Rielun's POV:
Rielun's tears had barely dried when the forest shifted.
The air thickened.
The light dimmed.
The Hollow's grief pressed in from all sides.
Aeris kept a steady arm around him, refusing to let go. "Stay close. Don't drift again."
Rielun nodded, though his hands still trembled. The echo of that whisper — Little Moon — clung to him like frost.
Sylas scanned the trees, blades forming at his sides. "Something's coming."
Rowan braced himself despite the pain in his leg. "Is it creatures?"
Noctis's shadows curled protectively around Rielun. "No. This feels… different."
Elias's eyes widened. "It's not the Hollow's beasts. It's something older."
The ground pulsed beneath them — once, twice, like a heartbeat.
Then the forest fell silent.
Completely silent.
Rielun's breath caught. "I know this feeling…"
Aeris looked at him sharply. "From the memory?"
Rielun swallowed. "Yes."
A shape stepped out from between the trees.
Not a creature.
Not a beast.
A silhouette.
Tall.
Broad‑shouldered.
Trembling.
The same shape that had touched Rielun's cheek in the memory.
But this one was wrong.
Its edges flickered like torn shadow.
Its chest pulsed with black sap.
Its hands shook violently, dripping darkness.
Its head tilted as if listening to a voice only it could hear.
A corrupted echo — the Hollow's attempt to recreate the First Guardian from grief alone.
Aeris froze. "What… is that?"
Sylas's voice was barely a whisper. "It's him. Or what's left of him."
Rowan's breath hitched. "The Hollow… it tried to remember him."
Noctis stepped forward, shadows bristling. "It's not alive. It's a memory given shape."
Elias's voice cracked. "A memory in pain."
The echo lifted its head.
And looked directly at Rielun.
Rielun staggered back, breath trembling. "He… he's reaching for me."
The silhouette extended a shaking hand — the same gesture from the memory, but corrupted, desperate, wrong.
A sound escaped it.
Not a word.
Not a scream.
A broken, distorted sob.
Aeris pulled Rielun behind him instantly. "Stay back. Don't let it touch you."
Sylas stepped forward, blades raised. "If it's an echo, we can dispel it."
Rowan shook his head. "It's not attacking."
Noctis's shadows trembled. "It's mourning."
The echo took another step.
Rielun felt something inside him twist — a pull, a longing, a grief so deep it made his knees weaken.
"I… I know him," he whispered. "Not his face. Not his name. But I know him."
The echo's hand reached toward him again.
Aeris hissed, "Don't you dare—"
But Rielun stepped forward.
Just one step.
The echo shuddered violently, as if the movement hurt it.
Elias grabbed Rielun's arm. "Rielun, stop. That thing is made of the Hollow's corruption. If it touches you—"
Rielun's voice broke. "He touched me before."
The guardians froze.
The silhouette's head tilted.
Its chest pulsed.
And then, in a voice warped by grief and shadow, it whispered:
"L…i…ttle…"
The word cracked apart, distorted, painful.
Rielun's breath hitched. "No… no, please—"
The echo reached for him again, fingers trembling, dripping black sap.
Aeris stepped between them, eyes blazing. "Don't touch him!"
The echo recoiled — not from Aeris, but from the pain of being denied.
It clutched its chest, shaking violently, as if the grief inside it was tearing it apart.
The forest trembled with it.
Silver light burst from the ground beneath Rielun's feet.
The crescent symbol glowed so brightly it hurt to look at.
The air hummed with protective magic.
A faint doorway outline shimmered into existence.
Elias gasped. "The Haven is opening."
Sylas's eyes widened. "Too early. It's unstable."
Rowan grabbed Rielun's arm. "We need to move. Now."
But Rielun couldn't look away from the echo.
It was falling apart.
Piece by piece.
Shadow peeling away from its form.
Black sap dripping like tears.
Its hand still reaching for him.
As if begging.
As if apologizing.
As if remembering.
The silhouette took one final step toward him.
Its hand lifted — trembling, desperate — reaching for Rielun's cheek.
Rielun whispered, "I'm sorry… I don't remember you."
The echo froze.
Its form cracked.
A sound tore from it — a sound so raw, so broken, it made the trees shudder.
And then it collapsed into shadow.
Gone.
Rielun fell to his knees, tears spilling down his face. "Why does it hurt so much?"
Aeris knelt beside him, pulling him close. "Because he loved you."
Noctis whispered, "Because he still does."
Elias looked toward the glowing Haven doorway. "We need to go. Before the Hollow sends another echo."
Sylas nodded. "Before the Haven closes."
Rowan helped Rielun to his feet. "Come on, Little Moon."
Rielun flinched at the name — not in fear, but in recognition.
The forest trembled behind them.
The Haven glowed ahead.
And the Hollow whispered from the shadows, soft and broken:
"Little Moon…"