The emerald light pulsed around them, casting their shadows in strange, elongated forms across the cavern walls.
Prava's heartbeat quickened as a sudden chill swept through her. Holam's gaze remained steady, unyielding.
"Step forward, seeker," he commanded.
Prava took a hesitant step. Then another. The cavern seemed to bend, twisting time itself. The emerald glow swirled, forming images in the mist—scenes she had never consciously lived, yet felt disturbingly familiar.
A child's laughter echoed, but it was hollow, distant. Flames leapt around a small village. And in the midst of it all, the woman from the stream appeared again, younger, frightened, reaching out.
Prava gasped. The memories, or visions, seemed to reach through her own veins, binding her to something she could not yet name.
"Why… why do I feel this?" she whispered.
Rafael placed a hand on her shoulder. "Because it's yours," he said softly. "It has always been part of you."
The green light intensified, forming a spiral that pulled Prava toward its center. There, the mist thickened and a figure emerged from its depths—a man, cloaked in shadow, eyes glowing faintly red.
"You have forgotten your first vow," he said, voice echoing as if from everywhere and nowhere. "But the forest remembers."
Prava staggered back, memories of a promise, a betrayal, a loss she could not fully recall flooding her mind. Tears welled, not just from sorrow, but from recognition—she was living a story she had once written in another life.
Holam's voice cut through the chaos. "Face it, Prava. Accept the shadow, or it will consume you."
With a trembling breath, she reached forward, letting the emerald light wrap her hands. Her reflection shimmered in the water, blending past and present. She could see herself—both frightened and brave—standing at the center of a choice that would define everything.