Silence. Then—a heartbeat. Slow. Steady. Terrifyingly alive.
Rai stepped through the crystalline gate, and the world around him changed. The air grew damp, thick with the scent of moss and blood. He found himself standing in a vast forest of white trees, their branches pulsing faintly with light—as if veins carried energy instead of sap. Above him, the sky wasn't blue or black but a swirling mass of crimson clouds that bled rain like tears.
Every drop that touched the ground hissed and left scars on the soil.
He moved cautiously forward, his boots sinking slightly into the earth. There were ruins everywhere—pillars, broken armor, rusted blades half-buried in the mud. He recognized the crest etched onto one of the fallen shields.
"The Order of Solen…" he whispered. His hand trembled. "My order."
The forest moaned. Somewhere in the distance, something screamed—a sound both human and monstrous.
Then came the voice.
"We kept our vows, Rai. Even when you didn't."
He froze. That voice was familiar. Too familiar.
From between the trees, figures emerged—his comrades. The knights of the Vowbound. But their faces were wrong—eyes hollow, bodies stitched together with the same glowing roots that grew from the white trees. They looked like corpses given motion, held upright by the forest's will.
Rai's breath caught. "No… I buried you all myself."
One of them, Captain Erion, stepped forward. His armor hung in pieces, and his once proud face was twisted into something that wasn't alive.
"You left us," Erion rasped, voice layered with bitterness and pain. "You sealed us beneath the Eclipse's shadow… and let time forget our names."
Rai shook his head, backing away. "That's not true! I—"
Erion's sword scraped against the ground. "You made the vow to protect us. Then you used us to fuel your spell. We died for your salvation!"
The forest came alive. Roots lashed from the ground, encircling Rai. The trees bent forward, their bark splitting into faces—faces of those he had once called brothers.
Flames erupted around him as he swung his sword, cutting through the tendrils, but they regenerated faster than he could destroy them. The earth pulsed with life. The heartbeat grew louder.
"I didn't want this!" he shouted. "I tried to save what was left!"
Erion's hollow eyes glowed brighter. "Then save us now."
The vines struck again, wrapping around Rai's arm and pulling him to his knees. Pain seared through his veins—the same kind of pain he felt when he first received the Eclipse Mark.
The forest whispered in unison, thousands of voices blending into one horrific chant:
"Vowbound… Vowbreaker… Vowbound… Vowbreaker…"
Rai clenched his teeth. His vision blurred. His sword flickered with dying fire. Then—he remembered Lyra's words.
"The Eclipse was never your curse. It was your promise."
He slammed his fist into the ground, forcing the seal on his wrist to ignite in blinding gold. The forest screamed as light burst outward, shattering the tendrils that held him. The vines turned to ash.
Erion staggered back, his expression softening for a single instant. "You still carry it… the vow."
"I never forgot it," Rai said, rising slowly. "I failed you once. I won't again."
He plunged his blade into the ground. The light from his mark spread through the soil, racing through the roots, burning away the corruption. The forest cried out—a thousand voices howling before fading into silence.
When it was over, only Erion remained, his body crumbling into dust. His final words echoed softly:
"Then finish what you started, my brother."
The ground split open, revealing a massive pulsating core beneath the roots—a glowing heart made of crystal and bone. It throbbed like a living creature, each pulse shaking the world.
Rai approached, his reflection shimmering across its surface. "The Heart of the Forgotten…" he murmured. "You've been feeding on their pain."
A cold, feminine voice whispered from within.
"Pain gives life, Vowbound. You of all people should know that."
The heart split open, revealing a figure within—tall, graceful, draped in silver threads of light. Her face was half-covered by a porcelain mask, her eyes glowing with both sorrow and malice.
"I am Asha, Keeper of the Third Gate," she said. "Once your ally. Now your consequence."
Rai's hand tightened around his blade. "Then come, consequence. Let's see whose vow still holds."
Asha's mask cracked slightly as she smiled. "As you wish… Solen of the Eclipse."
With a single gesture, the world erupted into blinding chaos.
Roots turned to serpents of light, the sky shattered into red flame, and Rai charged forward into his past made manifest.