The ascent from the Heart-Below felt longer than the descent. Each step weighed more heavily, as though the forest itself had pressed into Elira's bones. The lantern they carried was dim now, the flame sputtering with every gust of breath from the walls.
Neither Elira nor Caelum spoke for a long while.
When they finally emerged into the cool night above, stars glittered through the tangled canopy. But even the moon seemed distant. Watching. Waiting.
Maerel stood at the entrance of the tower, her expression tight with worry.
"You saw it," she said.
Elira nodded. "And sealed it. Temporarily."
Caelum moved slowly, one hand pressed to his chest. "The bond was weakened… but not broken. Selene's magic is still holding, just barely. If we don't reinforce the seal soon, it'll tear completely."
Maerel's amber gaze narrowed. "The Hollow doesn't sleep forever. And now it knows your names."
Elira's grip tightened on the journal. "Selene said the answer lies deeper. She called it the heart beneath the heart. I think there's more than just the binding. There's something older down there. Something that caused this."
"She said the forest needed healing," Caelum added. "Not sealing."
Maerel hesitated. Then, slowly, she turned and gestured for them to follow. "There is one place in the Hollow Court where the past lives untouched. But only one who carries the forest's mark can enter."
Elira blinked. "The mark?"
Caelum looked at her, something flickering in his expression. "You've been feeling the glyphs, haven't you? Hearing the whispers. Dreaming their memories."
"Yes…"
"Then you're already changing."
Maerel led them through the winding halls of the Hollow Court, past places Elira hadn't seen before—stone rooms overgrown with ivy, corridors with mirrored pools that reflected not faces, but memories.
Finally, they reached a door—no larger than a wardrobe, carved from dark bark that pulsed faintly with green light.
"This is the Vault of Verdant Echoes," Maerel said. "Only the forest's chosen may enter. Within are echoes of those who gave themselves to the wood willingly."
She turned to Elira.
"If Selene is to show you the truth… you must go alone."
Elira's breath caught. "Alone?"
Caelum touched her shoulder. "I'll be here. Waiting."
She nodded, stepped forward—and placed her palm against the bark.
It pulsed once. Then the door melted away like mist.
Inside, the room was nothing but light and silence. No walls. No floor. Just endless stars suspended in a canopy of branches.
And then… Selene.
She stood in the center, clothed in red and gold, her hair braided with petals. Her eyes were brighter than before. Less memory, more soul.
"You came," she said.
Elira approached slowly. "You called me."
Selene nodded. "Because you carry the same wound I once did. The ache of wanting to heal what was never yours to break."
Elira blinked. "What happened to you?"
Selene turned, and the stars around them shifted.
The space changed.
Now Elira stood in a village—simple homes built into the trees, laughter echoing from woven balconies. Children ran barefoot across rope bridges. And in the center stood a shrine shaped like a blooming flower.
Selene stood beside it, younger now, smiling.
"This was Eldwyn," she said softly. "A place of peace. Before the Order came."
The vision darkened.
Flames licked the trees. Screams shattered the quiet.
Armored men poured through the forest—torches high, blades brighter than the sun.
At their head: Caelum. Not the Beast. Not the cursed creature. But the Knight-Commander. His blade glowed with righteous fury.
"I begged them to stop," Selene said, her voice trembling. "But they feared what they didn't understand. My magic. The forest's soul. So they burned it. All of it."
Elira watched as Selene stood in the path of fire, her hands raised. The shrine behind her cracked. Spirits wailed.
Then she stepped into the flame.
Not to die—but to fuse.
Roots erupted from the ground. Vines coiled around her arms. Her eyes turned silver as the forest became her—and she became it.
The fire stopped.
The soldiers fled.
And Caelum stood at the edge of the blaze, screaming her name.
The vision faded.
Selene looked back at Elira. "The curse wasn't a punishment. It was a choice. I chose to become the guardian of what remained."
"But you were trapped," Elira whispered.
"No. I stayed." Selene's eyes softened. "The entity you faced—it was already there. I only sealed it deeper. But the forest is still bleeding. And now, you're its only hope."
Elira swallowed hard. "How do I help?"
Selene stepped forward, her hand glowing.
"You must finish what I could not."
She touched Elira's forehead.
A rush of warmth, pain, and memory surged through her.
Images, names, glyphs. A path. A key. A final seal.
Then the light shattered.
And Elira was back in the Hollow Court.
She gasped, stumbling as Caelum caught her.
"Elira!" he held her close. "What happened?"
She looked up at him, her eyes still glowing faintly silver.
"I know where the final seal is."