The words hung between them, heavy and impossible to escape."Because it did."
Aerin stared at Lior, the echo of his voice twisting inside her like a blade. The night seemed to still around them. Even the forest — always whispering, always alive — fell silent, as if mourning something ancient and sacred.
Her hands trembled. "You mean… we destroyed Elyndra?"
Lior didn't answer immediately. His eyes — dark, filled with centuries of regret — searched hers. "Not by choice," he said finally. "But love between a mortal and a guardian… it's forbidden for a reason. It breaks the balance that binds the forest to its heart."
Aerin stepped back, the weight of his words pressing down on her chest. "The heart of the forest…" she repeated. "You've mentioned it before. What is it?"
He hesitated. "It's where all wishes are born. Where every dream, every memory, every soul's hope takes root. The willow's roots reach into it — and so did yours, once."
"I don't understand."
"You were its keeper," Lior said softly. "The one chosen to listen to the world's forgotten voices. That's why the forest lived through you. But when you loved me—" His voice cracked. "—you gave part of that heart away. To me."
Aerin felt dizzy. The moonlight blurred, the ruins spinning around her. "So I—what, weakened it?"
"You tore it in half," he whispered. "And when the heart broke, the city fell."
The silence that followed felt endless.
Aerin's pulse roared in her ears. Images flashed in her mind — the fire, the screams, the willow's branches burning as if in agony. Her hands pressed to her chest as if to hold her heart together.
"I didn't mean to," she whispered.
"I know." Lior's voice was low, aching. "Neither of us did."
He took a hesitant step toward her, but she flinched away. "Don't."
His jaw tightened, pain flickering across his face.
"I can't—" Her voice broke. "If I look at you right now, all I see is everything I destroyed."
For a long moment, neither spoke. The air between them was sharp, fragile. Finally, Lior turned away, his wings twitching slightly, feathers glinting like shards of moonlight.
Then the ground trembled.
A low, rhythmic sound pulsed beneath them — a heartbeat, deep and ancient, echoing through the stones. The ruins of Elyndra shuddered, the air thick with golden mist.
Aerin froze. "What's happening?"
Lior's head snapped up, eyes widening. "The heart. It's waking."
He grabbed her hand — she almost pulled away, but something in his grip told her this was no time for pride. They ran through the streets as the wind began to rise, carrying with it voices — not gentle whispers this time, but screams, furious and desperate.
The path led them into what had once been the temple district. Crumbling pillars lined the square, each one carved with the names of forgotten gods. In the center stood a massive stone door — cracked but still glowing faintly with runes.
"The entrance," Lior said, breathing hard. "To the heart."
Aerin stared at it. The door looked alive, pulsing faintly, as if it too remembered her. "And you think we can go in?"
"We have to," he said. "Before it fully awakens."
The runes flared brighter as they approached. Aerin reached out instinctively — and the door responded, sliding open with a deep, rumbling sigh. Warm air rushed out, filled with the scent of earth and rain.
They stepped inside.
The tunnel spiraled downward, walls lined with roots that shimmered faintly, as though lit from within. The deeper they went, the quieter the world above became. Aerin could hear her heartbeat echoing off the stone, blending with the faint hum of the forest's pulse.
After what felt like hours, they emerged into a cavern so vast it seemed endless.
At its center was the heart of the forest.
It wasn't a heart of flesh, but of light — a massive crystal suspended in midair, its core swirling with gold, emerald, and silver. Each beat sent ripples of energy through the ground, lighting the roots like veins beneath the earth.
Aerin stared, breathless. "It's beautiful…"
"It was once pure," Lior murmured. "Now it's unstable."
Indeed, the crystal's glow flickered, dark veins spreading through it like cracks in glass. Every pulse was uneven, strained. The whispers filled the air again — louder now, anguished.
"What are they saying?" Aerin asked.
"Wishes," he said quietly. "The ones that were never fulfilled."
She stepped closer. The air thickened around her, almost humming with recognition. The heart seemed to respond to her presence — its light flaring brighter, the cracks slowing.
Lior stared in disbelief. "It still knows you."
"I don't know what to do," she said. "I can feel it pulling me, but I don't know how to help."
"Maybe you already are," he said softly.
But then something changed.
A shadow moved inside the crystal — faint at first, then growing clearer. A figure, shifting behind the light, like something trapped within. Aerin's breath caught.
"Lior…"
He turned, eyes widening as he saw it too. The figure pressed its hand against the inner surface of the crystal, and the entire cavern trembled.
Then came a voice — cold, echoing, not human."You broke the balance once, Keeper. Will you break it again?"
Aerin stumbled backward. "Who—who are you?"
"I am what remains of your wish."
The crystal pulsed, the shadow's form sharpening. It looked like her — the same face, the same eyes, but twisted, colder, almost hollow.
Lior stepped in front of her. "It's the remnant," he said under his breath. "The part of your soul that stayed when the heart split."
Aerin's mind reeled. "You mean— that's me?"
The shadow smiled — the same smile, only crueler. "The part you abandoned when you chose love."
The words cut deep.
Lior drew his blade, its edge shimmering faintly. "Stay back," he warned the shadow.
The remnant only laughed — a sound like shattering glass. "You can't protect her. You never could."
The crystal cracked, light exploding outward. The force threw them both to the ground. The air was filled with shards of magic, slicing through the darkness like fireflies gone mad.
Aerin pushed herself up, vision blurred. The shadow had stepped free from the heart, standing on the cavern floor. Its eyes glowed with gold fire.
"I am the half that remembers," it said. "And I have waited for centuries to be whole again."
Aerin's pulse raced. "What do you want?"
"To take back what you stole," the remnant hissed. "The life you wasted. The power you buried for love."
It raised a hand — and the roots around them surged to life, lashing like serpents. One struck the ground beside Aerin, splintering stone.
Lior moved fast, cutting through them with blinding speed. "Run!"
But Aerin didn't move. Something inside her told her this wasn't just a fight — it was a reckoning. She could feel the forest itself trembling, unsure which side to choose.
"Stop!" she cried, stepping forward. "If you're really part of me, then listen — we can fix this together!"
The remnant tilted its head. "Together?" it repeated, voice soft, mocking. "You don't understand. There is no you without me. And there is no forest without what you gave up."
Then it smiled. "So I'll take it back — everything."
The ground split. Roots wrapped around Aerin's ankles, pulling her toward the heart. Lior shouted her name, slicing through the tendrils, but more kept coming. The light flared brighter and brighter until she couldn't see.
And in the blinding glow, she heard a voice — not the remnant's, not Lior's, but her own, echoing from somewhere deep within:
"The forest remembers. The heart can only heal when love chooses truth."
The words burned through her, and in a moment of clarity, she reached out — not away from the remnant, but toward it.
Their hands met.
Light exploded through the cavern.
And then — silence.