They fell.
Not through air, but through memory.
The sensation was not one of descent but of unraveling—like being pulled through layers of forgotten truths. Colors swirled. Whispers clawed at their ears. Elira clutched Caelum's arm, her other hand instinctively gripping the pendant at her chest.
With a sudden jolt, they landed.
The air was heavy. Cold. Lit only by the glow of moss that pulsed along the cavern walls like breathing veins. Beneath them stretched a vast underground ruin—twisting corridors, shattered stone, and symbols too old to name.
"Elira… are you hurt?" Caelum's voice was rough, one hand gently touching her shoulder.
"I'm fine… I think." She rose, glancing around. "Where are we?"
"The Hollow's roots," Caelum answered, his tone unreadable. "This place hasn't been seen by anyone living in centuries. Not even me."
A strange sense of recognition prickled at the back of Elira's mind. She looked around, eyes wide. Everything about this place felt ancient—yet familiar.
"This way," she murmured, moving toward an arched doorway, the pendant around her neck now glowing faintly.
Caelum hesitated, then followed.
They entered a vast chamber.
A throne sat at its center—twisted vines frozen in stone, curled around a seat of petrified wood. Upon the back of the throne was a carving of the Warden's sigil. And behind it, a giant circular door covered in shifting symbols, guarded by two statues of hooded women.
Elira stepped forward.
A whisper rose from the stone.
"Warden's blood…"
Caelum drew his blade in alarm. "It's talking."
"No," Elira said softly. "It's remembering."
As her hand brushed the throne, a sudden wave of visions slammed into her mind. A woman—her mother?—standing in the same chamber, holding the same pendant. Caelum, younger, unscarred, smiling beside a tall, regal figure—his father, perhaps. And then… fire. Screaming. Betrayal. A woman cloaked in shadow—Nyra.
"Elira!" Caelum caught her as she collapsed to her knees. "What did you see?"
"My mother… was here," she gasped. "She knew this place. She… sealed it."
Caelum turned to the stone door, his jaw tight. "Then whatever is behind that door… is what Nyra's looking for."
A low rumble vibrated through the floor. Dust rained from the ceiling.
"Elira Valen," the voice came again, this time from everywhere and nowhere. "Prove your right… or perish."
One of the stone statues moved, stepping down from its pedestal with a grinding roar.
Its stone eyes flared with green fire.
Caelum moved in front of Elira. "Get ready."
The statue lunged.
Caelum met its blow with a fierce cry, blade sparking against stone. Elira raised her hands, summoning a shield of golden energy—barely holding as the force of the impact shook the chamber.
"I can't hold it long!" she cried.
"You don't have to," Caelum snarled. "Just give me an opening!"
He ducked under the statue's arm and drove his sword into its side. The stone cracked but didn't shatter. It lifted him off the ground and flung him across the room. He crashed hard, unmoving.
"Caelum!" Elira screamed.
The statue turned back to her.
The pendant pulsed furiously.
"Elira Valen," the voice boomed. "Speak the Warden's truth."
"I don't know it!" she cried, backing away.
The statue raised its weapon.
Then—instinct surged.
Elira raised her hand and shouted, "I am the blood of the forest! I am the voice of the Hollow! I am the Warden reborn!"
Light exploded from her chest.
The statue froze, then shattered into dust with a sound like thunder.
The room fell silent.
Elira gasped for breath, her skin glowing faintly, veins etched in ancient light.
Across the chamber, Caelum stirred. He groaned and sat up, dazed.
"You're… shining," he said with a weak grin.
"I think… I passed the test," she breathed.
But before they could recover, the stone door began to open, vines unraveling slowly, creaking louder and louder.
A wind blew from within, cold as death.
And then—a scream.
A human scream.
Male. Terrified.
"Help me!"
Elira's eyes widened.
"That voice… I know it."
Caelum frowned. "Who?"
Her voice trembled. "My father