Chapter 7: The Memory Door
Mara stared at the two glowing fragments resting in her palm. One shimmered like sunlight on water. The other pulsed like a heartbeat. Together, they vibrated with quiet power.
Caliah stood at the edge of the golden field, her eyes fixed on the horizon. "The third fragment lies not in the past or the lost," she said. "It lies in *you.*"
Mara blinked. "Me?"
Caliah turned to face her. "The third trial is not a place—it's a moment. A locked memory buried in your own timeline."
Mara's chest tightened. "What kind of memory?"
Caliah's voice dropped. "One you were never meant to forget. But someone—*or something*—took it from you."
Suddenly, a strange door formed in the air—its surface looked like broken mirrors, and Mara saw glimpses of herself as a child. Laughing. Crying. Alone.
"This is the Memory Door," Caliah said. "The last fragment is behind it. But be warned… when you open it, the truth may hurt."
Mara stepped forward, heart pounding. She reached for the door.
*It opened.*
She was pulled inside.
She stood in a hospital room. Cold. Pale. Silent.
Her younger self sat in a chair, holding someone's hand. A woman. Eyes closed. Not breathing.
"Mom…" Mara whispered.
Tears welled up.
She had *forgotten this day*. It had been wiped from her memory.
Suddenly, a figure stepped out of the shadows. The *Masked One*.
"You were too weak to carry this pain," they said. "So I took it. I protected you."
"You *stole* it!" Mara cried. "You trapped me in time."
"I gave you peace."
"No," she said firmly. "You gave me silence. But I needed *truth*."
She turned back to the hospital bed. The memory shifted—her mother opened her eyes, smiled weakly, and whispered, "You'll be stronger than time one day."
Mara sobbed.
Then—*a spark.* The final fragment rose from the memory like light breaking through storm clouds.
She reached out, hand trembling—and grabbed it.
The room shattered.
***
Back in the golden sky, Mara landed hard—now holding *all three* fragments.
Caliah approached slowly. "You did it. You faced the one thing time couldn't heal."
Mara looked up, wiping her eyes. "Now what?"
Caliah pointed to the sky—where the great Clock of Elmridge now cracked down the middle.
"It's time to rebuild the First Clock... and face the one who broke it."