"The thing hanging around your neck — that is the Spirit Pendant.
It is no ordinary trinket. That pendant was forged from the pure light of Soulglass, crafted by the last artisans of the Sylvaren — those who once listened to the heartbeat of the world, before it learned to hide its pain.
This object was made solely for those with a bond to mystical creatures — the Forsworn — not just summoners, but keepers. They protect beings imbued with ancient magic — spirits the world has forgotten, or purposefully imprisoned in silence.
And the Spirit Pendant… is the bridge between them and those beings.
Once, it belonged to a faithful disciple of mine — Vaelis — the last to still hear the call from the Dreamgrove.
But in the battle against the Outer God, Vaelis fell. Before his soul faded, he passed the pendant to Saeraphen — as a final testament, a flame meant to stay lit.
And now… Saeraphen has placed that trust in you. Whether you wish it or not… from that moment on, you became its new bearer."
"I shall show you how to wield it — how to awaken the being sleeping within."
But she said no more. She simply stared at me.
The pupil in her eye slowly dilated, as though her gaze itself was guiding me.
And then… strange memories surged into my head, crashing like waves.
I saw myself standing in a battlefield-turned-graveyard. All around lay the bodies of countless races — creatures I had never known.
Ahead, a solitary figure stood still amidst the ruins.
Pale gray skin covered in fine, fur-like strands. As he turned toward me, his eyes glowed with an uncanny blue — a shade both serene and deathly cold, like an ocean long dead.
His face was beast-like — sharp teeth like a wolf's, long feline whiskers protruding from his cheeks.
He wore a cloak woven from grass and leaves, and what struck me most were the beast ears poking from his messy hair, gently swaying in the wind.
Around his neck — the same Spirit Pendant.
At that moment, strange voices echoed in my head.
They repeated, tearing through the fabric of my mind. The pain spread across my skull — so fierce I thought I would burst apart.
Then…
Everything vanished.
I awoke with a start.
Time around me was no longer frozen. That entity — the woman — was gone.
And I realized… I was still falling.
Ashen shouted, voice sharp and firm:
"Kai. Grab my hand. I'll try to teleport us up."
Kai frowned, hesitating midair:
"That's too risky. You don't have time to cast it."
Ashen's face remained unreadable. His cold gaze flicked to Kai:
"We don't have a choice."
He turned to me, voice like a drawn blade:
"Mira. Give me your hand."
But I didn't move.
My hands remained clasped around the gem on the Spirit Pendant — cold and nestled between my palms, as if cradling the heart of something about to awaken.
The gem began to glow — faint at first, then flaring like a fire newly lit in darkness.
Its surface began to crack, thin lines spreading like living webbing. It split slowly, like a cocoon peeling open.
Tiny orbs of light drifted out, spiraling through the air with sounds soft as wind chimes.
Then the gem shattered completely.
The fragments rose, spinning in a silent orbit, assembling into a colossal circle — tens of meters wide. At its center, the light condensed, swirling like a reverse cyclone, tearing space open — revealing a gate between two worlds.
A massive gate of light appeared — majestic and towering, as though forged for gods.
And from within that gate, a winged creature burst forth with a roar. Its shadow engulfed the sky above. Its wings stretched wide like the heavens unfolding, its entire form blazing with brilliance too bright to behold — as though the world's first dawn had been unleashed.
The creature shot past us — so fast I couldn't even register its form. A beam of light cutting through wind, it looped behind us.
Before I could recover, it soared upward from our backs. The three of us clung to it instinctively — hands gripping the creature's skin, smooth and warm like living glass.
Kai and Ashen exchanged stunned looks.
Kai shouted over the wind:
"What is this thing?!"
I steadied myself, answering quickly:
"It's a spirit… residing in the pendant. Saeraphen left it for me."
Kai gaped, eyes wide:
"This thing's insanely cool!"
The creature let out a deep, resonant cry — like a horn echoing through mountains — and surged upward, carrying us past the abyssal mouth of the chasm.
As it leveled in the sky, its back wide as a floating platform, we slowly stood — feet planted on the radiant creature, surrounded by endless sky.
And at that moment — dawn broke.
The first rays of light gently peeled away the night, streaming through clouds and bathing us in morning gold.
Ashen stepped forward, eyes calm and clear.
He extended a hand — catching the light of a new day.
Kai followed, standing beside him. He exhaled, then chuckled softly.
"One more day…" he said, voice as light as the breeze. "We've made it one more day."
Ashen remained silent, gazing toward the horizon — where dark forests gave way to jagged mountains, and a faint glow shimmered in the distance.
"The Central Reach," he murmured, voice cool as honed steel. "That's our next destination."
Morning light cast long shadows across Ashen's face and the creature's back. In that glow, his expression was sharp and resolute — no longer tired or lost, but driven by a cold, unwavering purpose.
A new chapter awaited. And we were still alive to walk toward it.
Let us leave Mira's group for now — And return to the edge of the chasm, where Ashen and Kai once fell.
The air was cold and still. No voices. No sounds but the wind threading through broken stones.
Then, from the pit's edge…
A dry, cracked hand — claws shattered, flesh torn — suddenly gripped the icy rock. It trembled, then pulled up a battered, twisted body.
The Elderwood Beast.
It still lived.
No longer ferocious, it now resembled a rotting log clinging to life.
It dragged itself inch by inch — through brambles, over shattered trees — until it reached the bodies of its fallen children.
No howls. No cries.
Only silence, then a gaping mouth.
It bit. It chewed. It tore. And it swallowed.
Piece by piece, the remains of its children vanished into its maw — as if reclaiming the souls it had lost.
A sick ritual? Or the final instinct of a dying species?
And when the last piece slid down its throat, the Elderwood Beast threw its head back and let out a long roar — ripping through the morning mist.
Then…
Its belly began to swell. And swell. So large the skin could no longer hold.
It exploded. Black blood splattered in all directions, staining the grass and trees.
From within it… another creature slithered out.
Humanoid in form, but its body made of rotting wood and coiled vines, as though birthed from the roots of the underworld.
It had no eyes. No mouth.
Spines jutted from its back, head, and arms — charred black like scorched bone.
Its face — smooth and blank, like a sanded piece of wood. Emotionless. Inhuman.
Behind it, the last sunflower on the Elderwood Beast's back trembled — as if still clinging to life.
It whispered:
"They will end you, too…"
The newborn creature turned.
It approached — slowly.
Standing before the beast's corpse, it reached out and tore the sunflower free — ripping away the last trace of its past.
And in that moment…
The creature spoke — though it had no mouth, the voice emerged from its throat.
Neither male nor female, it sounded dry, like snapping branches:
"Mira…"