent with each passing moment.
Riku stood at the edge of a massive stone bridge suspended between two cliffs of vine-laced marble. Behind him, the group gathered, shaken from the battle with the Remnant but unwilling to slow. The Garden had whispered truths to them, and those truths demanded action.
Airi walked beside him, her gaze drawn not to the path ahead, but to the pendant glowing at Riku's chest. "It's reacting more often now," she said softly, her fingers brushing against the petals etched into the chain.
"Like it knows something we don't," Riku replied, gripping the pendant tighter. The burn of the Flame Memory, the Seed he had claimed, still lingered inside him—like a second heartbeat.
From behind, Kaoru stepped forward, his expression unreadable. "This next trial... it's different."
Sera nodded. "It feels more like... a choice than a battle."
Toma glanced toward the other side of the bridge. There stood a grand archway woven entirely from darkened roots, forming an entrance into what looked like a sprawling forest suspended in midair. Flickering lights danced among the leaves like fireflies.
"A memory forest," Lina whispered. "A place where the Garden stores what it refuses to forget."
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The Memory Forest
Crossing the bridge was like stepping into another world. The temperature dropped slightly, and the scent of old wood and blooming lavender filled their lungs. A faint mist curled around the roots and trunks, and whispers echoed through the foliage—not threatening, but nostalgic.
Each of them began to see flickers of the past.
Riku paused beneath a large magnolia tree. Before him stood a child—a younger version of himself, clutching the same pendant, tears in his eyes.
"Don't forget what he meant to you," the child said.
The image vanished, replaced by a silhouette of his brother walking into the flames. Riku bit his lip, the pressure behind his eyes mounting.
Nearby, Airi found herself surrounded by mirrors of her childhood. Her parents, smiling. Her younger self, playing with paper blooms she made alone. A moment where she reached out for someone, and no one reached back.
"You built your own strength," a voice murmured.
"But at what cost?" she whispered back.
Kohana stopped in a clearing where light shimmered like stained glass. She knelt, tears falling freely as she faced the image of a woman with violet hair, eyes brimming with kindness.
"Mother," she breathed.
Kaoru remained behind, silent. He sat beside a blackened stump, placing his hand over a carved symbol—a sigil his sister used to draw when she was nervous.
"We never finished our song," he whispered.
Rei stood just beyond him, hands folded behind his back. He stared into an open field where soldiers once stood at attention.
"Forgive me," he said to the air. "I didn't know what I was walking away from."
---
They gathered again after walking through their memories. The forest had shown them sorrow, but also understanding. The Garden was asking them not to forget who they were—not just the pain, but the love, the guilt, the choices.
A path revealed itself beneath their feet—roots moving to form stairs that led down into a golden hollow beneath the trees.
At the center stood a fountain, filled not with water, but light.
Veyla appeared, her white robes dimmer now, as though the forest had aged her. "You have passed through the memory. But one more remains."
She turned to Riku. "You must enter the light alone."
Riku glanced at his friends. Airi nodded, eyes strong. Haru gave him a thumbs-up. Sera smiled sadly.
He stepped into the fountain.
---
The world inverted. Riku found himself in a realm of white sky and silver ground. There, standing before him, was his brother.
"You made it," his brother said, voice trembling.
"Are you... real?"
His brother stepped forward. "A fragment. A memory strong enough to take shape."
They talked—truly talked—for the first time since the fire. About choices. About sacrifice. About guilt.
Riku wept.
"You carry everything I left behind," his brother said. "But it doesn't have to break you."
The Seed within Riku pulsed. A new bloom opened.
His brother touched his forehead. "Remember who you are. And bloom beyond it."
The light faded.
---
Riku awoke in the hollow. The fountain was quiet. But the others stared at him with awe.
"You... you were glowing," Airi whispered.
He looked down. The pendant now held not one, but two Seeds. Fire and Light.
"We have to keep going," Riku said. "But this time... not just to survive. To grow."
They left the hollow. The forest behind them shimmered, and from its depths came a final whisper:
"The forgotten remember you."
The Garden pulsed again.
Something greater awaited.
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