Chapter 61: The Forest of Dead Time
The wind grew colder as the group left the Rift behind. Guided by the glowing runes on Elias's mark, they crossed barren fields where time itself seemed to hang still. The sky dimmed unnaturally, like dusk had forgotten to fall. Birds didn't sing. Even their footsteps echoed longer than they should have.
Ahead loomed a forest cloaked in gray mist. Twisted trees bent unnaturally, their bark cracked like ancient parchment.
"The Forest of Dead Time…" Kael whispered. "This is where time broke during the First Sundering."
"Then it makes sense," Sera said, stepping forward. "One of the seals would be hidden here."
"But we need to stick together," Elias said, gripping the hilt of his blade. "Time doesn't flow right here."
As they entered, the air shifted. Elias felt it instantly — his heartbeat slowed, his thoughts lagged… and when he turned back, the path behind them was already gone.
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A World Frozen
Inside the forest, time crawled.
Leaves hung mid-fall. A bird flapped its wings in slow motion before fading into dust. They walked past trees that shimmered in and out of existence — caught in a loop of death and rebirth.
"This place…" Arin said. "It doesn't want us here."
"No," Sera replied. "It's testing us."
Suddenly, a vine shot out from one of the trees, wrapping around Kael's leg and dragging him into the mist.
"Kael!" Elias lunged, slicing through the vine. But as he cut it, the wound in the vine healed in reverse, like the blade had never struck.
Kael groaned, struggling to stand. "Time… is rejecting us."
They regrouped, wary.
Then, the mark on Elias's hand glowed — and a path appeared through the trees, lined with silver blossoms.
"This way," he said. "It's the only way forward."
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The Echoing Trial
At the heart of the forest stood a clearing with a massive stone gate, covered in glowing inscriptions.
"It's the first seal," Arin said. "But it's closed."
A voice rang out from nowhere — neither male nor female, like an echo from multiple timelines:
"To awaken the seal, you must face the memory that binds you."
The world shifted again.
Each of them was suddenly alone.
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Elias's Trial
He stood in a room filled with broken mirrors. Each one reflected a version of him — older, younger, twisted, or heroic. One mirror showed him in golden armor, ruling over ruins. Another showed him covered in blood, whispering to shadows.
From one mirror, a voice spoke:
"You abandoned your true name. Why?"
"I… don't remember it."
"Lies," the voice hissed. "You chose to forget. You feared what you would become."
A figure stepped out — a version of Elias, cloaked in black, wielding a blade made of shattered time.
They fought — steel clashing in a flurry of echoes. Each strike created a flicker of memory: A girl's voice, a burning city, a promise made beneath stars.
In the final moment, Elias dropped his blade.
"I'm not afraid of who I was. I'm afraid of forgetting why I changed."
The shadow hesitated — then faded.
The mirror shattered, revealing a glowing sigil behind it.
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Sera, Kael, and Arin's Trials
Each of them faced their own memory:
Sera stood before the moment she first turned away from her dying brother, unable to save him. She chose to face him, apologize, and forgive herself.
Kael confronted the ruins of his home — and the guilt of being the only one who survived the fire. He chose to believe survival was not shame.
Arin was faced with the chains that once bound him — forced to relive the years of slavery under the masked inquisitors. He shattered the illusion with a roar of rebellion.
One by one, they returned to the clearing — marked by their trials, stronger and more awake.
The gate responded, symbols glowing brightly.
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The Seal Awakens
The stone door opened slowly, revealing a chamber of glass and light. In the center floated a crystal shard, pulsing with energy — the First Echo Seal.
Elias stepped forward. As he touched it, a memory shot through all of them.
A city above the clouds… a young man holding a relic aloft… an oath sworn to protect the realms from repeating the mistakes of the past.
Then the light faded, and the shard merged into Elias's mark.
"One down," Arin said. "Two to go."
But behind them, something stirred in the forest.
Dozens of silver-eyed figures emerged — masked, cloaked in fog, their weapons drawn.
"They followed us," Sera said, readying her blade. "They want the seal."
Elias stepped forward, mark glowing bright.
"Then we show them… time doesn't own us anymore."
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