The forest ahead changed yet again.
The path that had been paved in bone-white stone now twisted through ruins — columns of crumbling marble, broken statues with hollow eyes, and shattered altars once dedicated to forgotten gods. The wind here carried no birdsong, only the sound of whispering dust.
Elowen walked at the front, her steps steady, though her limbs ached and her heart still bore the sting of the mirror's grief.
Ashen kept beside her, one hand resting on his sword. His gaze flicked constantly from shadow to shadow. "You felt that, didn't you?"
She nodded. "Something's awake now. Watching us."
And it was. Elowen could feel it—like a pressure in the air, like eyes just out of sight.
Then they heard it.
A voice. Soft. Haunting.
"Blood remembers."
They turned—and saw her.
A figure stood between two dead trees. Tall. Wrapped in robes blacker than night, with chains of silver trailing from her arms. Her face was hidden behind a wooden mask carved in the shape of a weeping woman. Her hair was white as bone.
The air trembled.
Ashen stepped forward, sword raised. "Who are you?"
The masked woman did not answer him. She looked only at Elowen.
"Daughter of the still forest. The blood in you is old. Yours and mine… are sisters."
Elowen's breath caught. "What do you mean?"
The woman stepped closer, her chains dragging through the dead leaves. "I am what became of the first who awakened the bloodline. I am the one who bore the price of power. I am the Hallowed One."
She lifted her hand. The trees behind her bent, groaning.
"And I was sent… to test you."
Ashen moved between them. "You'll have to go through me first."
But Elowen placed a hand on his shoulder. "No. This is for me."
She stepped forward.
The Hallowed One raised a finger—and from the earth rose ghostly figures. Women with star-shaped scars, men with bleeding eyes, children with glowing palms. All were silent. All watched her.
"These are the blood-called. Each one paid the price. Will you?"
Elowen did not flinch. "I will."
Lightning cracked above.
The Hallowed One lunged.
They clashed—not with weapons, but with will.
Elowen screamed as her blood ignited. The star fragment burned white at her chest. Visions swirled: thrones, wolves, moons bleeding silver, her mother's voice calling from beneath the roots.
She saw the whole bloodline stretching backward into time.
And she saw its end.
Her.
She cried out—and the mirror that lived inside her shattered.
The Hallowed One stumbled back.
The masked face tilted. Then slowly, she knelt.
"You are worthy."
The ghostly figures bowed their heads.
Elowen fell to her knees, panting.
Ashen ran to her, catching her before she collapsed fully. "What happened?"
The Hallowed One stood. "She survived the grief. She passed the trial. Now, she will need you more than ever."
Ashen looked at her sharply. "Why?"
The Hallowed One's mask cracked. Just slightly. "Because Aeron does not fear death. He fears only her."
The forest behind her opened—revealing a temple of black stone, overgrown with vines and stars.
"The final gate lies within. But be warned… your blood is not the only one awakening."
And with that, she vanished into mist.
Elowen stood slowly. She wiped the blood from her mouth.
She felt... different. Stronger. But something else too.
Afraid.
Because deep in her bones, she knew:
The next gate would not test her past.
It would test her future.