The forest was no longer silent.
It was aware.
Every step Kael and Jemila took now felt heavier, like the world itself was remembering them… and preparing to respond.
Kael leaned against a broken tree trunk, breathing hard. "We need answers."
Jemila didn't respond immediately.
She was staring at the ground.
Not lost.
Not confused.
Remembering.
🩸 THE MARK THAT HURTS
Jemila slowly pulled up her sleeve.
The troll mark on her skin was no longer calm.
It pulsed faintly—like it was reacting to something far away.
Kael noticed. "It's doing that again…"
Jemila nodded once.
"It always reacts when I get too close to memories."
Kael frowned. "Memories?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she turned and started walking.
Kael followed.
This time, she didn't say "keep up."
Because this time—
She didn't care if he did.
💀 BEFORE THE BLOODY SUN
The forest changed again.
But this time, it wasn't the seal world.
It was something else.
The air became colder.
Heavier.
And suddenly—
The ground beneath them was no longer forest.
It was stone.
Burnt stone.
Kael looked around. "Where are we now?"
Jemila's voice dropped.
"…Before."
Kael turned to her. "Before what?"
She stopped walking.
And for the first time since they met—
Her voice cracked slightly.
"Before I was the last."
🧌 THE TROLL KINGDOM
The world around them shifted into a memory.
A kingdom made of massive stone pillars and carved bones.
Troll banners hung broken in the wind.
Firelight flickered in the distance.
Kael's eyes widened. "This is… a civilization."
Jemila nodded slowly.
"It was."
A group of troll warriors passed by in the distance.
Alive.
Laughing.
Training.
Existing.
Jemila watched them silently.
Kael looked at her. "This is your home?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Then—
"Yes."
A pause.
"And it's already dead."
🔥 THE NIGHT OF THE BLOODY SUN PURGE
The sky in the memory turned red.
Not slowly.
Not naturally.
Violently.
Like something tearing it open from the inside.
Kael stepped back. "That's the Bloody Sun…"
Jemila's eyes stayed fixed on it.
That night…
Everything changed.
A deep horn echoed across the kingdom.
Then another.
Then chaos.
Kael watched as dark creatures poured into the troll kingdom from broken rifts in the sky.
Not random attacks.
Not invasion.
Execution.
💀 THE MASSACRE
Troll warriors fought back fiercely.
But they couldn't die fast enough.
The creatures didn't just kill them—
They erased them.
One by one, the kingdom fell.
Kael turned sharply. "Jemila… don't watch this."
But she didn't move.
Because she was already there.
Inside the memory.
Running.
Small.
A child.
Kael realized suddenly.
"…That's you."
🩸 JEMILA'S TRUTH
Young Jemila ran through burning halls.
Screams everywhere.
Stone collapsing.
Blood on the ground.
A massive troll warrior grabbed her and pushed her behind a broken wall.
"RUN, JEMILA!"
She cried. "Where's Mother?!"
The warrior didn't answer.
Because he couldn't.
He was already dying.
Kael watched silently as the warrior fell.
Jemila stood frozen in memory.
And whispered:
"They killed everyone…"
🧌 THE HEAD TROLL'S LAST GIFT
The memory shifted.
A massive throne room.
The Head Troll—Gorruk—stood wounded, surrounded.
He looked at child Jemila.
Then placed his hand on her head.
"Do not die here," he said.
Jemila cried. "I can't leave you!"
Gorruk smiled faintly.
"You are not meant to stay."
He pressed his forehead to hers.
"And you are not meant to be killable."
A red mark burned into her skin.
Kael's eyes widened.
"That's your mark…"
Jemila whispered:
"…That's why I survived."
💀 RETURN TO REALITY
The memory shattered.
Kael and Jemila were back in the forest again.
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Kael didn't speak for a moment.
Then softly:
"…You watched your entire world die."
Jemila nodded.
"Yes."
Kael looked at her.
"And you still keep going?"
She finally looked at him.
Her eyes were colder now.
"I don't have a choice."
A pause.
Then she added:
"Neither do you."
🐉 THE DISTANT ROAR
Suddenly—
The ground trembled.
Far away.
Not near.
But deep underground.
A sound echoed through the world.
A roar.
Ancient.
Alive.
Kael straightened instantly. "What was that?"
Jemila turned slightly.
Her expression changed for the first time in a long while.
"…That's not a hunter."
Kael frowned. "Then what is it?"
Jemila whispered:
"That's something they feared before the Bloody Sun ever existed."
The roar came again.
Louder this time.
Kael clenched his fists.
"…Good," he said quietly.
"Then maybe it's something we can use."
Jemila looked at him.
For the first time—
She didn't disagree.