Elara tore through the dark forest, feet barely touching the ground. The crystal in her hand guided her—not by direction, but by instinct. Whenever she strayed, it grew colder. When she followed, it pulsed warm.
The woods changed around her. Trees grew twisted. Mist curled around the roots. Time felt strange—like hours had passed… or seconds.
Then she heard it.
A voice—not loud, but close. Just behind her.
"Elara..."
She spun around. Nothing. Only fog and trees.
Her breath quickened. "It's just in my head."
> "No, child."
The voice came again—this time ahead of her. She stopped.
Standing in the mist was a tall figure draped in shadow, with no face, only shifting light beneath a hood.
> "You carry the echo," it said. "You stir what should have slept."
Elara raised the crystal like a shield. "Stay back!"
> "Too late," the shadow said. "You've already opened the path."
Then it vanished—like smoke pulled into the trees.
The forest fell silent.
A moment later, the trees parted ahead. Moonlight spilled onto stone.
She had found the ruins.
Echoes Beneath the Stone
Elara stepped into the clearing.
The trees behind her shivered as if sighing in relief.
Before her lay the ruins—ancient stone half-sunken into earth and moss, bathed in silver moonlight. The crystal in her hand pulsed brighter, answering something in the stone.
A whisper, low and deep, brushed her ear.
"Elara…"
She turned sharply. No one.
She moved toward the center of the ruins. The air was thick with magic, heavy and familiar.
Then a voice—real this time.
"You returned."
Kael stood by a broken archway, shadows curling around him like mist.
"I found the guide," she said, holding up the crystal. "It brought me here."
Kael nodded, but his face was grim.
"You were never meant to remember everything," he said. "But the bond is awakening too fast. The hunters will come."
"What do they want?" Elara asked again.
Kael hesitated, then:
"Your soul holds half the key. Mine holds the other."
Thunder rolled in the distance.
And somewhere, not far off… a horn sounded again.