The night was unnervingly quiet. After hours of searching the crumbling ruins for more clues—inscriptions, remnants of the past, anything—they found nothing. Only the cold stone walls remained, their secrets buried by time. Whatever this place had once been, it had been wiped clean, as if someone—or something—didn't want it remembered.
With exhaustion clawing at them, they decided to make camp inside the main chamber. Taryn kept the first watch, her gaze often flickering toward Elara, still shaken from the memories the amulet shard had unlocked. Ronan remained silent, brooding near the dying fire. The air was thick with unspoken thoughts.
When sleep finally claimed Elara, it pulled her deep.
———
She was back in that place—the endless field of soft golden light, where the breeze carried the faint scent of jasmine. The place where Caelan always appeared.
And there he was, waiting for her.
His eyes were kind, his smile gentle as he reached out his hand. "Elara…" he whispered, his voice like a balm to her frayed soul. "We used to meet here, remember?"
Memories tugged at her—warmth, laughter, love. A time when she was whole.
But then the sky darkened. Clouds twisted and churned overhead. The field warped, shifting into a battlefield soaked in blood and shadow.
Elara tried to move, to scream, but she couldn't. She was trapped, a ghost watching the past unfold.
Taryn stood at the center of it all—brilliant and fearless. Her blade of light clashed with dark steel, every movement desperate but determined. Elara could feel her love, her desperation, the promise Taryn had carried until the end.
The assassins came, wave after wave—cloaked figures with eyes like black voids. Magic clashed, screams rang out, and Elara could only watch as the shadow blade found Taryn's heart again.
"No…" she choked, falling to her knees.
"You cannot change this," a voice whispered.
Elara turned sharply—and there he was. The hooded man. The same one from the clearing, from her dreams.
He stood apart from the battle, his face obscured but his voice clear, sharp as a blade. "You see now, don't you?" he sneered. "This is your fate. Their fate. Every one of them—anyone who stands beside you—dies."
Elara trembled. "Why… why are you doing this?"
"Because you belong to me, child," the hooded man hissed. "You carry what is mine. Until you return, this will be your curse. The past will bleed into the present. Again and again."
His words wrapped around her like chains.
"I… I won't," she stammered, but the image of Taryn's broken body burned in her mind.
The man only laughed, a low sound that echoed like a death knell. "Then watch, Elara. Watch as history repeats itself. They will pay for your stubbornness."
The battlefield froze. Taryn's lifeless body stared back at her, eyes wide open, the promise of protection broken.
Elara screamed.
———
She jolted awake, gasping for breath, cold sweat soaking her clothes.
The fire had burned low. Taryn and Ronan were still nearby, both stirring at the sound of her cry.
"Elara?" Taryn was at her side in an instant, hands hovering but unsure. "What happened? Another dream?"
Elara nodded weakly, swallowing hard as she wiped her face. "It was him. The hooded man. He was… speaking to me this time." Her voice cracked. "He said… this will all happen again. That everyone I care about will die because of me."
Ronan's expression darkened. "He's trying to break you."
"Who is he?" Taryn asked, her jaw clenched.
Elara shook her head. "I don't know. But he knows me. Knows us. And… he said I carry something that belongs to him." Her trembling hand brushed over the shard of the amulet.
Taryn exhaled slowly. "He's connected to the war. To… us."
Elara nodded. "There's more to all of this. That ruin, the shard… the war we barely remember. This man… he's part of it. Maybe he started it."
Ronan finally spoke, his voice low. "Then we find him. We end this, Elara."
Elara met his gaze, then Taryn's. "Not until I understand what he wants. Who I am… who we all are in this."
Taryn placed a hand over hers. "Then we find those answers. Together."
For the first time, despite the lingering terror, Elara felt a spark of something else—resolve.
They would find the truth. They had to.
Because she wouldn't let the past repeat.
Not again.
*
The night was still—deathly still—inside the stone walls of the castle that had long been forgotten by the world. No light touched this place, no warmth dared seep through the cracks of its ancient halls. Only the shadows reigned here.
And in the heart of it, he woke.
The hooded man sat upright in his grand, yet crumbling bedchamber, breath steady, though the edges of a rare smile curved his lips. The remnants of his dream still lingered, vivid and sweet. He had seen her again—Elara.
Her face twisted in fear, her voice trembling as she called out into the void.
Perfect.
He exhaled slowly, rising from his bed, his dark robes trailing along the cold, stone floor as he moved toward the towering window that overlooked the dead lands below. No moonlight touched the earth here; only a pale, sickly glow clung to the horizon like the last breath of a dying world.
