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The wind in the forest had changed.
What once felt wild and unpredictable now moved with eerie purpose, slipping between branches like a whisper carrying secrets. The path they followed was no longer on any map. It curved and shifted under the
ir feet, guided more by emotion than direction—responding to Kai's presence like a living thing.
He felt it in his bones. The forest knew him.
"Stay close," Rhydian murmured, walking ahead with sharp eyes scanning the trees. "This is old land. Memory sticks to every root and leaf. It can be... disorienting." Kai didn't need the warning. Ever since they entered the shaded grove, something had tugged at his mind—like a half-remembered lullaby from childhood or the smell of a place he'd only seen in dreams. With every step deeper into the green, the air thickened with the hum of magic.
Behind him, Lucien walked quietly, his presence a steady warmth at Kai's back. Tension had simmered between them since Rhydian's return, but tonight... it softened. The forest pressed in too close for walls. Even Lucien's guarded pride had started to crumble under the weight of the unknown.
"We're almost there," Rhydian said as they stepped into a clearing.
Moonlight poured in through a break in the canopy, illuminating an ancient stone arch twisted with vines and glowing softly with runes. Beyond it stood a weathered shrine carved into the base of a tree older than any structure Kai had seen before. Moss draped over the entrance like a veil, and inside, a faint blue glow pulsed like a heartbeat.
Kai's chest tightened. "What is this place?"
"It belonged to your mother's bloodline," Rhydian said. "An oracle's shrine. Long sealed. It only responds to the heir." Kai hesitated. "Why would I need an oracle?"
"To remember," Rhydian said. "And to ask what comes next."
Lucien spoke for the first time in a while. "And we trust this... forest magic?" Rhydian gave a tired smile. "It's not the forest we're trusting. It's him." He nodded toward Kai. The weight of it made Kai's breath catch. But he stepped forward. As his foot crossed the threshold of the arch, the runes flared to life, casting blue light across his skin. A soft hum filled the air. The ground beneath his feet seemed to tremble—not with fear, but recognition. And then the shrine opened.
Inside the Oracle's Shrine
It wasn't a temple in the traditional sense. The interior was hollowed directly into the tree's heart, wide and warm, lined with old bark and gold-threaded moss. Floating lights hung in the air like stars, illuminating faded murals on the walls—images of a woman in a flowing cloak, her eyes blindfolded, reaching toward a boy with fire in his hands.
Kai.
He couldn't look away.
"You've been here before," Rhydian said gently. "As a child. Before they erased the memory." Kai touched one of the mural figures. His fingers brushed the bark, and the vision came like thunder.
A Flash of Memory
He was no older than five. A smaller version of himself, arms outstretched, standing in this very chamber. A warm voice echoed around him—female, melodic, and sorrowful.
"One day, you'll forget this place, my sweet. But you will return when the forest calls. When the fire in your blood is ready to awaken again."
He saw the woman kneel—his mother. Behind her stood a tall figure cloaked in silver.
Rhydian.
Not older. Not younger.
Just timeless.
Kai staggered back with a gasp, his hand pulling from the mural.
Lucien caught his elbow.
"What did you see?" he asked, worried. Kai turned slowly. "My mother was here. With Rhydian. I—I was just a child." Rhydian nodded solemnly. "She brought you here to seal your power. To protect you." Kai looked around the chamber, overwhelmed. "She knew it would return. That I'd come back."
Lucien frowned. "And this oracle? What's left of it?" As if in answer, the lights in the room flickered. The temperature dropped. A shimmer gathered in the center of the chamber. Then a figure appeared. Not quite solid—woven from mist and emberlight, robed in flowing strands of silver.
The Oracle.
Though faceless, the presence it carried was unmistakable—powerful, ancient, and intimately familiar.
It spoke without lips.
"Child of dusk and flame... you have returned. The wheel turns again."
Kai stepped forward, instinct guiding him. "I need answers. About who I am. About the Watchers. The bond. Everything." The Oracle's head tilted. "Answers come with memory. You must take the thread. Weave what was broken."
A wisp of light extended toward Kai. He reached out—and the moment his fingers touched it, the world cracked open.
A Storm of Visions
Fire. Chains. A broken moon.
He saw his mother screaming a spell, her body glowing as she sealed something inside her womb. He saw Rhydian kneeling before her, blood on his hands, swearing an oath. And he saw a figure cloaked in shadow—eyes burning with the same light that Kai now saw in his own reflection—watching through the trees, whispering, always watching.
A voice echoed: "He must never remember. Until it is too late."
The vision broke like glass.
Kai collapsed to his knees, panting, sweat on his brow. Lucien rushed to his side. "Kai—!" But Kai lifted a hand. "I'm okay. I saw it... I saw everything." Rhydian stepped close, quiet but fierce. "Tell us." Kai looked up. "The Watchers... They're drawn to the fire my mother sealed inside me. She locked away a part of something ancient. Something from the other side."
Lucien's eyes narrowed. "And now it's waking up?" Kai nodded. "Piece by piece."
The Oracle's light flickered.
"Seek the northern ruin. The final lock waits where ash remembers bone. But beware... eyes that never sleep have already seen."
Then the Oracle dissolved.
Silence returned.
Outside the Shrine
They stepped into the night, the forest humming low, no longer hostile but reverent.
Kai leaned against a tree, trying to steady his heartbeat. His hands trembled—not just from the visions, but from the weight of what they meant. Lucien stepped close. "That was... a lot." Kai met his eyes. "Yeah." Lucien reached out, brushing a thumb over Kai's cheek. "I'm here. No matter what you find in yourself." Kai leaned into the touch, just a little. "Thank you."
A rustle from the clearing caught their attention. Rhydian had stepped back, watching them with unreadable eyes. Kai walked to him slowly. "You've known all along," he said. Rhydian's voice was soft. "I only ever wanted to protect you. But now... you have to choose who you'll become."
Their eyes locked.
And for a moment, Kai felt everything between them pulse—ancient, magical, and painfully real. He placed a hand on Rhydian's chest. "You're still part of that choice," he whispered.
The silence that followed was soft.
No heat.
No demand.
Just a quiet promise waiting to bloom.
Later That Night
As they prepared camp near the shrine, the wind shifted again. Kai stood at the edge of the trees, listening. And he heard it—soft and breathless—a voice only he could hear:
"You are flame. You are dusk. But not all light warms."
A Watcher's whisper.
He turned sharply, but nothing was there.
Only the trees.
And the sound of Rhydian's voice calling him back to the fire.