He stood in silence, gazing at the endless expanse of darkness. And then, softly, almost tenderly, he spoke—though there was no one to hear him.
"You felt it, didn't you, little star?"
His voice was a low murmur, laced with something dangerous—hunger, desire, obsession.
"You saw what awaits you. What awaits them. You'll come to understand soon enough… that this is your fate. There's no escaping it, no running from me."
A pause. He could almost see her—kneeling in the dirt, breathless and broken, just as he wanted.
"I will strip away everything until you see there is no path but the one that leads to me."
His gloved hand clenched around the stone window frame, cracking it slightly. Yet his smile remained.
"You belong to me, Elara. You always have. You carry what is mine—what I need. And if you will not give it freely…"
He chuckled darkly, the sound echoing through the chamber like a curse.
"Then I will leave you no choice."
Turning from the window, he let the shadows swallow him once more. There was time still… but not much. The pieces were moving. The past stirring.
And soon, Elara would stand where she was always meant to.
By his side.
Whether she willed it or not.
*
The night clung heavy around the ruins, the air thick with the weight of dreams and unspoken fears. The fire crackled low, its embers barely illuminating the sleeping forms of Taryn and Ronan.
Elara sat near the edge of the broken stone wall, knees drawn to her chest, eyes wide open and staring into the darkness. Sleep wouldn't come. Not after that.
She could still hear the hooded man's voice, smooth and cold as silk—whispering threats not just to her but to those she had barely begun to trust. To care for.
Taryn. Ronan.
What was this connection between them? Why did the past seem to tangle around the three of them like invisible threads tightening with every step forward?
She didn't even realize she was trembling until she let out a shaky breath. "I don't understand," she whispered to no one. "Why me? What am I supposed to do?"
A bitter laugh escaped her lips. She had powers she barely understood, a history she couldn't remember, and a future shadowed by a man she feared.
"Mom… Dad… if you can hear me—" Her voice cracked. "Please… I need help."
The wind stirred, soft and cold. For a heartbeat, Elara thought it was just her desperation playing tricks on her. But then a gentle glow shimmered in the air before her—silver light weaving through the shadows.
From it, a familiar figure emerged.
Luna.
Elara's breath caught. Her mother looked just as she remembered—ethereal, serene, with that quiet strength that always made the world feel a little less heavy.
"Elara," Luna spoke softly, her voice like the hush of moonlight on water. "You are stronger than you know."
Elara blinked back tears. "I'm lost. Everything is happening so fast. The past… the memories… him. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
Luna knelt before her, brushing a hand gently against Elara's cheek, though the touch felt like a warm breeze rather than flesh. "This path was always yours to walk. But you are not alone. Taryn and Ronan—they are part of this, too. You are bound by threads woven long before this life."
Elara's voice trembled. "Why does it feel like I'm being pulled apart? Every time I get closer to answers, there's more I don't know. And that man… he's waiting for me. He said… he'd take everything if I don't come to him."
Luna's expression darkened, but she forced a small, reassuring smile. "He is desperate. And desperation makes even the powerful reckless. He fears you, Elara. Fears what you'll become once you remember who you truly are."
Elara swallowed hard. "Then tell me… please. What am I?"
Luna shook her head slowly. "Some truths must be found, not given. If I told you now, it would break you."
"But—"
"You must find the shards, my star." Luna's gaze held hers, firm but filled with sorrow. "Three remain. Only when you hold them all will the past, present, and future become clear."
Elara's breath caught. "Shards… like the amulet?"
Luna nodded. "Each piece carries a memory—a truth buried by time and fear. Together, they will show you who you were… and who you must become."
A pause.
"And only then," Luna whispered, "can you face him."
Elara trembled. "And if I fail?"
Luna smiled, a bittersweet curve of her lips. "Then the world falls with you."
The words left Elara cold, but she nodded slowly, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I'll find them. I… I'll try."
Luna's form began to fade, the silver light dimming. "I am always with you, my little star. Look to the moon when you are lost."
And then she was gone.
Elara sat there long after, staring up at the sky where the moon hung heavy and bright.
She wiped her tears and took a steadying breath.
There was no more room for doubt. She had a path now—a purpose. Find the shards. Learn the truth. Protect those she cared about.
Even if it meant walking straight into the storm.
With one last glance at Taryn and Ronan, Elara rose to her feet. The night was far from over, but for the first time, she felt a little less lost.
"I won't let him win."
The wind carried her words into the dark, and somewhere, the shadows stirred.